3 minute read
Mindest
THE MAGIC POWER OF GOALS It’s real, I’ve experienced it
MINDSET | MARCUS WHEAN
ISTRONGLY believe that goals have magic powers! Come on, magic powers, how so?, you might ask.
I believe this because I have experienced it and when I truly understood and embraced goal-setting into my life, I have been able to not only better manage my own mental health but have been able to completely re-invent my life and experience myself and life as more fulfi lled, happy and content.
By having and working on meaningful goals you can not only feel like you’re surviving in life, but thriving! This is what I incorporate into my work with clients.
First things fi rst, though. We must fi rstly understand that we are all goal-directed. That is, we are setting and achieving goals albeit sub-consciously. Even when we are not actively working on goals or plans, like if we are avoiding such things, this is still a goal.
These are avoidant goals. Many of us have and achieve avoidance goals all day every day. We might say we are not motivated, but to avoid things is still motivation.
It is motivation to avoid. This pattern is obviously negative because it does not bring us the contentment and happiness we crave. It can bring immediate comfort
but ultimately it is not serving our health and life well.
Negative behavioural patterns like avoidance goals reinforce negative belief patterns. These patterns when left unaddressed can lead to or exacerbate unhelpful stress and can aff ect your mental health.
A famous psychologist once said: “That which remains unconscious is our fate”. This is where the magic power of goals comes in. We must get conscious about our goals. We must think about a vision for ourselves and our life.
This vision sets the tone for the goals we set. Our vision and goals must be based on positive intent, EG: Hhow do you want to be, what do you want to achieve?’; and not on negative intent. EG:. ‘How you don’t want to be’. For instance, you could have a vision for how you want to be, or what you want to be doing, in say, the next 12 months.
We must give this some time and thought because we must get consciouss and clear on how we want to be because the old negative mind will likely be there fuelling negative thoughts on how not to be.
If we don’t get clear on the positive, the negative thoughts can lead to fear of failure, which leads to that negative motivation pattern all over again (our fate).
When you’re clear on your vision, it’s time to brainstorm goals. I usually suggest around 2 or 3. Maybe there’s one personal, one professional and one material goal.
If you’re unsure of what goals to set, ask yourself what you value. What YOU truly value. By values I mean things you really like to do; values that are yours that make you, you. These values require little motivation or inspiration to do, but they also should be challenging and rewarding.
They should require some eff ort. Because it’s in the eff ort and process of working on and achieving your goals, where the magic happens.
When you have your 2-3 goals for the year, break those down into quarterly sub-goals, then monthly, then into weekly and daily plans.
The weekly and daily plans require regular attention. We must make sure we’re staying accountable and on track. Get yourself a journal to write and review your plans weekly at least.
This is great to build confi dence and that sense of achievement. Giving our goals and the plans daily attention is akin to giving ourselves attention. If our goals are aligned with our values, and we value the things we are working on, then by implication we are valuing ourselves.
Then as we progress and achieve our goals the reward is we not only value ourselves but feel great that we are actively working on ourselves and our life and no longer avoiding taking meaningful action in our life.
It requires eff ort but it is, again, in the process of taking meaningful action where the magic power of goals lies and how we can not only survive but feel like we are thriving in life.
