To GET MOTIVATED you need something to GET MOTIVATED about!
If you don’t, then you are UNMOTIVATED to do it!!
The goal setting workshop that we are next going to do is in order to help you focus on what you want in the future. It is something that will, as the title says, get you up early and keep you up late at night.
You will know later on why we are doing this, but right now let’s plan out what you want in the future.
Remember how you, as a kid had the freedom to dream all you could and shout it out loud without embarrassing yourself? That time is here again. You have to dream now.
So dream on….. Big dreams… Little dreams…whatever it is. Don’t stop yourself!
Let there be no limits to your thinking.
Create your goals
To feel motivated you should have the surety that whatever you are doing is contributing to an end result.
In session 1, you saw what motivation actually is and how it works for you.
Aristotle has said, “Man is a goal seeking animal. His life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his goals.” As such, the worst thing you can do is mistake activity for accomplishment. You will begin to wonder why you are not achieving anything and it is your confidence that takes a battering.
Have you got any goals mapped out for each area of your life?
No? It doesn’t matter. Just read on and complete this exercise.
Goal Creation Exercise:
Look at the following points.
- Career
- Relationships
- Fun
- Achievements
- Money
- Possessions
As you may have noticed, each one of them is a part of your life.
What you next have to do is take six pieces of paper- one for each of the six areas mentioned above and brainstorm over each for at least 3 minutes. Write down what you would like to have, achieve, and do in each area.
As mentioned before, don’t get embarrassed about how big the goals may seem. You have the freedom to dream, remember?
So, before we get down to laying down your goals for life, we want you to question yourself in every aspect possible. Explore every nook and corner of your conscience and those deep dark realms of your mind. Take your time, as you don’t want to end up with wishy-washy goals you probably won’t even relate to a month later. Think long term and think clear!
Don’t worry about how big the goals seem, just get them down and don’t think too much about them – just keep writing!
Completed? Good!
Now you have with you six pieces of paper full of everything that you want to achieve for each area, right?
The next step is to write down on each, the approximate timescale within which you want to realistically achieve them. Categorize the goals into the following timescale categories:
- Less than 1 year
- 1-3 years
- 3 years plus
So now we have with us 6 lists of things we would like to achieve and the timeframe within which we wish to achieve them.
Now please take from each area, those goals for which you have allotted less than 1 year and select the top 2 for each sector.
This leaves you with 12 goals achievable within one year.
Making an action plan for achieving the goal can come later (not far off…it’s next week by the way). Before that, jot down some convincing reasons for why you feel that achieving the goal at the earliest is an absolute must for you.
MOTIVATION IS ALL ABOUT MAKING THINGS A MUST!
In the absence of any compelling reasons to implement the goals, there will be no motivation to achieve them.
You might have noticed how it is with children. Getting something done by them is difficult. So it is best to tempt them with rewards.
Any parent or teacher will tell you how very effective it is. Statements like “whoever finishes first gets a sweet” or “we can go for a movie if you clean up your room” or “a hike in pocket money for better marks” can work wonders!
As far as you are concerned, you have to be motivated much more. Merely a feeling of “I SHOULD” for your goals is not enough to get you out of bed or keep you up late.
Turn all your “I SHOULD DO THIS” goals to “I MUST DO THIS” goals.
So now, write down below, what the goal is and why you feel you MUST achieve it.
What pleasure will it give you?
What will you be able to do?
What will you miss out on if you don’t achieve it?
Why is it so important to you?
Why is the goal a MUST rather than a SHOULD?
Time to recap!
So what were the steps?
- Brainstorm what you want in each area of your life
- Allot timescales for each – 1 year, 1-3 years, over 3 years
- Consider the less than 1 year goals
- Pick two from each of these
- Write down convincing reasons on what makes achieving them in less than a year, a must
Franklin D. Roosevelt once said …..
The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today
You just have to be honest to yourself and approach things with an open mind and see how everything falls in place.
That’s it for this time. Quite a lot of work for you to do, right?
In the next module we will take up your goals again. Then will be the time to create detailed plans for your goals!