Hello everyone,
January is behind us and for many of us, so are many of those over exuberant New Year Resolutions, that some of us made. Well I spent yesterday at my annual planning session of Me, Inc. using a tool that I have used on an off for almost twenty years. A tool that is very powerful when you actually put it to use. Many years ago a mentor of mine shared this powerful tool with me, so as my New Year’s gift to you, I thought I would share this with you…and hope that you are able to reap the rewards that I have.
Every year in December, I take some time to have my personal annual planning session, this year I ran a little behind. My mentor suggested that I write a goal letter. The letter will be dated at least a year from today, so e.g. In December 2010, I would date my goal letter – December 31, 2011. The letter is written to a close friend (the letter is never mailed, it is for your use only) and the contents are stated as if you have already accomplished particular goals in as much detail as possible prior to December 31,2011. The logic of the process is that, once you have identified your goals, and have clarified in your mind what you are really seeking to accomplish, you write the accomplished goal down and the strategies that you used to accomplish it. Being able to put words to that goal actually etches that goal or desire into your subconscious. Your subconscious almost immediately starts to seek out opportunities for you to accomplish that goal. A major key to getting results is to ensure that you read your letter at least once a day. I found reading the letter to be quite effective, but for me, I was able to send my sub-conscious into turbo-charge when I recorded the letter on to a cassette tape and played it on awakening in the morning, generally while on the treadmill, as I went about my day while driving my car, and again at night before retiring to bed. The constant reinforcement into your sub-conscious gives you almost singular focus and attracts amazing opportunities to you almost magically, enabling you to accomplish your goals. Of course that cassette tape in subsequent years was replaced by a CD, but the regularity of review remains the same. For me, it was simply easier to listen to the letter rather than read it, but you may find that it works for you just fine if you read the letter.
As you write, remember to be as specific as you can, and include the timeframe for achieving your goal. Goals should be realistic and achievable, but give yourself some stretch room – don’t set your goals too low. State your strategies, the ways you went about achieving that goal. When you read or listen to the goal letter, you should be able to visualize the end goal that you achieved. If you cannot see that end picture spend some more time clarifying what you want and how you are going to go about achieving it, and then write that down. This is not a wish-list, it’s a set of goals that you are prepared to put the work into, in order to achieve them. Keeping the goal content visible and focused is where the magic or the power comes in. I will say that positive outcomes were commensurate to my level of focus (listening to the letter), straying from the process decreased my chances of accomplishment immensely.
February has started, make your action plan, write your letter and set it in motion - you'll be amazed.
I’d love to hear if this worked for you, and also please comment on what methods you have traditionally used to set and accomplish your goals, to achieve amazing results.
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