What You Should Know About Achieving Your Goals

It's easy to set goals, but harder to follow through. The biggest reason is because we simply haven’t been taught enough about the science of evaluating and achieving goals. Most of the information out there is focused on the how-to properly set goals, and there is a ton of quality information on just that. I trust that if you’re reading this, you are already familiar with that piece of the puzzle. What this post is offering is a process that puts your new intentions to the test. Simply put, most of the goals people set aren’t even the right goals to begin with, we’ll start there.  Secondly, this post will also give you tools on how to turbo charge your new intentions to ensure that they are actually achieved!

By being clear with yourself and learning how to lean into your subconscious mind, you’ll set yourself up for massive success. The process is simple, answer these questions honestly and apply the upgrades where needed. Your answers will either super charge your goals OR will let you know with absolute clarity that these are not the right goals for you in the first place. Let‘s dive in!

1. When you think about this goal, does it invoke a sensation of inspiration or does it bring about stress?

Simply understanding how you feel when you sit with the goal will give you so much clarity on your willingness and excitement to take the actions necessary to reach it. In other words, if the idea causes you to stress out or even physically contract, then chances are you wont do what it takes to get it done! This is a big red flag, for me it means that it's not something you really want or its something that you doing because you think you should. For example, setting an intention out of guilt or shame will almost always fail. You might be familiar with a narrative like this, “My goal is to lose weight because I’m so overweight and out of shape. I’m tired of what I see in the mirror every morning...” This is drenched in shame and self loathing. It’s like trying to swim upstream. Try instead to connect to why losing weight would inspire you and make you feel good about yourself. All intentions must come from you, your authentic self, and your heart. Make sure your goals INSPIRE & EXCITE you. Seems easy, yet so many people miss this and fall into a guilt trap and don't make traction on a goal because it never inspired them to begin with. 

2. How often do you think about the goal, and how long in duration when you do?

If you find yourself thinking about your intention once or multiple times a day, then you are creating momentum and energy towards it. On the other hand, if you only think about the goal once a week or less, chances are you’re not doing anything to execute on it - "out of sight, out of mind" was never more true! Secondly, science tells us that 2 mins or more of undisrupted focused visualization generates new neuropathways and trains the brain to move towards the goal. It’s the reticular activating system at work! This is where mediation and your regular yoga practice become so transformational! Imagine that every time you stepped on your mat to practice, you spent just a few moments visualizing and breathing life into your goal. The asana itself will become a doorway to achievement if you practice with your intention in mind. By linking something you love to do (yoga) with something you are trying to achieve, you're setting yourself up success.

3. What’s the depth of clarity around your goal?

During your visualization of two or more minutes, can you see the colors, the smells, the financial rewards of achieving the goal? Do you understand how it will effect your family, your friends, your physical body? Can you see how your accomplishment ripples out to the world and makes it better place? Understanding the consequences and seeing the whole picture down the smallest detail will open up new doors of creativity that weren’t visible before. A 5-20 minute daily mediation on the above will cement every last detail into your subconscious. Once your subconscious has downloaded the intention, it will do everything in its power to make it reality. 

4. How fiercely or tightly are you holding the goal?

My advice is to hold the goal lightly. Hold the goal in your heart as if it were new born baby. You feed it, care for it, and love it by doing steps one through three, and yet when you actually cradle the newborn, do it with with the utmost tenderness. Most people will do the opposite when chasing after something they care about, and instead, choke the life of the intention. They squeeze too tightly, and try too hard to control every aspect. Give yourself permission to fall, to miss a day, and to allow it to unfold in the right time versus some arbitrary deadline. It’s more about light and conscious consistency versus crazy over the top intensity! 

Good luck running your goals through these simple gates of qualification! You will find gaps, and that's okay. It will let you know where to add depth and clarity to your goal so that you can actually bring them to life.