Setting goals is an integral part of life. Without them, you will not know how to recognize success or achievement. Knowing your goals tells you what you want to achieve and why it is essential to you. While not all dreams are equal, they do all deserve the best chance of achievement.

In life, we all have dreams, ambitions we want to achieve. However, it is entirely in your power whether they remain dreams or whether you will set out to make them a reality. If you think of a plan, it is more like hope, a wish not yet fulfilled. Perhaps your ambition is to be promoted to Director in your company. That is great, but just having that dream will not help you achieve it.

Writing your dream down can help increase the chance of it becoming a reality. The very act of committing it to paper makes it more real and concrete. You can see it.

However, there is more to making your dreams turn into reality than merely writing them down. It would help if you fleshed it out. You need to give it substance and to create a goal. By turning your dream into a plan, you are further committing to its ultimate achievement.

Your goal is the end-point. It is what you want to achieve and how you will know you have been successful. The key to success is writing down the steps you will take to get there and how you will turn that goal into a reality.

It is essential to know why that goal is one you want to achieve. So it would help if you wrote down what achieving it will look and feel like to you. How will your life change? By making your visualization of your success as descriptive as possible and writing it in the present tense as if you are living it now, you create a connection with your subconscious mind.

Additionally, writing is a right-brained activity. It is part of your logical and analytical mind. However, the very act of writing keeps the right-brain occupied and allows the more creative left-brain to be accessed. It will let you begin to create and visualize the future you want.

Setting that vision down on paper is a record that you can refer to again and again. It will remind you why you want to achieve the goal you have set and how you will know you have completed it.

Adding the steps to achieving the goal provides you with a to-do list. You can tick off each step as you complete it and see your progress. It can be very motivating, especially if you find yourself struggling. Acknowledging how much you have achieved can strengthen your resolve and motivation to continue.

Alternatively, by having a written record of your goal and the steps needed to achieve it, you will see if your mind has changed. Often you will find that your actual goal changes. You started as wanting to be promoted to Director. You may find that you want a promotion to Director of a different division or department or maybe even a different role!

Goal setting is not something written in stone. Your written goal, visualization, and plan will not only be a record and guide but a working document that you can change as your vision of your future changes. Having it written down enables you to track your progress and any changes. You can evaluate as you progress, and by ticking your achievements off as you go, you will be able to celebrate your progress along the way.

Until next time, stay safe, and keep the faith.