Guest article by Bill Murphy, author of Thriving in the Storm
Everyone knows that setting goals is essential for success, but actually achieving those goals can seem daunting. I’ve learned – through my success in the mortgage industry, my athletic accomplishments, and the coaching I do to help others –  that there are five essential steps for reaching your goals.
These steps will help you get out of the starting gate and continually keep your eye on the target day after day while you work to achieve your goals, whether in your career or your personal life.
1. Declare
Declare your goals, and make your intentions known. Tell your friends and family. Focus on people who will encourage you and hold you accountable. Post it on social media. You want to be humble and not sound like you’re bragging, but when you let people know what you’re trying to do, it accomplishes two things:
First, it gets people on board with what you want to do. If they’re good friends, they will try to help you with your goals. Even if that help is just support or words of encouragement, that can go a long way. They will understand your sacrifice and won’t stand in the way or put you in compromising positions that make you feel guilty for the time you’re dedicating to this new pursuit.
Second, when you make your intentions and goals public, you make it more likely that you will achieve them because you want to hold yourself accountable. You also want to save face and not have to explain to people that you didn’t accomplish what you set out to achieve, so that provides additional internal motivation.
2. Record
Write down your goals, and read what you wrote every day. You can put your goals in writing on your phone, or you can take this a step further. Read your goals out loud and record them on your phone, so you can listen to them every day. Hearing yourself recite them in your own voice takes this up a level. It’s uncomfortable at first, because nobody likes hearing their own voice, but that heightens your own awareness. But it’s a great way to encourage yourself to keep going.
3. Focus
Literally, just think about what it is you want. Believe it or not, that alone will get you far. Your brain is a network of neurons that hones in on what you think about. If you spend your days thinking about buying a brand-new black Mercedes convertible, all you’re going to see everywhere you go are black Mercedes convertibles. In other words, you’re programming your subconscious, and that is the first step in creating your own reality. Reading or listening to your goals every day will get your mind focused on the task at hand. Thinking about what it is you need to do will better help you recognize those opportunities when they present themselves. If it’s on the brain already, you’re more likely to notice it.
4. Visualize
Start with the end in mind. You know your target, but what is it going to be like when you get there? Take the time to visualize yourself and what will happen when you achieve that goal. Go into detail. How do you plan to celebrate? How will your life change? What will your day look like? How will your career, relationships, or health improve? Try to incorporate all five senses to really help you bring this experience to life. That can include the sun on your face, the feel of the grass, and the smell in the air. Bringing your senses into the mix makes this future feel all the more real and allows you to internalize that positive feeling.
5. Do
The only way you can create change is to dive in. Stop talking about why you can’t achieve your goals or why it’s not the right time to get started. You just have to do it. People fantasize about what they want, but very few actually take the steps necessary to accomplish those goals. They plan to start next week, next month, or next year without realizing that the perfect time will never arrive, and the longer you put it off, the less likely that you will actually do it. The perfect time is right now, because those same excuses will follow you forever.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
BILL MURPHY, author of THRIVING IN THE STORM, is a nationally recognized mortgage originator who has been a top producer for 25 years. Since 2017, he has served as a business coach for the Fairway Ignite program. From 1993 to 1998, he worked as a juvenile counselor for the Department of Youth Services in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Murphy is a marathoner, ultra-marathoner, Ironman finisher, and has a second-degree black belt in Krav Maga. He has raised over $500,000 for the Make-A-Wish-Foundation, and actively supports a number of charities, including Fairway Cares, The American Warrior Initiative, and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. He is the founder of the nonprofit Thrive Foundation. Murphy has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Worcester State University and a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Framingham State. You can learn more at www.thrivinginthestorm.com.
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