New Goals for the New Year

This is THE time of the year again! Look­ing back on what happened last year, good res­o­lu­tions and new goals for this year.

Here are a few things you’ll want to know to set goals THAT WORK for 2011. Remem­ber, your Uncon­scious Mind is the goal get­ter and it needs pre­ci­sion, so read on.

NB: this material is an excerpt from what we learn during the NLP Practitioner, Coaching & Hypnosis Certification course. The next one is in March.

When you set them, make sure your goals are SMART:

S for Spe­cific
Make sure you say PRECISELY what you want: “mak­ing more money” is too fuzzy. Where is the money com­ing from specif­i­cally? “exer­cis­ing” is too vague, what type of exer­cise, and where?

M for Mea­sured
“Going to the gym” is not good enough, “going to the gym 4 times a week for a 2 hours work­out each time” is much bet­ter. “Mak­ing more money” won’t work, mak­ing $xxx” will.

A for “As If Now“
Write your goals in the present tense: “I am mak­ing $xxx”. “I go to the gym…”

R for Real­is­tic and Respon­si­ble
If the last vio­lin class you took was 35 years ago, it may not be real­is­tic to set as a goal: “suc­cess­fully audi­tion­ing for the Lon­don Sym­phony Orches­tra” (well you get the idea). Respon­si­ble means that it’s good for you and for your fam­ily and your envi­ron­ment as well.

T for Timed
Give a date. “The end of July” is not a date (when is the end of July?). “July 31st, 2011″ is a date!

Write your goals on a paper or in a file in your com­puter, read through to make sure they are SMART.

Then, go through the keys to achiev­able outcomes:

1. Stated in the pos­i­tive. “What specif­i­cally do you want?”

2. Spec­ify present sit­u­a­tion. “Where are you now?” (Associated)

3. Spec­ify out­come. “What will you see, hear, feel, etc., when you have it?”

4. Spec­ify evi­dence pro­ce­dure. “How will you know when you have it?”

5. Is it con­gru­ently desir­able?“What will this out­come get for you or allow you to do?”

6. Is it self-initiated and self-maintained? “Is it only for you?” (you can­not set goals for others).

7. Is it appro­pri­ately con­tex­tu­al­ized? “Where, when, how, and with whom do you want it?”

8. What resources are needed?
“What do you have now, and what do you need to get your out­come?”
“Have you ever had or done this before?”
“Do you know any­one who has?”
“Can you act as if you have it?”

9. Is it eco­log­i­cal?
“For what pur­pose do you want this?”
“What will you gain or lose if you have it?”

Happy New Year!

PS: Want to know more? Check out the next NLP Practitioner, Coaching & Hypnosis Certification course coming up in March 2011.
Schedule of All Courses here.

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