7 tips for those who want to always reach their goals

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Key insights from the Challenge Yourself book to help you make your desires a reality.

1. Draw your wheel of success

Different goals often have similar success factors. To be successful at work and, say, in sports, you need the same thing - willpower. But everything else cannot be ignored, so at the beginning of the project, analyze the elements of success and build your own wheel of success. How it's done? As easy as pie.

Write down 5-7 ingredients for success. Take a bicycle race as an example. To win, you need the following: equipment, route, physical preparation, psychological preparation, proper nutrition, team, money, PR, and so on.

Draw a wheel, write down each component and rate it on a scale of 0 to 4, where 0 is terrible and 4 is excellent. Ready. You now have your own wheel of success that clearly shows your strengths and weaknesses.

Your task is to make sure that in all points you have a score of 4 - excellent. In this case, the guarantee of success will be 99%. And in any undertaking.

2. Use an "If, then" plan

The "If, then" plan is very effective in practice. And it's easy to create. You need a plan that takes into account the ingredients for success (we have already done this above), obstacles and ways to overcome them. By making a plan, you will create a space for yourself where there are no problems, but only their solutions.

This is done simply: in one column with the name "If" you enter the risk, and in the other - "Then …" - the decision. “If I run out of money, I will take a bank loan,” “If I’m tired, I’ll take a vacation for three days,” “If my bike breaks down during the race, I will call the support team to bring me a spare one.” The mere presence of such a plan creates a positive attitude. Not to mention the fact that you will save yourself from risks.

Knowing what to do in a difficult situation even before the start will ensure continuous forward movement. And do not forget that even the most ideal plan needs to be changed, because everything depends on the circumstances. Flexibility is our everything.

3. Avoid obstacles

How often do we hear: “Overcome obstacles! Don't give up and go ahead. In fact, this is not always the case. It happens that some of the barriers are too difficult to take. They are simply too tough for you. But this is not a reason to despair.

The smartest solution is to find an alternative. It is not for nothing that the proverb says that the clever will not go up the hill, the clever will bypass the mountain. Don't forget about her.

Here's an example from sports. Sometimes bicycle races last several days. This requires serious preparation, endurance and, which may seem unexpected, competent navigation. This is an important success factor. After all, if you get lost at a distance of 200 kilometers, it will not matter at what speed you pedal, because you are going in the wrong direction.

What can be the solution here? Do not spend weeks studying navigation systems, but ask for advice from a person who is well versed in this, or buy a navigator. That's all. The issue has been resolved, time has been saved, and you are halfway to success. You don't always have to board. A quiet assault is also worth considering.

4. Work hard

We are blinded by stories of how people who have been plagued by failure all of a sudden became rich and fortunate. Today you are a cleaner and tomorrow you are a movie star. In fact, 95% of these stories cost a lot of work. Happiness rarely falls from the sky, it needs to be earned.

There is a directly proportional relationship between effort and reward: the harder you work towards your goal, the more you will achieve. So don't let fear stop you from taking the first step and facing difficulties. Yes, you have to sweat. But isn't the dream worth it?

5. Don't forget about the law of diminishing returns

Have you decided on the impossible? Fine. Then you need to know what barriers will come your way. One of them, which is often unsettling (if you've ever been on a diet, remember how easy it is at first and difficult later) is the law of diminishing returns. The point is simple: the further you go, the harder it becomes for you to become better.

If suddenly it becomes harder for you than before, it means that you are on the right track and much closer to the goal than before. Just don't give up.

6. Measure progress

From time to time, take your wheel of success and plot a new graph on it, reflecting the assessments in all parameters: something has become worse, something is better. Monitor regularly. You will clearly see where progress has been made and changes have occurred in comparison with what was at the very beginning. You will also see areas with no progress and take action in time.

7. Don't give up at the top

There is such a thing as a mountain road to success. Imagine that your goal is a high mountain. To climb to the top, you first walk along the plain (which is not so hard) and see the mountain approaching.

When you come to the foot, it will not be so easy to continue the path - you will need maximum effort. The route will become more confusing and more difficult. As you get closer to the mountain, you will try harder, and the peak will seem to move away. Don't worry, this is completely normal.

In this situation, you need to remain calm. When you approached the mountain along the lowland and it seemed that it was just a stone's throw away, you did not take into account the road along the serpentine. At the bottom, the peak seems to be very close, but in fact, you have to spend a lot of energy to conquer it. After all, your speed has become less, and the wind is stronger.

So it is with goals in life. Many people underestimate the size of the final steps and lose. Consider sharp turns and uphill climbs. Then you will not be tempted to give up on your goal at a difficult moment.