Write Down Your Goals

If you are like me, you initially felt inspired and energized by setting large goals, but the luster of those resolutions faded quickly.  This happens because we begin to wonder how we will ever take such gigantic steps. Stop worrying. This is what the goal achievement process is all about, taking our big dreams and turning them into achievable goals. And then, achieving those goals.

Why Write down your goals

Have you ever woken in the morning from a dream?  How long did that memory of the dream stick around?  Not long.  Dreams are tenuous and don’t stay in our minds long.  If you wanted to remember that dream, you could write it down.  Just like those nocturnal dreams, our big life dreams won’t stay in our minds for long.  You need to write them down, review them regularly, add to them, and wallow in them.

How many times have you set goals or resolutions, perhaps even spoken them aloud, but not written them down? Did you achieve them? Unfortunately, the answer is probably no. The difference between a DREAM and a GOAL is often nothing more than writing it down on a piece of paper.

write down your goals by Hand

Writing things on paper actually has an impressive array of benefits that will help in your process. Writing activates more parts of the brain than typing does, focusing and engaging the brain to digest the information and learn from it, while helping the brain to develop and grasp new ideas and concepts. While it strengthens the memory – it’s easier to remember things that you’ve written down – writing also deepens parts of the emotional brain. So, make an effort to write out your goal to help you work out the details.

Don’t worry now about the format of your goal statement just write your goal down in a sentence or two that makes sense to you. The next step in the process will take this goal and turn it into an actionable goal statement.

 

9 Steps to Goal Achievement

Write It Down is Step 2 in the 9 Steps to Goal Achievement. The 9 Steps to Goal Achievement is a process for not only setting but achieving your goals. Click here to get the overview of the process in a convenient printout. Check out these posts for more detailed information on the other steps in the process.

Step 1 – Dream Big

Step 2 – Write Down Your Goals

Step 3 – SMARTER Goals (coming 5-18)

Step 4 – Give It Meaning (coming 6-15)

Step 5 – Create an Action Plan (coming 7-20)

Step 6 – Visualize the Process (coming 8-10)

Step 7 – Implement the Plan (coming 9-21)

Step 8 – Get Support (coming 10-19)

Step 9 – Review & Repeat (coming 11-16)