2. It’s hard to be determined when you don’t know what you’re
working towards or how to even recognize when you’ve gotten
there. Figure out what success means to you and you’ll be
better equipped to persevere towards your goals. The best
possible future self exercise can help you do that. Spend
about 15 minutes writing in great detail about what you’d like
your future life to be like (1, 5, or 10 years into the future).
Consider various areas of life, such as your career,
relationship, health, passions, etc. What would each of these
areas be like in your best possible future?
Try not to filter yourself or allow negative, competing thoughts
to affect what you write. It doesn’t matter if this future seems
improbable now—just write about it creatively as if it could
happen.
COMPLETE THE BEST POSSIBLE FUTURE
SELF EXERCISE.
3. Develop clear goals geared towards reaching the success you imagined
in the best possible future self exercise. Start with just a few that
address different areas of your life. Get as specific as you can with
your goals.
For instance, you wouldn’t say “I want more money” and leave it at
that. You might set a specific goal to complete a certification course so
that you will be eligible for a managerial position at your job. Similarly,
you wouldn’t say “I want to go to Hawaii.” You might set a clear goal to
save $10,000 for a family vacation in Hawaii.
You might create separate goals for different areas, including finances,
health, career, relationship, and personal development. However,
different goals may overlap. In the above example, being more specific
about the financial goal (“I want more money”) uncovered a career
goal.
Focusing on a few goals at a time will help you stay focused and
determined. If you focus on too much at once, you'll get overwhelmed,
which will make determination harder to maintain.
CREATE A FEW SPECIFIC
GOALS
4. After you’ve clarified a few specific goals, divide these goals
down into smaller, more manageable steps. You’ll feel more
determined to stick with your goals, if you know what’s expected
along the way. For example, if you set a goal to publish a novel,
smaller steps may include writing the book itself (which also
must be broken down into various steps), editing it, learning
about the publishing industry, figuring out which literary agents
to send it to, writing a synopsis and cover letter, and sending it
off to the different agents and publishers.
You might divide it up so that you're focused on one step at a
time. Then, each individual step may take some evaluating to
determine if you have the resources to accomplish it. For
instance, professional editing may be costly and require that you
save money first.
For example, if your goal is to publish a book, focus on outlining
the book first, then drafting the book before you think about the
publication process.
BREAK YOUR GOALS DOWN
5. Creating a time-frame to accomplish your goals is a powerful
way to stay determined. Set a far out date for the overall goal
(e.g., “Save $10,000”) as well as creating shorter time-frames
for the individual steps required to reach that goal. For
instance, you might give yourself a year to save the money.
However, after breaking the goal down, you might aim to save
$2,500 within the next three months.
Your deadlines should be feasible yet challenging. If you allow
too much time to reach the goal, there’s a greater chance of
you losing focus.
SET CHALLENGING DEADLINES
6. If you truly want to remain steadfast in reaching your goals,
you must be willing to put them before other less important
aspects of life. This doesn’t mean you’ll be working 24 hours
a day towards your goals, but it does mean you should always
carve out time for them.
Prioritizing means instead of just making a vague
commitment to work on your novel each day, you will set aside
a specific window of time. Say, "I'm going to write from 6:00
am to 8:00 am every morning." You have put your goal first,
which means no matter what happens from 8am onward, you
will have dedicated some time towards working on your goal
that day.
PRIORITIZE YOUR GOALS
7. Regularly review your future self and look for discrepancies
based on your current life. What habits or behaviors are
getting in the way of you becoming that future self? These
gaps are where you’ll want to focus in your goal-setting. For
example, if you’d like to save $10,000, but you eat out every
day, you will need to change your spending habits to save the
money. You might save more, faster by limiting restaurant
meals and cooking at home.
LOOK FOR GAPS THAT PREVENT GOAL-
ATTAINMENT
8. This is a hugely important part of being determined and
achieving your goals. Negative thinking will lower your resolve
and even cause you to give up on your goals. Positivity, on the
other hand, allows you to persevere. Learn to identify the
negative language you use on yourself and situations. For
example, if you find yourself thinking "I'm so weak I can't
even do one push-up," change that thought. Instead, think
more positively by reframing that thought to something like, "I
have trouble doing push-ups now, but if I stick with my
routine, I will gradually be able to do them."
ELIMINATE NEGATIVE THINKING
9.
People who use their determination do not use the term
"failure." Obstacles will appear on your path no matter how
prepared you are. In most cases, obstacles and "failures" are
actually opportunities. Re-frame the problem by considering
the “why?” For example, if you're asked to build a bridge
across a river and you ask why you need to build a bridge,
questioning why a bridge can help open up further
possibilities (why do you need to cross the river? what kind of
materials are available, etc.). Asking these questions will
open up a realm of possibilities.
Another method is to ask yourself what you've learned from a
supposed "failure." What would you do differently next time?
What factors combined to cause the "failure" to happen? Was
failing really as bad as you feared?
LEARN FROM OBSTACLES
10.
Thinking outside the box will greatly help you stay on track and
accomplish your goals. This is especially important when you do
hit an obstacle, because creative solutions can often provide you
with an avenue that you might not otherwise have considered.
Daydreaming is actually an incredibly useful tool. When you're
confronted with a problem, take some time to daydream and let
your mind free to consider the problem without restrictions. A
good time to practice a little daydreaming is right before you go
to bed at night, but you can do it any time.
Ask yourself some questions to open up your creative problem-
solving: if you have any resources in the world, how would you
approach the problem? If there were no possibility of failure,
what would you try? If you didn't have to worry about budget,
what resources would you use? If you could ask anyone for help,
who would you ask?
FIND CREATIVE SOLUTIONS
11. Although it sounds a bit weird, visualization is actually a
really powerful technique for boosting your determination.
Practice visualizing yourself accomplishing the goals that you
are working towards. The more clearly you visualize your goals
(with images, sounds, smells, and specific details) the more
likely you are to actually accomplish them.
For instance, to visualize a promotion on your job, you might
imagine seeing a larger office space, hearing
"congratulations" from your co-workers and supervisors, and
having more money to take your family on vacation.
USE VISUALIZATION
12. A vision board is a tangible way to envision your goals. By
assembling a variety of images and knick-knacks that bring
life to your goals, you can look at them regularly and regain
determination to keep moving forward. Look through
magazines, newspapers, and the internet to find images,
words, and inspirational items that speak to you. Make sure
you include items that represent goals from different areas of
your life, such as health, relationships, and career.
After assembling your board, place it somewhere you can see
it regularly. Looking through the items you place on your
board is like a mini visualization session!
CREATE A VISION BOARD
13. Celebrate your progress by periodically rewarding yourself.
Rewards don’t have to be big or ostentatious—unless you want
them to! The point is to take time to pat yourself on the back for
steadily moving towards your goals. For example, each time you
complete a smaller step towards a big goal, you might treat
yourself to a movie night or lunch at your favorite restaurant.
Rewarding yourself keeps you on the desired path and sustains
your determination to reach your goals. However, your reward
shouldn't set you back on goal progress. If you're trying to lose
weight, you probably shouldn't reward yourself with food. If
you're saving money, you probably shouldn't reward yourself by
spending a large portion of your savings (unless the purchase is
a part of the goal).
Keep track of the progress you are making as you work towards
your goals as well. This may help you to stay motivated.
REWARD YOURSELF.
14. Sometimes you may notice yourself losing the determination
you once had to reach your goals. If this happens, don’t trash
your goals, just take a break! Taking a break doesn't mean
that you are no longer determined, it simply means that
you're giving yourself the chance to rest and return with more
energy to work hard towards your goals.A break can be big or
small, depending on your current state of mind. If working
towards your goals has caused a great deal of frustration or
stress, it may be nice to take a weekend off to relax or even
plan a mini getaway.
For a smaller, shorter break, take an afternoon off to hang out
with a friend or pursue a favorite hobby.
TAKE BREAKS TO RE-ENERGIZE
