I was always able to achieve my goals. And I never realized why. All I knew was that I was an achiever. ? I didn’t know that there were actual rules for achieving your goals. And I have never put too much thought into this subject.

A short while back I have discovered Tony Robbins, and started listening to his programs. And I have realized why I was always achieving my goals. It is not luck, as a lot of people like to think about this, who don’t want to bother trying something new. ?

There are specific rules and reasons why people achieve results and achieve goals that they set for themselves, even though sometimes their goals seem unreasonable.

I used to achieve goals by doing things intuitively. Now that I know the rules – I would like to share them with you.

Rule #1 – Concentrate on what you want instead of what you don’t want.

Sometimes, people “feed” their brains with thoughts of the goals they want to avoid. For example, they tell themselves that they don’t want to gain weight, instead of concentrating on losing weight.

Our brain has a tendency to highlight the specific words that you are telling yourself. And when you say something like ‘I don’t want to gain weight’, your brain hears the words ‘Gain Weight.’ And then you are really surprised that you have gained a few extra pounds instead of losing a few.

You need to focus on what you really want, instead of what you don’t want. Our focus determines what we feel. And our perception is our reality.

Rule #2 – Determine the desired outcome

What do you want to happen? What exactly is the result you are after? Is your result specific enough?

Again, I would use losing weight as an example. This subject is very close to me, as I used to struggle with extra weight for a long time. Trying different things, I would lose some weight, then I would gain some back, then I would lose it again, and it would go in circles… It seemed like it’s one of those no-win situations.

I couldn’t achieve my desired results for many years as I was never specific enough what were my desired results. My goal was to lose some weight. So I lost some weight. But ‘some weight’ wasn’t good enough for me.

It wasn’t until I realized what my desired weight and build were, that I was able to get closer to that weight of my dreams.

So, you have to know specifically what you want to achieve. Don’t limit yourself. Don’t overanalyze.

Just close your eyes and pretend that there are no rules. Think about: What would it be like if you have achieved that goal, and that area of your life was exactly the way you wanted it? Spend a few minutes in that state imagining your life. Then write down everything you have just imagined, including all the little details.

You must get focused on what you want, and be very specific about it.

Rule #3 – Why do you want to achieve this goal?

What is the purpose? Will your life be better when you will achieve this goal? If yes, in what sense? Will someone else’s life be better as well because you will achieve this goal?

Think of all the beneficial reasons and write them down. Find the specific reasons that drive you.

Sometimes we want to achieve something to make ourselves feel better. We are doing it for our own good, such as to be healthier, smarter, better looking, etc. And other times, we want to achieve something because of our loved ones: kids, spouses, parents, friends, co-workers, etc. Regardless of who you are trying to achieve this goal for, you need to know exactly why you are trying to achieve it.

The important thing to know is that when you will come up with WHY you want to do something – you will figure out HOW to do this.

Rule #4 – Create an Action Plan

At this moment you should know what and why you want to make something happen. Now is the time for How. Ask yourself: What actions do I need to take to make my goal happen and in what sequence?

First thing you need to do is to close your eyes and brainstorm of all different action steps you need to take in order for you to reach your goal. Then, after opening your eyes, write down everything, all the steps, whatever came to your mind.

After you will have all of the steps on paper, you will need to prioritize them. And you might find yourself weeding out low priority tasks, that might turn out to be unnecessary.

To further help yourself to plan your action steps, you might realize that some of these tasks can be broken down into smaller ones, which will make it easier to accomplish. If you see an opportunity for this, go ahead, break up your bigger action steps into smaller ones.

Rule#5 – Set a deadline for each of your action steps.

And sometimes it will be tough to come up with a specific date, so you might want to put down only a specific week instead. A specific action step might depend on the earlier step, so your due date will be set accordingly.

And your action step list might consist of long-term and short-term tasks.

Oftentimes, we are trying to stay away from setting deadlines. And the major reason is we are afraid of commitment. As soon as we are setting a due date for something, we are declaring our commitment to the world, and more importantly – to ourselves. Be courageous, set a date. You are one step closer to accomplishing your goal.

Rule#6 – Take Action

Get yourself to take action and move towards the achievement of your goals. It is very important to remember that it is not what we can do in life will make a difference, it is what we will do.

Rule#7 – Notice what you are getting from your actions.

Is it working? Am I getting closer to my goal or further away? You need to pay close attention to the results you are getting from your actions. And if you see that what you do is not working, and you are getting further away from your goal – try something else, change your action steps.

Other things to consider

Something that you might want to think about, if you haven’t done this already, is your most productive time. Do you have a specific time of the day that is more productive for you?

For some people, mornings are the most productive times, for others early evenings, and for some – late nights. Find your most productive time, if you don’t know what it is already. And plan your most important and challenging tasks around your most productive times.

And last, but definitely not least, is you need to take or plan one of the action steps immediately. What can you do to take some kind of action immediately right now? If not today, then within the next 24 hours. Write down at least one action step for each of your goals that you can take immediately.

If you are struggling to come up with your action steps or immediate actions, write to me at [email protected] and I will help you.

Remember, that you have everything within you, right this moment, to achieve most of the goals that you ever dreamed of!