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Goal Setting 

 by Damien Clarke 

• 4 Critical Steps to Follow for Successful Goal Setting

 1. Write down your goals clearly and specifically.

Writing down goals allows you to focus on the precise outcome you want to achieve. Thoughts come and go and the pictures often change, but writing gives you a permanent reminder. Your goals need to specifically outline what you want to achieve or become. Just writing 'losing weight' is vague and non-specific. Writing, losing 10kg, is specific and the achievement of which can be measured and tracked.

2. Develop short-term goals linked to your long-term goals.

Having just long-term goals can be discouraging as the end result is so different from current reality and in the short-term you don't seem to be experiencing any significant progress. Your long-term goal maybe to lose 10kg, but your short-term goal is to lose 1 kg a week, or walk for 20mins three days a week. These are short-term and measurable. The aim is to build and expand on your short-term goals while working towards your long-term goals.

3. Keep Track and Assess Your Progress.

You may track your progress, daily, weekly and fortnightly, etc. Tracking your progress gives you feedback to identify if you're on or off course. This enables you to modify your actions. Be adaptable and anticipate setbacks. Your subconscious is very powerful and you could easily be tempted to slip back into your old ways. When you feel this temptation, assess the possible reasons. Is it through your own thoughts or that of a friend, spouse, or family member, who may be threatened by your progress?

For example, your goal may be to lose 15 kg and as you get close to reaching your goal, your partner may become jealous thinking you might run off with someone else. As a survival mechanism they may try to start to sabotage your efforts. They may criticise you, not treat you well, try and convince you to eat things and play on sympathy that you don't spend any time with them anymore. Remember that this is their creative subconscious coming into play, trying to correct things so that they are able to maintain their version of reality.

4. Support your Goals with Affirmations and Visualisation

Once you decide to make a change of any sort in your life, the first step towards making that change is to change your self-talk. Affirmations are the most effective way of doing this. Affirmations are simply statements of belief that you make about yourself. Your own self-talk. They can be negative or positive. This is the best and most proven way I know to achieve your goals.

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