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What Is A Worthy Goal And How Do You Set One?
What is a worthy goal and how do you set worthy goals? This question is worth asking at least twice! Now let’s answer it.
A worthy goal is essentially your destination for your future. It is where you want to go, the person you want to be, the thing you want to have. Your goal is your vision of your success. The place you will be when you have reached the success that you want.
As Earl Nightingale put it;
“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or ideal“
And as I mentioned in my previous episode, every single person defines success differently. Only you can define what success looks like for you. Don’t listen to other people and what they say you should be doing. Or try to measure your results against someone else’s idea of what success is.
Setting a goal starts with a dream. Your dream is what you REALLY want, your ultimate desire. From the dream you create a vision. Your vision in your imagination of you doing / having what you desire. To achieve this dream and vision, you set a goal.
Your goal is the ultimate end point; you living your vision. But you will also have smaller goals to get you there, to help you break your journey down into smaller steps and prevent overwhelm and disappointment. A big goal will take time to reach. And as humans thrive on praise and reward, setting smaller steppingstone goals on the journey will keep you enthused and motivated.
So how do you know what your worthy goal is?
What Is A Worthy Goal For You?
As pointed out in a previous post, only a small percentage of us set goals in the first place. This means that the majority of humans are failing to plan, which ultimately means they are planning to fail. They aren’t consciously planning to fail, but by not providing themselves with a known destination, they fail to reach the success they want.
Think of your mind like a sat nav. To make meaningful changes to your life, you need to know where you are now (your current results) and where you want to go (your goal). When you decide on that goal, your mind becomes the sat nav to direct you to it. If you don’t set a goal, you end up wandering aimlessly. This concept is explained further in a recent Podcast, “Success Catalyst” I was invited to speak on.
Only you can decide on a goal that is worthy of giving your life for. It must be worth giving your life for, or what is the point in setting the goal in the first place? How do you set worthy goals is below, but I first want to mention the biggest method used currently.
Many people use the acronym SMART when setting goals.
- Specific – a clear and specific outline of what you want to achieve, usually starting with a verb (a doing word).
- Measurable – The end definition is clearly defined so there is no question whether you have achieved the goal or not and the journey to it is measurable.
- Achievable – there is a fine line between being able to achieve something and not. Achievable means that it is possible, but the person also needs to grow. This means the goal should be just out of reach and require the learning of new skills or honing of current ones to reach it.
- Realistic / Relevant – the goal must be relevant to the vision you hold for yourself, and you must be able to realistically get there (if you can see yourself doing it then it is realistic!).
- Timebound – the goal must have an end date to inspire a sense of urgency in your daily actions. A goal without an end date is just a wish, your goal needs a timeline to inspire you to take action.
However…
Want Is The Only Pre-Requisite To How Do You Set Worthy Goals
Having specificity, measurability, relevance, and a timeframe for your goal is a good start. But Bob Proctor and others have said on numerous occasions that the only pre-requisite for setting a goal is that you REALLY want it.
You desire it.
You would trade your life to achieve it.
It doesn’t have to be realistic or achievable with your current results / skills / time / money etc. It is the thing that you want more than anything, your burning desire. And you don’t have to know how you are going to get it!
Bob Proctor explains that there are three types of goals, and we should only ever concern ourselves with the third type. A C-type goal. But let us take a look at all three for clarity before we discuss how do you set worthy goals.
A-Type Goal
An A-type goal is something that you have done before. These goals may be worthy of repeat, but there is no growth as you already know how to do it.
Goals must encourage us to grow, not to just get. If you are not growing then you are simply following a previous trail, head down and blinkers on. You are simply retracing old steps, and will end up feeling empty. Yes, you may feel some sense of accomplishment when you get the thing you want, but you will not feel fulfilled.
For example. you set a goal of buying a new car. You bought a new car four years ago, so while you may not have the money right now to get the car, that was probably the same four years ago as well. This means that you will feel happy and excited when the time comes to get the car, but you won’t get as much fulfilment as you did when you bought your first one.
B-Type Goal
A B-type goal is one that you haven’t achieved before but that you think you might be able to accomplish. If everything falls into place. This means that when you hit an early difficulty… There is a large chance that you will abandon the goal because it never tapped into positive emotions in your subconscious mind. This is because this type of goal relies on external situations and sources for it to be completed.
We do not create a new mindset to internalise and harmonise with the goal.
For example. You set a goal of going on a round the world trip. When you can afford to. If you don’t then change your mindset to one of travelling around the world, the funds you need will never materialise. Any money you manage to find will get taken by all the stuff that usually takes it and eventually you will give up on travelling the world.
C-Type Goal
A C-Type goal is something that you REALLY, REALLY want. It is the life of your dreams. The person you want to be, the experiences you want to have. The thing you want with an absolute passion. Your burning desire.
If you can see it in your mind, then you can hold it in your hand.
What you must NOT do once you have decided on what you want, is to try and work out HOW to get it. Trying to think of the how will stop the goal dead in its tracks. You won’t have any clue HOW to achieve this goal, because it is so far removed from where you are now. So don’t concern yourself with it!
Just know and believe that as you focus on your goal and take the first step towards it, the next step will then appear. And the next and the next and the next.
Let it be said that this approach is counter to everything we have ever been told. And this is why only 1% of our population actually live up to their potential. Each of us have limitless abilities. The only limits we have are those that we put onto ourselves.
So don’t ask HOW to achieve your goal, just decide that you are ABLE and WILLING to pursue it.
This Seems Very Counter-Intuitive…
And I agree! This approach goes against everything we have ever been told to do. Everyone you tell your goal to will most likely laugh or say it can’t be done. Very few will understand what you are trying to do and will constantly try to get you to stop. To stay where they are.
But to achieve the goal, you will have to do things far outside your comfort zone. You will be tested past the point of where you thought your persistence and determination would stretch to. But if your goal is worthy of you, the effort and discomfort will all be worth it.
You start by deciding what it is that you want. Making a committed decision to get it. And then working every day with the goal in mind. Now let us look at how do you set worthy goals.
How do I Set Worthy Goals?
Bob Proctor sets out 5 steps to decide on and stick to your worthy goal. These are:
- Make a list – of everything you REALLY want, your burning desires. This could include a £600 million super yacht, a castle, a better job, £100’000 a month income… Whatever comes up, write it down. Pay absolutely no attention to that little voice asking how you will get these things, just focus on the fact that you want them.
- Prioritise your list – score each thing on your list based on how much you want it. Then rank your list from highest to lowest priority. The thing at the top of the list is your C-Type goal. A lot of the other things will probably fall into place as you pursue the top thing, especially if it is money orientated, so just focus on that one. You should only have one C-type goal at a time. Yes, you will have smaller goals alongside that will be steppingstones to the final outcome, but only work on one big goal at a time. Having more than one goal only creates distractions. The others are still written down, you can come back to them later.
- Why do you want it? – what is it that makes you want that one thing more than anything else? Why are you willing to give your life for it? What will achieving it mean for you and your life? The answers to these questions provide your motivation to keep going when things get tough. If you can’t answer them fully then seriously consider returning to step 1 and relooking at your wants.
- Write your goal on a card – write your goal as a single, present tense sentence on a piece of card and carry it everywhere you go. Start the sentence with “I am so happy and grateful now that…”
- Read your goal card as often as possible – after a while you will only need to touch it in order for your goal to flash into your mind! The more you think about your goal the more you will harmonise with it and attract it to you as you work towards it. See the person you will become and keep acting as if you are already that person.
Check out this video to hear this process instead.
Some More Things To Consider While Setting Your Goal
There is so much advice out there on how do you set worthy goals, and the type of goals to set. But this post details the approach that I take.
To compliment the five steps above, I also consider:
- My core values – the values and morals that make me me. What we value the most structures our habits, processes and the things we want in our lives. Our goals must be aligned with our values, or we will not be motivated to achieve them. There will be no willingness to improve in the areas needed to reach that goal. A simple example would be setting a goal to lose weight when you do not have a core value of healthy eating and exercise.
- My purpose – your purpose is why you are here. The something that your entire life is designed to achieve. Some are here to serve others, some protect others. Many of us do not fully align with our purpose until much later in life. But when you find it you will know it. Life becomes effortless, there is no resistance. Your personal, career, financial, family and other goals should all stem out of your purpose.
- Focusing on the C-Type goal, but also breaking it down – my big c-type goal is my destination, but to get there means navigating through lots of other milestones en route. Think of your goal as the destination you put in your sat nav. The destination is there, but you get there by following one direction at a time. Each single “turn left” or “go straight on” builds your journey to the destination. Have one eye on the destination so you stay on track, while the other watches and enjoys the journey there.
- Keeping my family in mind – yes you have a big goal, but you also have your family. This is more pertinent when you have children as they will be directly impacted by any goal you have set. Keep your dependents in mind, they might also be able to support your goal! If it is a weight loss goal, the whole family can benefit from healthier eating. A travelling goal will give everyone the experience. Consider how they can help instead of blocking them out.
- How I will take action towards my goals – setting a goal with impossible actions is a dream not a goal. For example, setting a goal of running a marathon will require lots of training. If your schedule is already full with family and work commitments, when will you be able to fit running in? And you must fit your actions in consistently, every day, to reach the success you want. These daily actions also break down the goal into more manageable steps which avoids overwhelm.
- The bigger picture – my vision. The goals you set are just one piece of the puzzle that creates your vision. Keep your vision in mind as you set each goal to avoid getting distracted.
Once Set, How Do I Stick To My Goal?
Once your goal is set then you need to realise that to reach it you are going to have to make some changes. The person you are now is not capable of reaching that goal, or you would have done it already. This is why learning how do you set worthy goals is vital.
95% of everything you do is controlled by your subconscious paradigms. This is where all of your habits come from. And it is these habits that need an upgrade for you to change your direction. Without changing your habits at the subconscious level, you will slip back into old ways and your goal will drift further away.
How to upgrade your habits is discussed in this post.
If this article resonates with you and you want to discuss this further, then get in touch today. Either here or through any of my social medias or schedule a call to discuss it with me directly.
I look forward to hearing from you and hope this information helps you create more productive habits!
To your success,
Jaiye
