Time and time again, you’ll hear advice that you should write your goals down. You’ll hear all these statistics and remarkable stories of people who wrote their goals down on paper and ended up manifesting them years later. A popular example is that of Colin Kaepernick; American football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. When he was in fourth grade, he wrote a letter to himself where he quite accurately predicted that he would become a professional football player, what team he’d play for and even his weight and height (click HERE for more details). Believe it or not, Colin isn’t a psychic, he just knew what he wanted, and he was specific about his vision for the future. His ideas eventually manifested into his reality years later.
Similarly, in 1979, a study took place at Harvard University where interviewers asked new graduates from Harvard’s MBA program if they had set clear goals for the future, which were written down, and if they made any plans to accomplish them. The study found the following:
- 84% had no goals at all
- 13% had goals but they weren’t in writing
- 3% had written goals and plans to achieve them
Ten years later, the same group of individuals were interviewed again and here were the results:
- The 13% who had goals that weren’t in writing, were earning on average, twice as much as the 84% who had no goals at all.
- The 3% who had written goals and plans to achieve them, were earning on average, 10 times as much as the other 97% of the class combined.
Although this study uses earnings to calculate success, it still shows the power behind having clearly written goals. So why is writing your goals down so effective? Our perspective on this is that, when you write your goals down, you turn your thoughts and ideas into something tangible – that is something you can actually perceive physically. Also, when you don’t write goals down, you don’t necessarily have them defined anywhere. This makes it very easy to forget them, or simply lose focus of them. Having them down on paper forces clarity; you can always see what they are and therefore focus on achieving them.
“Set your goals, write them down – now you’re one step closer to achieving them.” – Richard Branson
You’ll hear various people tell you various ways to effectively write your goals down. Many will tell you to set SMART goals, especially in the corporate world. We’ve had success with writing goals down ourselves and after a bit of trial-and-error, we believe that we’ve found an effective way to write them out. Remember, there’s no right or wrong; go with whatever you feel works well for you. Nonetheless, the 5 tips we’re going to provide you with below, are very easy to follow:
1. Write them down with a pen or pencil
The act of writing them down, with a pen or pencil, creates some sort of magical impression on our mind. When we then continue to re-read these goals, in our own handwriting, this impression on the mind deepens, giving them greater force. Handwriting breathes life into your goals, so do not be tempted to write them out on your PC, or on your phone. Grab a pen or pencil, a pad, and get writing!
2. Be honest
Write them down exactly as you wish. Don’t restrict yourself or write them in a way that you think is right. Write them down exactly as you feel. Don’t limit yourself. If you have big goals, that’s fine. Thinking big means that you’re open to receiving big too. There are no limitations, except those of the mind.
3. Write them in the present tense
When you write your goals down in the present tense, your subconscious mind will choose the path of least resistance, in order to manifest them. Act as if the goal is already true – your subconscious mind is not self-thinking; it only reacts to instructions. It will therefore do everything in its power to materialise your goals if it believes it is already true. So if your goal is to lose weight, write down your ideal weight as if you have already achieved it.
4. Write them in your own voice
This simply means that you should not seek to write them in a particular way. Write them exactly how you would say them. When it comes down to writing out goals, some people think that they need to use fancy language or put their goals down using words that they aren’t even familiar with. These goals are to be understood by you only. They should establish a connection with yourself straight away, when you read them out. You shouldn’t have to try and translate them in your own head.
5. Be specific
Write down as many details as you can. The clearer the goal, the clearer the outcome. Remember, the subconscious mind is working off a set of instructions – the outcome can only be as good as the instructions provided. If you want to move to a new town for example, describe the sort of town you want to live in, in full detail.
Example
With all the points above in mind, here’s an example of how a goal would be written down. Imagine this goal is for a new home.
I have a gorgeous 7 bedroom, contemporary home in South Kensington, London. The home has a huge garden that’s connected to a conservatory and en-suite bathrooms in every room.
In the example above, the goal includes details that are important to the person who set it. This includes specific information about the area that they want to live in, and the key features that they want the home to have. The word gorgeous is used because this is how the person writing the goal, describes things that they find appealing.
Final Tips
Make sure you put these goals down somewhere that you can access everyday. It’s important to plant the seeds and focus your energy on them daily, so that they can grow. Keep repeating them, and if you need to make small adjustments to them, then do so. But changing them drastically and frequently is almost like planting a new seed, so just keep that in mind. You really need to know what you want. On that note, also remember to always write your goals down in a positive stance; focus on what you want, not what you don’t want. Both positive and negative instructions, manifest as more of the same. Keep them positive!
Author: Vex King
I am the founder and owner of the Bon Vita lifestyle brand. I could give myself a title and call myself a lifestyle entrepreneur, personal mentor, writer, designer, innovator, CEO, or anything else I see as fitting. However no title can define me as an individual. I’m just an optimist, a visionary, a philanthropist and jack of many trades. I’m using my positive influence to redefine the creative industries using Good Vibes Only #GVO so that people can fulfil their dreams, purposefully, and enjoy The Good Life #TGL. My daily words of intent are to make people… Think, look & feel GOOD!
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