Hajra Naz
A simply defined strategic planning process is one good way to develop plans in order to achieve goals for life.
The planning process helps you to create a roadmap, which shows you a way to put your efforts in the right direction. You cannot achieve anything unless you have a plan. A good plan narrows down the things that you need to execute in order to achieve your goals.
Before we discuss how can you achieve your goals, let’s take a look at the important factors that halt your progress and don’t let you grow in life.
How to overcome self-limiting beliefs and achieve your goals?
Have you ever wondered how icebergs form?
These large chunks of ice are made of frozen freshwater, not saltwater. The same happens with the beliefs that your form in your mind. Your beliefs are the set of principles that guide your thoughts, words, and actions and are responsible for your overall reality, whether good or bad. Your beliefs keep on piling up but do not cause a problem until they trigger internal conflicts with your desires.
Your brain interprets ambiguous visual signals in the most likely explanation possible which are a result of your past experiences. But your mind is adept at taking snapshots of these past experiences and using the information to make sense of the present. But if your life has been bleak due to some misfortunes in the past, that tragedy will affect the meaning of your life.
These self-limiting beliefs will stop you from moving forward and achieving success.
Following are the five ways that can help you overcome self-limiting beliefs and achieve your heart’s desires:
1- Pay attention to the words:
Your words impact a lot of your thinking and actions. So, pay a lot of attention to the things that you say to yourself. Do not say anything such as something is impossible or I can’t do it. It will restrict you from achieving what you want at the first step.
2- Explore the areas where you feel dissatisfied:
You need to see why you don’t make changes and what the things you don’t feel satisfied with are. It will help you to identify the self-limiting beliefs and how can you improve them. Ask questions from yourself that why you don’t want to indulge in those experiences and what fears keep you stay at the back.
3- Let go of the beliefs:
Once you have understood what the self-limiting beliefs are, suspend them no matter how well-entrenched they are. Give them a rest for a short period by answering them with all the information that has been backed up in your mind. It will help find a solution to the problem you are faced with.
4- Stretch a goal:
Once you have decided where you want to reach, set a stretch and a set goal towards what exactly is in your mind. Select a goal that helps you move easily in the direction of your overall objective. Make sure it is slightly out of your comfort zone. You may not achieve your goal on the first attempt but the more you work towards them, the more confidence, and courage you will gain which will help you put an end to the self-limiting beliefs for good.
5- Stay off autopilot:
When you have self-limiting beliefs, it seems you are on autopilot. The force inside your mind tells you that you are going off the track but don’t let that stop you from bringing the changes. Once you identify and get rid of the beliefs, it will feel very much liberating, and the more you clear your mind, the more areas of your life will improve.
How to stay motivated in the journey to achieve goals for life?
As Dalai Lama said that you must have a pure, honest, and warm-hearted motivation. This should be the foundation of determination, optimism, hope, and the ability not to be discouraged. It is because the entire humanity depends on it. Motivation plays a very important role in the lives of people because the work ethic is constantly improving within Asian and European countries.
But due to the hectic life schedule, most people find it difficult to find inspiration and remain motivated constantly.
Therefore, for attaining motivation to achieve greater goals, you need to understand the three useful summaries for acquiring motivation while experiencing a lapse in enthusiasm.
1- What holds you back?
When you find difficulty in staying motivated, you must ask yourself that what is holding you back from doing so. You get stuck at some point and indicate that you have reached a point where you cannot move forward because you seem to have lost your purpose. Perhaps this is where you need some guidance from an expert so that you can take a turn toward the next phase. You must exchange ideas with other people and listen to their opinions. It is always better to pay attention to those who have been on the same journey as you.
2- Understand the setbacks
When you are stuck and feel like going nowhere, you think of yourself slipping backward. But setbacks are not something that throws you back; rather, they pave the way for something greater. You need to understand that failures that a first impression feel like the end of the world are a way to your greatest success.
3- Take smaller steps
People are often lured to the false impression that when you acquire something bigger and better at once, it is better. But that is not true because long-term success cannot be achieved in a short time. A lot of learning is done when you take each step in your journey toward your goals.
Every step towards your goals reconnects you with your purpose, it entails the people you meet, the friendships you develop, the knowledge you acquire, and most importantly, the person you become. Without these moments and without each step that you take, you cannot achieve true success and cannot become the person you want to be.
While moving towards your goals you need to understand that you are continually arriving at your destination and not striving. Even the smallest matters that you overcome are an achievement that transforms you and your view toward success.
What if you fail to achieve your goals?
Failure is always disheartening and at times, it gets overwhelming when you face one failure over another. It may be that you are trying to stop binge eating after work, spending more time reading, cooking more at home, and eating out less. No matter what the reason is, you believe that failure erodes your self-confidence. It also increases the chances of indulging in unhealthy stress behaviors.
So what can you do to get out of this disempowered mindset? For getting back to the perspective that allows you to move forward toward your goals, you need to follow these six steps.
1- Change your perspective of failure:
Failing to achieve your goals often makes you feel that everything has ended for you. But you should not treat failure as a failure instead, look at it as a learning opportunity that you couldn’t have otherwise. Understand that experiencing a failure does not make you a failure but makes you wiser and changes your perception of things.
2- Focus on things to learn:
Failure can make you lose hope and you may feel like giving up. But if you look at the things that you have learned and focus on going a bit deeper into understanding them, your perception of failure will completely change. Focus on what you have learned and by gaining a new perspective, come up with something better the next time you try.
3- Think of your dreams:
When you feel you are losing interest, think of the dreams that you have. Remind yourself of the feelings that you have felt on thinking of achieving your goals. You need to keep the connection with your goals and never give up.
4- Rediscover your passion:
When you get to this stage, you must reignite your passion and remember the beginning of your purpose. Your purpose will guide you through thick and thin whereas your passion will be the fuel to stay motivated each day.
5- Plan:
Always plan ahead and if you fail, understand well the things that are being ignored. You need to tell yourself what it needs to reach your goals and rethink your approach. Maybe you are not trying hard enough or are not planning accordingly.
6- Look at the bigger picture:
When you fail, you can either give up or bounce back and look at the bigger picture. Think of the bigger picture and decide what massive action you can take to change everything. You need to keep moving by staying consistent and taking action according to the plan that you have created.
What is the best time to set goals?
It is not easy to sit down and plan your life goals. Most people are even scared of asking themselves this basic question that concerns their future the most. You need to be wise enough to respect your feelings and values. You also need to have a vision for your life but what matters the most is the perfect time to set your goals. Goals should be reassessed and revisited on a regular basis and should be a reminder of what you are working towards.
You may have not yet found the time to completely go through the goals setting process. But if you have not set your goals then check out these seven best times when you can.
1. When you want to get better results:
According to Newton’s first law, an object in motion remains in motion. Nothing remains fixed and if you compare it with the areas of your life, you will understand that too. When you look at yourself and don’t like it, it means it is time to set new goals and get better. You will need to shift your behavior to become better at whatever you are doing. This is the time you need to set goals and make plans to support them.
2. Facing uncertainties:
The time when something unexpected happens in your life and you realize you cannot move forward the way you were, use that time to your advantage and set new goals. This is the time that will push you to change your path and not walk in a straight line.
3. When you fail badly:
Achieving success every time does not make you learn. When you end up like you don’t want to be, you need to create new strategies. When you fail, it feels like everything is falling apart. But it is not the time you should waste whining, you need to focus on how to set new goals to make good things happen in your life.
4. Throughout the education process:
Your education process is the time when you can easily set goals in life. It is because it is an ongoing process and your goals can take different forms and you can keep achieving them alongside completing your education. By the time you will end your basic qualification, you will have bigger goals in mind which will keep you moving forward in life.
5. After achieving success:
Most of the articles and journals you go through usually focus on the way toward achieving success. But there is very little content that can be found on what to do once you have achieved success. Once you have reached your goals, do not let the accomplishment make you stuck forever. Do not make success your lifetime destination, it is the right time to set new goals and move forward.
6. New Year’s resolutions:
Although for some people setting goals as New Year’s resolutions seem daunting because they hardly ever achieve them. But it is a good time to bring a change in your life and make everything better. Set meaningful goals and make actual plans to accomplish them.
7. When you face a severe setback:
For some people setbacks never allow them to stand back up again. But this is the time that you can deal with very strongly and bring it to your advantage. Don’t let whatever setback you faced in life and set new goals. Refresh your plans and stay persistent in reaching success.
Conclusion:
To achieve goals for life, it is important to look at these four attributes that help to convert a plan into achieving your goals.
1- Focus on what’s important:
You need to determine the priority issues by focusing on where you want to take your business over time. It will help you set the direction of the enterprise and clearly define the mission. It will make you conceptualize what your organization’s future should or could be.
2- Expected objectives:
Your objectives should be clear and you must know what you want to achieve. This will help address the priority issues.
3- Determine who is going to be responsible:
To get where you want to go, you need to determine who is going to be accountable. The strategies and action plans that you will make are going to effectively communicate how you will allocate time, human capital, and money for attaining the defined objectives.
4- Schedule formal reviews:
Just making the plans is not enough, you must plan to perform as designed by regularly scheduling formal reviews of the process. Keep on refining as necessary and at least once a quarter, go through all your plans.
With the help of strategic planning, you will be able to achieve the goals you thought are never possible. No matter how busy your schedule is, take out time to lay out a strategic plan and it will help keep your business on track and focused for the future.
