Vital Steps to Success and Achievement

We all have goals and ambitions to a greater or lesser extent. There are dreams and aspirations within all of us many of which are never be fulfilled due to lack of belief or a supposed lack of time. But by following the simple steps listed below, any endeavor you decide to undertake should have a much greater chance of attainment 

Decide what you want

To get anything from life you must first decide exactly what it is that you want. Without a clear idea of what you want your chances of achieving it are diminished. So write down a list of things you want to do or have. Carry this list with you and focus on it often. 

Take action

The second step is to take action. Work out a strategy of how and when you are going attain your goals. Set out a time line and list of action steps you will need to take in order to get you to where you want to get to. Your first steps might just be making a simple phone call, writing a letter of enquiry or enrolling on a course. By doing something every day that is goal orientated, even if it is small, you will create a momentum that will increase your chances of fulfilling your dreams.      

Make time and not excuses

A lot of people aspire to great things through their thoughts or their conversations. You might hear things like “I would like to do this or that but I haven't got the time.” Very few people do nothing else but work and sleep. Most people have at least some spare time within their lives where they just vegetate in front of the TV or sit with a coffee reading a newspaper or magazine. Do a truthful time audit of your life. Jot down on paper how much time you spend working, sleeping, looking after the kids and recreation. You might be amazed at how much time you actually spend doing very little other than sitting around. After this exercise, ask yourself could I spare just a tiny fraction out of the day to work towards my goals? Even as little as one hour a day translates into seven hours a week or a whopping three hundred and sixty five hours a year. Just imagine how much you could achieve if for instance your goal was to speak a second language with three hundred and sixty hours of tuition under your belt.

Seek feedback

Often on the journey to achieving your goals you sometimes need useful feedback. If for instance you are endeavoring to set out on the road to becoming a successful artist you might seek out the help and advice of fellow artists, teachers and even art collectors. It is also important to remember that feedback is useful even when it appears negative. Feedback lets us know when we are on or off target in our quest to attain what is best in us. Therefore, don't be unduly discouraged by criticism. See it as a means that identifies areas that we need to modify or skills we need to work harder on.

Believe in your goals

A strong belief that you can reach your goals is important. Lack of belief can create apathy and discouragement. A strong inner conviction that you can achieve what you have set out to do will propel you to greater effort and therefore a greatly increased likelihood of you fulfilling your ambitions.

Visualize your goals as already achieved.

Everyday visualize your goals as already achieved. This attunes your mind in the direction you want it to go. Modern athletes, trainers and sports psychologists use visualization techniques as a cornerstone to high achievement. Visualization therefore, is a powerful tool in helping to attain goals. But it's not good enough to simply visualize yourself having achieved your goals. You must instill passion into your thoughts about your achievement. If for instance, your dream is to someday buy a yacht, try to picture it in as much detail as possible. Build in your mind an image of what the yacht looks like. Strive to imagine the scent of the ocean spray in your nostrils and the joy you experience as your new vessel cuts through the waves on a blistering summers day.

Persist

Whatever you want to achieve you will have a much better chance of achievement if you are persistent. Take writing a novel for instance. ‘We all have a book within us’ is a familiar refrain. Yet only a small percentage of people actually take the time and effort to write a book. Fewer still will actively seek a publisher for their manuscript, and of those, many more will give up trying to achieve publication after the first few rejection slips arrive in the post. Others though will reject rejection, refuse to give up and persist until they find a publisher. By persistently putting yourself out there you are increasing the odds of your own success. And that in essence is what achieving things in life is all about. It’s really a numbers game. You can increase your own luck by refusing to give up. At the end of the day, the person who refuses to give up exponentially increases their chances of achieving their goal.