Not Goal Setting But Goal Achievement

Once again it's that time when we restate our ambitions and propose to achieve more, be more, or refrain from doing that thing we could live with a lot less of.

"This year I will..." How will you rephrase that sentence?

The reality is we set goals on New Year's Eve that we never really take ownership of or even truly expect to accomplish. Have you ever made a wish? Sure you have, we all have. On Thanksgiving, we have a ritual in our home where two of us clench opposing ends of the turkey wishbone, we quietly make a wish and pull. As the ritual goes, after the brutal conflict ends the victor of the large piece of the wishbone will have his dream become real, it hardly does.

Why you may ask?

After all we have been taught that if we put a commanding enough intention out into the universe we can accomplish it. I was also told, "If it's God's will, it will come to pass." I presuppose both of those statements are correct. But here's the thing, for the higher power or the universe to dash in and help you get what you want you have to do more than just wish for it, you have to recognize exactly what it is that you crave first.

Another way of saying it, the last time I came up with the big half of the wishbone I prayed for a million bucks and I did not get it. And that may have been a good thing. Because had I received my wish, I may have been surrounded by a colossal herd of big horn elk. Asking for a million bucks is just too vague to be anything more than a dream.

Notwithstanding, wishes do sometimes come true. But I'm confident the majority of us would rather not bet our life on the uncertain outcome of a dream.

You possess what Maxwell Maltz calls, an "internal success mechanism." It's the piece of you that will move the rest of you kicking and yelling if necessary towards what you really yearn for in life. This year you can start programming your internal success mechanism by turning your "New Year's Resolution" into an exact intention for your goal achievement.

That requires getting very clear on precisely what you desire, why you desire it, and write it down as a clear and comprehensive goal achievement statement. The reality is your power is bottomless. You can have everything you wish for but you must first make it a true intention. Then you can shout as loud as you can, "This year, I will..."