Goals. Big ones. Small ones. The ones that we’re too scared to speak out loud. So many goals, so little time, am I right?
Not all goals are created equal. Most of us are great at setting goals, but then we lose track of things along the way as life and business happen.
The beginning of a new quarter, month or even new week are the perfect time to push the reset button on your goal setting. So, let’s do that RIGHT NOW. There’s no time like the present!
As we’re marching towards the close of 2015, it’s time to get real about our goals. What did you actually get done? What’s languishing on the back burner?
The purpose of looking at your progress isn’t to beat yourself up but rather for you to get real with yourself about how to set goals that actually happen.
Then you need to actually do what it takes to start making those goals happen – starting with seeing them become a reality. Visualizing success is something that most people skip over in their goal setting and it’s a critical part of the process. Here’s how to make it part of your goal setting practice.
Start by Living Your Goals
Seeing yourself live out the dream is the first step. Plan and visualize yourself achieving your goal. Conduct rehearsals. These rehearsals prepare you for the big show!
Having a vision is key to bringing your goals to life. Because for you to actually make it happen, you need to believe it is possible.
Olympic athletes performing at the top of their game train and prepare for months before the big day. Not only do they train their bodies, they train their minds by rehearsing their performance through planning and visualization.
Belief is the bedrock of making what you want to happen real.
Best of all, you can do this anytime, anywhere, because it’s all done in your head. How easy is that?
All that practicing and seeing it in your head prepares you for your day in the spotlight.
When the moments for you to step up appear, you will perform better because you’ve not only planned, but you’ve seen yourself succeed and you’re so, so ready.
Studies reveal that athletes who spent 25% of their time in physical training and 75% of their time mentally training had greater success than the people who spent 100% of their time in only physical training.
Success doesn’t come by accident.
I personally started this practice way back in high school when I was in Speech. This was a competition for public speaking or acting. I got myself all the way to the State Championship with the power of training my brain to see my goal as a reality.
Fast forward to my adult life and I’ve applied this practice over and over. Everything from getting raises to winning over friends and to growing my businesses to $500K in revenue.
This visualization thing is legit…so how do you actually do it so it’s productive and not just a crazy daydream?
Making Visualizing Your Goals Work for You
For me, seeing the goal as a reality is an active practice. I pause to visualize throughout the day. I do it on the weekends when I am in between dance parties, playing princess, or making cookies with my girls.
Make spare moments your friend and see the dream becoming a reality as you go about your day.
I also carve out specific time when I am taking on something new to visualize how I will be in that new space I am headed.
In this case you need to really work on everything around it including answering these questions:
How will I feel?
How am I interacting with people?
What specifically do I say?
What do they say to me?
What gifts am I sharing?
What results are my clients getting?
The list of things you may SEE goes on and on. But once you can visualize your dream actually coming to life, your wheels start turning much more quickly than ever before and things start to happen.
When you can visualize your dream actually coming to life, play that track over and over in your head and to help put it into action.
If you need a bit of time to play this out. That’s okay too!
Sometimes I can’t fully move to where I am going, because I can’t visualize it yet. Carve out time for daydreaming and visualizing, it’ll come together as you test different scenarios in your head. You’ll notice what feels right and what still needs to be considered, honor that process.
Now, is that to say goals is all about visualizing it? No way!
Next week, we’ll look at some tangible, concrete ways to take that goal and make it real.
And if you’re ready to get into planning mode – the 2016 edition of the Plan-a-Thon is coming. Click here to sign up now.
