PRACTICAL STEPS FOR GOAL ACTUALIZATION

These seven practical steps for goal actualization shall completely transform your life and give unlimited momentum to your ability to actualize every goal in your life that has been lying dormant for years. Goals that are suppose to make your life meaningful, but due to some circumstances in your life they have been incapacitated. Are you in the valley of constantly dreaming new dreams and having new visions, but lack the capacity to transform those new dreams and visions into reality? Then you are about to put an end to that debilitating situation! There is something about "new" that keeps our thoughts occupied with new resolutions, new dreams, new hopes, new plans and new wishes. New Year gives a perfect starting point for opening the next chapter of our life and making it better and brighter than the previous one.

Unfortunately not all of our dreams and desires become reality. Keeping the initial enthusiasm and motivation over the long period of time is often tough. That is why these seven practical steps for goal actualization are very important for your success in life and business or career. If you have made resolutions last year you probably know how difficult it is to stay committed to them. The reason why so many people give up on their New Year’s resolutions almost as quickly as they make them is simple. While resolutions for the New Year give us a wonderful sense of positive intent, they are extremely hard to stick with unless we turn them into clear and well-defined goals.

Here are seven practical steps for goals actualization will help you to stay on track with your resolutions and make the upcoming year unforgettable:

1. Use the GIRFT (Get It Right the First Time) formula: Before trying to formulate any actual long-term goal for the next year, have a 'mind dump'. It is a great and simple way of getting a lot of ideas out of your head. Clear your mind and acquire a good view of your plans, decisions, and wishes. This is fundamental to your success. You cannot continue to do the same thing over and over again, and expect to get a different result. 80% of what we are currently doing will lead us nowhere. But if we can discover 20% of what we are doing in the right direction, we can actually become great in life and in ministry.

Devote at least 30 minutes of your uninterrupted time to brainstorm. Sit down and relax. Take a piece of paper and write down whatever goals come to your mind. Do not analyze anything. Just write it down. It may be Big or small. It does not matter. Write down everything you wish you had gotten to, but did not. Anything you wanted for a long time, but never had enough time, courage, or persistence to follow through. Do not take for granted the simplicity of this step; for it is your first step to fulfillment.

2. Pick Your Goal: Take a look at the goals that you have written down. Do you think anything of your resolutions is out of reach? What is the most important goal for you at the moment? There are many goals that you would like to accomplish, but only few of them will have the biggest impact on your life for the rest of days on earth. Find out the goal that is relevant for the moment ant that which has a long term capacity to transform your life and that of your business, career, profession or ministry.

Identify the goal! Is it something that can be achieved in one year? Or will it require more time? If it is a long term goal that will take several years to achieve, you might want to break it down into smaller goals that you can accomplish in less than a year. Otherwise, there is a high chance of losing motivation and initial momentum.

3. Concentrate your efforts on just one goal: Effort well organized is effort well maximized. Too many folks fail to actualize their goals because they try to accomplish all of them at the same time. This is a step in the wrong direction. It will lead you nowhere but failure. Do not set a lot of different goals at the same time. Although it may seem like a good idea to divide your focus, time and energy between multiple goals, in reality it is counter-productive. No matter how multi talented you are, you can only one thing effectively at a time.

When you set a goal - you make a decision to stay committed to it. If you are pursuing a lot of goals at the same time, you are not committed to any of them. You are just going with the flow, hoping that you will find time to squeeze everything into your already busy schedule. But what you do in reality is lose control of your time and let outside circumstances dictate your life. What a tragedy!

Concentrate your effort in one goal, and you will be amazed what you can accomplish. One goal gives you clarity and focus. Ten goals create chaos and confusion. If you want to succeed in achieving your goal this year and in the subsequent years, chose just one goal at a time and stick to it until it is 100% complete. Then pick the next one.

I know that we want to have everything right this moment. Most of us are impatient by nature. But think about this: It is much better to achieve one major goal than set 50 goals and fail to accomplish any of them! When you set one goal and achieve them, it creates self confidence and earned you self respect. Nobody will penalize or mock you for setting and fulfilling one goal, but they will laugh you to scorn if you set out to accomplish many goals and fail to fulfill just one.

4. Create Your Positive Affirmation: Positive affirmation is a gateway to the realization of your goals. Once you have chosen your goal, turn it into a personal statement. And then turn it into something more than a statement - make it your own song or a verbal formula that is continuously repeated in your mind.

Make sure that you make your goal as detailed and clear as possible. There is a great way to check if your goal is stated correctly. Look at your goal “from the distance”. Forget that you have written these words just a few hours ago. Imagine that you see this statement for the first time, because your friend wants to know your opinion on it. Do you have any questions? Are there any clause? Are there a few things you would like to clarify? If so, make adjustments to your goal, until it is 100% clear to everyone who reads it for the first time.

After that put copies of your goal on an index card, make it your desktop wallpaper, post it in the car or right next to your bathroom mirror or next to your computer at work. Ensure that your goal is always at a forefront of your mind. Repeat it out loud every single day. Make your goal a center of your focus. This will help you to keep your motivation and excitement high throughout the day.

5. Decide on an action plan: Deciding on an action plan is a serious step in the seven practical steps for goal actualization. An action plan gives momentum to your passion for accomplishment. Many people fail to achieve their goals not because they lack desire or enthusiasm, but because they fail to plan their success out. Goals are not simple items on your to-do list. They cannot be done overnight. Any worthwhile goal requires sustained effort and energy over the long period of time. Without a well-thought action plan it is almost impossible to carry big goals out. In the absence of a well defined action plan, the burden of goal actualization becomes an undulating frustration.

If you want to noticeably improve your chances of success - plan specific actions that will lead you to the desired result. Your goal should be your compass that will point you into the right direction. Your action plan is a detailed map with the baby steps that will take you to your destination point. Action plan also helps you to monitor your progress, while giving you a sense of accomplishment and making the whole process seem a lot easier.

6. Make Your Success Certain: Even if the goal that you have chosen sounds really appealing, it does not mean that you will stick to it. From experience, I have discovered that when it comes to doing actual work, our motivation disappears with a speed of light.

Here is a quick example. Having a beautiful, toned and slim body is a very inspirational goal. We all want to be healthy and look great. However, getting up early in the morning to run 1 mile, denying ourselves things we love to eat, changing our lifestyle sounds much less appealing. At this point we have to consciously force ourselves into doing all these things to get the end result that we want.

Of course, if you have an iron will and unbending self-discipline, you will achieve your goal anyway. But if you are like me, you probably will not torture yourself for a long period of time. Fortunately, there is a way out. You can accomplish anything you desire, without having to force yourself into doing something. All you have to do is set up the right conditions and let things happen for themselves.

For example, if you want to get more exercise, you can find a friend who wants to get back in shape and offer him/her to exercise together. Or set up an appointment with a personal trainer at the gym. He will stay by your side the whole time and you will more likely do your best. Or you can make a deal with your spouse that every workout that you will skip, you will give him/her N1000.

Leave yourself no escape from achieving your goal. Whatever conditions you can you set up to make your success inevitable, do it now! With a little imagination and support of your friends and family you can accomplish any goal! Make sure you surround yourself with people who are successful and who desire your success and are eagerly committed to making your success a reality. Never associate with dream killers; they are a heavy load that will surely prevent you from successful accomplishment.

7. Build on your success: No matter what goal you have decided to pursue, there is only one way to achieve it - take a first step and build on your success gradually. There is no way around it; you have to keep improving it little by little. You cannot become a multi-millionaire without making your first million. You cannot get in shape and have a gorgeous looking body, without doing the first workout. You cannot write a book, without writing the first chapter. You cannot become a good preacher or teacher without first being a student.

Whatever you want to accomplish in life requires that you first do something every single day towards making your wish a reality. Even if you do just a little bit. Something that does not require a lot of your time or effort, but you does it DAILY; you will achieve even your most daring goals. Do not allow a single day go by without "incrementally" adding to an accomplishment of your goal. 

Consistency is the most important factor of success. Not motivation, not knowledge, not your skills - but consistency.

When we are first faced with everything we must do in order to achieve our goal it is easy to feel overwhelmed. When a goal seems too difficult to accomplish we often procrastinate, preferring to postpone hard work for a later time. The problem with it is that "later time” may never come.

The only moment when you can change or do something is NOW. Do not delude yourself with self-justifications that it is ok to skip today, if you do twice the work the next day. Deep down in your heart you know that it is just another story that you are telling yourself. You may be able to deceive others, but you cannot deceive yourself.

Conclusively, my friend, I am enthusiastically convinced that the above seven practical steps for goal actualization will turn your life around if you can only put in the effort to consistently practice them. It is my duty in this life to contribute to the enlightenment and complete transformation of human lives through the application of the words of truth and wisdom. Let the above truth seek into your life, and your place will forever not remain in the common place of mediocrity. It is written, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” Freedom to actualize your dreams and life goals come through the application of the words of truth. Ignorance is the greatest victimizing tools in the hands of the oppressors. Get going with this truth and you shall bask in the contentment of the transformation that the seven practical steps for goal actualization have brought to your life. Do something that will take you closer to your goal every single day. Even a tiny step towards your goal creates momentum and boosts motivation. And it is a step that you will never have to take again.

If this article has been of great benefit to you, do not hesitate to post a comment to share your experience with me and also with others who are regular lovers of this site.

Best wishes!