If you were to look at your track record over the years, what would it reveal about the likelihood of you reaching your goal this year?
I ask because research shows that only eight percent of the people who set a goal at the beginning of each year actually achieve it. And 50 percent of all goal setters abandon their goals by the end of January.
The problem is they set a goal without changing the way they think. So, year after year, they fall into the same old patterns that keep them from making the changes that are required to reach their goals.
What’s your pattern?
You can stay on track with your goals by becoming aware of and changing the patterns or habits that keep you from reaching them.
Not sure what patterns you need to change? See if you can identify with one or more of these:
If you run into a roadblock or fall back into your old routines, you may con yourself into believing that if you give it time, something will change, and then you’ll be able to do what it takes to reach your goal.
Or you may tell yourself it’s not the right time. Instead of working on your goal now, you’re going to wait until you have the money, the kids are gone, or you’re not so busy at work.
However, if you’re honest with yourself, you’ll realize, things are not going to change.
You’ll never have the money. Your work isn’t going to let up. And the kids may stay home much longer than you expect. And even if you happen to get the money, your work slows down, or the kids leave the nest, something else will come up.
Why?
Because it’s not money, time or the kids that are holding you back. It’s your thinking.
And here’s a third pattern Bob and I see all the time…
Instead of figuring out or going for what you really want, each year you set piddly goals that are in line with what you’re currently doing.
The problem with doing that is the goals don’t excite you. And until you know what you really want, you are, as Bob often says, an extra in your own movie.
Stop doing that to yourself.
Instead of automatically saying you don’t know what you want, give yourself a new title: Director. And permit the thought that you are magical, that you truly are God’s highest form of creation, to flow through your entire being.
As the director of your own life, you can make any movie that you want. What story do you want to tell? What scenes do you want to shoot? How do you want the movie to end?
Relax and really think about that. Let your mind go and write down several things that you’d really like to be, do or have this year.
Don’t do anything with the list right away; sleep on it. Imagine what it would be like to have each one of the ideas that you’ve written down and add more ideas if they come to you.
Then, in a day or two, pick one idea as your goal. It should be an idea the comes from your heart, not your head. An idea you fall head over heels in love with.
That’s the story you should dedicate your time and energy to.
A new way of living
A moment ago, I mentioned what the problem is that keeps people from reaching their goals.
Do you remember what it was?
It’s not changing the way they think. Instead of deciding that they will reach their goal, they simply wish they had it.
My friend, once you have a goal that you really want, you’ve got to declare, “This I will do!” Because making a committed decision to do something instantly and automatically puts your mind on the right frequency to get where you want to go. And if you’re disciplined, your thoughts will stay there, and you’ll fuse with the idea of what you want.
If you don’t make a firm and irrevocable commitment to your goal, a year from now everything will be much the same as it is right now.
And this might surprise you…
You don’t have to believe you can reach the goal.
You just have to believe that there are Universal Laws that control all things—laws that always operate in an exact and predictable way.
Get rid of all the tension and the thoughts of “I don’t know,” so you can get in harmony with these laws. If you let the thoughts and energy of your desire flow freely to and through you, it will improve everything with which it connects.
In his wonderful little book As a Man Thinketh, James Allen said, “Your circumstances may be uncongenial, but they shall not long remain so if you but perceive an Ideal and strive to reach it.”
I promise you. If you really want it, there is a way. Get emotionally involved with the idea and pay attention. The way will be shown to you.
Why do Bob and I keep talking about this?
Because we know what’s possible.
In 1961, Bob went from earning $4,000 a year to over a million in just a few years.
And 13 years ago, I had a dream life as an equity partner of a successful law firm. I was making great money, and I had a beautiful house, plenty of friends, horses, dogs… everything I thought I wanted. But I walked away from my law firm to pursue a career in personal development. And my life is so much better now. It doesn’t even compare.
Bob and I are ordinary people who have extraordinary lives.
And you can too.
Not a life like mine.
Not a life like Bob’s.
The life that makes your heart soar.
Where are you with creating your dream life?
Get in harmony with it today, hold your thoughts on that higher plane, and keep moving toward it. You CAN get there. An incredible life is waiting for you.
To more and better,
Sandy Gallagher
