If you want to be successful at anything in life, there could be any number of thing you would need to do to make that success a reality. While the things you may need to do will differ from situation to situation, depending on what it is you want to be successful at, there is one thing that will serve you well in any an all situations. No matter what it is you want to achieve, the simple act of setting a goal can multiply your odds of succeeding.
The act of taking pen and paper and writing down the things you want to achieve, gives you a distinct advantage over anybody who wants to achieve the same thing but doesn't take the time to write down their goals according to research. If you want to give yourself a further advantage and increase your odds of hitting your target, seeing your written goals on a regular basis as it serves as a constant reminder of what you want to achieve.
If you were a captain on a ship, and you set sail with no particular destination in mind, your ship could sail around in circles for years on end if you are lucky, if you are unlucky, your ship may just end up exactly where you do not want it, like on a beach, or in pirate infested waters. If on the other hand you set off knowing where you want to go, you make it possible for you to get there. Once you have a goal, you are in business. The more specific the goal the better. This is where many people get things wrong.
As the captain of your ship, knowing you want to sail to Europe is fantastic because you have a target with which you can measure the success or failure of your journey, but Europe is a big place, your goal would be to broad. If you actually want to reach England, but Europe is the target you give yourself, you could find yourself in Italy, and that would do you no good if you wanted to go to England. You could make your goal more specific, and make Portsmouth your desired destination. The more specific your goal, the easier it is to know when you are headed in the wrong direction, when you have been knocked off course.
You have your target set, now what?
Having a goal is not enough to guarantee success. Having said that, there is something you can do to virtually guarantee your success. Well, two things really.
- Figure out and understand what behaviors will give you the results that you want, and
- Take enough of the right actions until you have the results that you want.
For you to move from your present state, to your desired state, you need to take action. Not just any action will do. You need to take the right action, and you need to take enough of it until you get success. When you have set your goal, and you know what actions you need to take to make your dream a reality, the only thing that can stop you from having what you want is you. To specific, the only thing that can stop you is your willingness to take action. You are more than capable of achieving anything you want to achieve, but you cannot achieve it without doing something to achieve it.