I am helping you create your goals. Because simply creating them exponentially increases your chances of achieving them. Even if you do nothing else.
The Basic Outline.
- Write down what you want (we did this)
- Put time frames on all your goals (we did this)
- Reword any wants necessary so they are all stated in the positive – Stated as if Now
- Make sure you have at least 1 lifetime goal, a few 10 year goals, and some 1 year goals.
- Create action steps for each goal
- Wherever there is resistance or struggle in moving towards the goal, there are belief systems or unconscious blocks to allowing the goals to manifest in your life – remove them or change them
You wrote down everything you want.
You put time frames on your goals.
You made sure they were all worded in the positive now tense.
You created your 10 and 1 year goals
You found your true goals by asking yourself why.
Now it is time to create your action steps.
This is the place most people break down in achieving their goals. They don’t actually take action to create their goals.
Let me tell you something first.
It is called the J-curve.
What happens with action steps is that at first, you don’t really see the results of your effort. You have this flat level of results.
This is why most people give up. They work, and don’t see any results, so they quit.
The problem is, results are not directly proportionate to effort. There is a lag. Like an exponential J curve. And when you start seeing results, the results will start building on the previous results in an exponential way.
Another reason people break down with action steps, is they don’t fully know what an action step is.
An action step has a definable step in it. no thinking involved, the action step defines exactly what to do.
Some examples.
Not Action Steps |
Action Steps |
Set up a meeting |
Call hotels |
|
Get price quotes |
|
Set a date |
Make travel arrangements |
Buy a plane ticket |
|
Reserve a rental car |
|
Look for hotels and reserve a hotel |
Write the report |
Research the data |
|
Organize the outline |
|
Fill in the details |
Save 10% of my money |
Open a savings account |
|
Create an automatic with drawl for 10% |
Train for Public Speaking |
Research places that train speakers |
|
Buy a plane ticket |
|
Reserve a rental car |
|
Look for hotels and reserve a hotel |
Language is all we have in this illusionary world. So what you currently have with your goals is a “project”.
Projects have multiple tasks to be completed that require multiple action steps to accomplish them.
So your goals are projects currently. To accomplish your goals, create tasks that need to be done, and then, and only then, can you start breaking down those tasks into true action steps.
Go ahead and do that now. Take out a bank piece of paper. Write one goal in the middle of it. Then, start drawing lines out from the goal (in all directions) and writing tasks that need to be accomplished. Draw the lines out to about half way between the edge of the paper and the goal. Then write the task.
Now, after you have something that looks like a star burst with words at the end, you will then go to each task, (these are the words around the outside of your goal at the ends of the lines) you are going to draw lines out from each task like you did from the goal, only smaller. And on these lines you are going to write all the action steps you need to accomplish each task.
What you will end up with is a piece of paper with your main goal in the middle.
Many tasks all around the main goal connected by lines.
Then each task will have multiple lines with action steps attached.
This is your map to success of your goal. Now go to action on the action steps.
Remember to use the 80/20 rule. What action steps are going to produce you the biggest results with the lease amount of effort, and start with those action steps.
For some if you have a really big goal, you will actually need an 11x17 piece of paper. Or bigger.
For some you will actually have one more layer of levels in that diagram. You will have your goal in the middle, projects around the goal, tasks off your projects, and action steps off your tasks. But this is more of a rarity and usually is only involved with really big, big goals.
Remember, bigger goals are not necessarily better. They are only bigger.
Don’t worry if you do not come up with every action step right now. The point is to have action steps with definable actions, so you can start taking action.
This is Key- Taking action
Do NOT wait until you have the diagram and action steps perfect. Start taking action today. Even if it is only one little thing.
Remember, the biggest place most people fail is in failing to take action.
Adjust your course as necessary along the way – and keep taking action.
There is no such thing as failure, only feedback.
Remember thomas Edison failed 1500 times in making a light bulb. But you know what, he kept trying things, failing, and finally, he invented the light bulb.
Failure is only a resting point on the road to success. It is not your destination or stopping point.
Tip for Overwhelm:
If you ever look at an “action step” and feel overwhelmed – more than likely it is not broken down into small enough action steps for you yet.
what is the right level of action step?
Because for some of the action steps above, you could break those down into even smaller truer action steps.
The correct answer is, whatever gets you into action.
So a simple action step is if you look at an action step but if you feel resistance to taking action on that, then remind yourself, ok, break it down to smaller action steps.
And you will find at some point, you will start taking action when it is truly an action step for you. |