Have you ever wondered how some people achieve the things they set out to do, while others don’t?
How about you? Do you achieve the goals you set for yourself?
What happened to your goals from last year?
Did you make it?
Most people set New Year’s resolutions once a year. Unfortunately, most resolutions fail.
Why?
Because New Year’s resolutions are in most cases unambitious, and not attached to a larger purpose. They are decided and forgotten again.
In this blog post, I explain to you my own five-step process for choosing how to set better goals for 2023.
Step 1. Visualize Your Vision and Your Dream Life
Sit down in a quiet place and think about what your life would look like if everything was possible and you could achieve anything.
You are welcome to dream and fantasize in a childlike fashion.
What are you really dreaming about?
An important part of this step is to figure out what your overall purpose is.
What’s your contribution to the big picture? What’s really important to you? This takes awhile to figure out, and maybe you won’t get the answer to that today.
Now, Picture a day in your life… in detail.
Try to be as specific as possible.
Where do you live? How and when do you wake up? What’s the view from your bedroom window? What do you have for breakfast? And with whom do you have it? Do you exercise or meditate before breakfast?
How do you spend your day? Do you go to work or work from home? Who do you have lunch with?
Sometimes when we do this exercise, a sting of pain might appear if the vision is very different from the life you live today.
If something feels difficult in your life today, find out what it would take to make it better. If you’re not happy in your current job, ask yourself what you’d rather be doing. Dream out of the box.
If you are not happy where you liveask yourself, “where would I like to live?”
I did that in 2020, while living in an inner city apartment in Copenhagen. I envisioned myself living in a house near the beach and the mountains, I saw kids running around barefooted on green grass. I saw myself doing yoga in the morning, in a place with a fantastic view of the mountains.
Honestly this seemed pretty impossible at the time. ntil I realized the vision was possible, if I thought out of the box which was called ‘my current country.’
Now I live in Portugal, and my life has completely transformed – nearly identical to the vision I had.
Step 2. Write a Long List of Different Goals
What does it take for you to live like this?
Write a list of things that you would like to have or achieve.
This is a brainstorm, so don’t judge, criticize or delete. Just write.
Again, you have to be specific.
Try to push yourself to write 100 wishes or goals to force your brain to be creative. It can be things you need to do, or material things you want to have in your possession.
Step 3. Select the Most Important Thing
Read the list and evaluate. Next to each item, rate on a scale of 1-10 how important it is to you. Then, pick the one that’s most important to you this year.
Remember that what you don’t pick isn’t disappearing or never happening. You’re simply prioritizing what is important first.
In any case, sometimes the other goals come naturally when you succeed with the big goal.
I work with two goals simultaneously: one professional and one personal.
Last year at this time I chose two goals:
My personal goal: date and meet a boyfriend.
The professional goal: raise money for my value investor fund.
In the next blog post, I will evaluate my goals for 2022 and set new goals for 2023. Stay tuned!
Step 4. Attach Your Chosen Goal to a Purpose
Your goal must be attached to something bigger than you.
It must be linked to a life purpose.
Why do you want to achieve that specific goal you picked? It should be about something larger than you.
My goal of creating a hedge fund is connected to my mission to help others become financially independent.
I also have another life purpose and that is to create more financial equality for women. As we all know, women are paid less for equal work, and fewer women invest compared to men.
I may not be able to fix equal wages across the world, but I know I can inspire and teach more women to invest.
Why do fewer women than men invest? One factor may be that they have fewer role models in the field of investing.
There are close to no female hedge fund managers or famous value investors. I want to be a role model who can inspire more women to invest in an intelligent way. That is my life purpose. Which makes this fund more urgent.
Let’s get back to you.
Why do you want to invest?
Is it to become financially independent? To get more options in life? To avoid financial stress? To secure your family? To go on a world trip? To be able to live out your life purpose in another area?
Decide on the larger purpose tied to your 2023 goal. It will keep you going when you feel like quitting.
Step 5. Make Your Goal Specific and Write It Down
Now write down your goal in very specific terms.
I use Napoleon Hill’s formula:
“I, (insert name), have (insert what you want to achieve) by (insert date) by (insert what you want to do). My plan is to (insert your strategy).”
It could, for example, read as follows:
“I, Maria Johnson, have 300.000 invested in the stock market by 2024 by investing my savings and profit in stocks. My plan is to invest as a value investor.”
The late Bob Proctor used a different method where he gets the feeling directly into the phrase.
He said: “I am so happy and grateful now that (and mentions the goal).
In this case it would sound like this.
“I am so happy and grateful now that I have 300.000 invested in shares.”
Bob Proctor puts a lot of emphasis on phrasing the goal as if it has already happened.
Which method should you choose?
How about both?
I write my goal down using Napoleon Hill’s method, and I review it every morning and evening. I also mention it several times a day using Bob Proctor’s method.
I have a coffee cup that says “I am so happy and grateful now that…”. Whenever I drink tea or coffee I remind myself of my main goals with that sentence.
You could also write the sentence with lipstick or a child-friendly marker (can be easily washed off) on the mirror in the hallway or bathroom.
The point is, have fun with it!
Now What?
Of course, working on your goal shouldn’t stop the moment you set the goal.
That’s where the real work begins.
You have to read your goal every morning and evening. Envision yourself having already achieved it.
The real muscle of your goal activities is your subconscious. You want to play with the subconscious until it figures out ways to get there. It’s almost like you have to become obsessed with your goal. Fall in love with it.
Every night think of at least three tasks you could do the following day to get closer to your goal. Tip: rite it down, so you don’t forget it.
You must seek knowledge on the subject and cultivate your strategy. Read, listen, learn.
The mistake most people make with New Year’s resolutions is precisely that they set the goal and forget about it.
Goals need to be cultivated, watered and nurtured like little sprouting plants until they have become an integral part of your life. Then you can move on to the next goal
Don’t forget to download my e-book Free Yoursel, if if getting wealthier is part of your life purpose so you can achieve your dreams! You can download it right here.
