When we believe it's possible...Goal setting

Unfortunately, human nature is programmed to focus on the things we don’t want rather than the things we do want. This is called a ‘Moving Away’ mindset. This mindset causes our minds to become conditioned to use words like ‘don't’ or ‘not’ when in conversations with ourselves or with others.  

Many times when we greet people and ask them how they are doing, a common response is ‘not bad’. This response seems like an innocent response, but the impacts these type of answers have on our mind is substantially negative.

We are conditioned to think or react in this way in so many situations. Even in an elite sporting environment, athletes use these negative self-talk and thought patterns. Focusing on thoughts while playing a tennis match like ‘don’t double fault’ or during a golf round ‘don’t hit it in the water’ are common thought patterns of athletes during a competitive situation.

I would never set a goal with a negative  word.  Remember our subconscious mind doesn't accept any negative words...Yet we have to feed the right evidence or it won't be achieved.

When it comes to goal setting, if a person has an ‘away-from’ goal, such as ‘not to be poor’, then once the thing they want to avoid (in this case not being poor) has been accomplished, there is no more goal. Therefore, as soon as the person decides that they are no longer poor, they lose significant motivation to continue to make more money.  This type of goal setting produces inconsistent motivation.

Dreams, Goals...make them come alive

Dream Chart

One of the most important components of achieving goals is making sure we have some positive reinforcement throughout the journey. Achieving goals can be a lengthy process, full of setbacks and roadblocks. Ensuring we have tools in place to help us maintain a positive attitude and momentum during those challenging periods is crucial to a greater chance of success.

A Dream Chart is a visual reminder of your big goals. It is a collection of pictures and photographs that represent your dreams. Creating a Dream Chart will ensure your dreams and goals stay in the forefront of your mind.  

“Sometimes in life, it is easy to get caught up in our daily routines. Negative events or highly emotional situations can cause the mind to become clogged and this results in  people losing sight and focus on their goals and dreams. These events or situations that clog the mind are what I call ‘trash’. The ‘trash’ ends up getting in the way of the treasure (our own goals and dreams).” Jamie - Dare 2 DreamMaking a Dream Chart as part of your daily process has two positive effects on your mind:  

1. It helps keep your goals and dreams at the front of your mind.
2. It helps to push your trash to the back of your mind.

Why the Dream Chart Works

The Dream Chart plays a pivotal role in helping people achieve a higher level of performance due to three major elements.

Those three elements are:

1. Your dreams and goals are not just stored in your mind. It is common knowledge that most successful people from all walks of life and some of the most successful people in the world have their goals down on paper so they can see them every day.
2. The brain processes thousands of pieces of information every second and a large proportion of this is controlled by what our eyes are seeing. Humans are very visual creatures and this is why we are impacted so much by what we observe. Seeing your goals visually, especially in picture format, will help your mind make better quality decisions every day that move you closer towards your dreams.
3. By adding pictures to your Dream Chart, you actually get to see and imagine what your future could look like. These images floating around in your mind have a major influence on increasing your motivation to work harder on chasing your dreams. This is a crucial part of achieving success.

"Man is a genius when he is dreaming." Akira Kurosawa.Materials Required

• Large piece of poster sized paper
• Coloured Marker - Think about a specific colour you associate with success, or even your favourite colour. You will need a marker in that shade. Our minds are attracted to this colour and our field of vision will be drawn to the Dream Chart.
• Pictures - these can be in the form of photos, magazines or newspapers.
• Scissors
• Glue or sticky tape

Steps

Step 1 - Decide on a title or name for your Dream Chart. Some example names for your Dream Chart might be:

• Time For Action.
• Today's A New Day.
• One Step At A Time.
• I Can Achieve My Dreams.

The name is an important part of the Dream Chart. Attaching a Philosophy of Success to the Dream Chart helps you stay motivated and focused on a specific mindset or attitude that will help you achieve your goals. Take your time creating the name of your dream chart (Philosophy of Success) and write it in bold letters at the top of your Dream Chart in your coloured marker.

Step 2 - Think about the dreams and goals you came up with in the Brainstorming activity on Day 1. Pick the five or six most important dreams that you would like to achieve over the next five years. Use pictures that represent your dreams and paste or stick them onto your dream chart. Refer to example Dream Chart above.

Select pictures that most closely resemble your actual dream. For example, your Dream might be to own a BMW M3 sports car. Get together pictures of the exact model and colour that you want. The closer it represents your Dream, the better. It needs to be so real for you that you could describe it to a friend without having to look at the picture.

Step 3 - When hanging your Dream Chart, keep it very prominent. Whether it’s the wall of your bedroom or behind your bathroom door, you need to make sure it’s somewhere you will look at often.

Step 4 - Look at your Dream Chart at least once a day. The more you fixate on your dreams, the more motivated you will be in focusing on the processes that lead to achieving your goals! This higher level of motivation will create more positive and concentrated action towards turning your goals and dreams into reality.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a great way to get started on working out what it is you actually want. If you don’t already have a list of things you’d like to accomplish, start out by making a list. Throw anything on the list — you don’t actually have to do them. This is just to make sure you don’t miss anything.

Here’s some examples:

Self - Lose weight, stop smoking.
Relationship - Spend more time with friends, communicate better with partner.
Work - Obtain employment, apply for more jobs, become a teacher.
Other - Spend less money unnecessarily, become a better cook.

Now it’s your turn. Brainstorm some of your own wants in the spaces below.

Self, relationship, work and other

Building Self Confidence in Goal setting

Creating a more empowering belief system

1.1  Building a solid base of self-confidence has a major impact on improving your belief system and reversing the effects of learned helplessness.

1. Get two pieces of paper and label one piece High Confidence Situations and the other piece label Low Confidence Situations.
2. On the High Confidence sheet, list all the circumstances or environments in your life where you feel absolutely confident.
3. On the Low Confidence sheet, list all the circumstances or environments where you feel you lose confidence.

High Confidence Situations	Low Confidence Situations
Out having fun with friends Playing a sport Driving a car Playing your favourite video game Discussing topics in areas you feel knowledgeable Riding a bike Cooking a BBQ Any skill you feel confident doing.	Talking to strangers Attending a job interview Walking into a crowded room and not knowing anyone Participating in an activity you have never tried before Any activity you feel you lack skills.

Now once you have these lists, think about how you act in high confidence situations compared to low confidence situations. For example, when you are performing with high levels of confidence:

• You will walk differently. Your back will be straight, your shoulders back, your head held high. Your walking gait will be assertive, your strides powerful.
• You will talk differently. Your voice will be loud, clear and unwavering.
• You will think and feel differently to those circumstances where you feel low confidence levels. In high confidence level situations, you will not have feelings of self-doubt. You will think positively and feel self-assured.