Many modern self help protagonists suggest that goal setting is the secret to a successful future. I would agree that planning where you are going is an essential part of getting there but there is for many one essential floor.
Most people who set goals don’t achieve them. This is usually because they set lofty goals that are not realistic. They are then advised to reduce their goal to something achievable . Unfortunately small goals do not excite the individual enough to want to peruse their dreams so they give up altogether.
The problem is that all goals involve future thinking. This is what I am going to do. Tomorrow never comes so people put off the goal till the next time. Think of the new years resolutions we make. How many of us are still working on it in February ? Let alone March, April and May.
The solution for long term motivation . Instead of setting future goals, record what you have achieved on a daily basis. Always think respectively when getting motivated. A goal to go to the gym every day immediately becomes invalid if you miss just one day. However if you manage the gym once a week celebrate that, write it down in your diary and remind yourself regularly of what you achieved. This will motivate you to go again.
If you didn’t go to the gym, don’t feel bad. Instead think of something you did well that day and focus on that. You might have helped someone out ,record this fact and that will help motivate you to return to the gym.
The computer entrepreneur Bill Gates once said that ‘most people overestimate what they can do in one year but underestimate what they can do in ten years’. If you want to achieve a lot in one year or ten years set one goal. Focus on what you have done not on what you are going to do.
Peter