Do You Have A Dream? Turn That Dream Into A Goal, Make A Plan, Take Massive Action & Go For It!

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Over the past few months, my 6 year old son Heath has become very adept at constructing Lego toys. He loves Lego and since Christmas we have consistently managed to get him a different toy on a regular basis. In the initial stages, he’d sit with me and watch as I set about assembling the toy by religiously following the detailed instructions. As his confidence grew, he slowly took over the construction process from me (much to my delight) to the stage where now I don’t even have to be in the room. He can keep himself occupied, follow the instructions and assemble some amazing pieces of Lego.

So why am I writing about Lego and what has this to do with the title? It dawned on me this morning that the Lego instructions are in fact detailed plans to achieve a complex goal. On the cover of the instruction booklet is a picture of the assembled item. At the back is another picture of the assembled item and in between, the other 52 pages is detailed pictures of what pieces go where to create the assembled toy.

It is absolutely brilliant that such a complex toy can be constructed with ease by a 6 yr old simply following a plan. OK, so yes I had to teach him how to read the plan. I also had to teach him where to find help if he needed it, but by in large, he’s followed a plan and achieved an awesome feat. And if a 6 year old can do it, so can you.

Often my clients face monumental obstacles to their health and wellness goals. 30 kilograms is a lot of weight to lose when you think of it in terms of 30 kilos, but 1 kilo a week is only tiny.

So, how do you lose 30 kilos if that’s your goal? Easy! Firstly you set the goal in your mind first and then commit it to paper.

When writing goals, here’s how to successfully commit them to paper.

1. The goal needs to be specific, measureable, achievable, realistic and time frame bound. (SMART)

2. Write the goal as if it’s already been achieved, only moments after just written. (In other words in present tense) For example, “It is 4.30pm on Friday 23^rd December 2011 and I have just weighed myself. I now weigh XXkgs, which is 2 kgs below my target weight of XXkgs. I have lost a total of 32 kgs. WOW!”)

3. You need to attach to the goal how it makes you feel to achieve it. (I feel absolutely overwhelmed and happy at the same time.)

4. You can also include in the goal any reward that you are going to lavish on yourself when you’ve reached your goal. (I can’t wait to board that plane with my beautiful husband to sunny Bali for 7 glorious days on the beach)

Once you’ve committed the goal to paper (AND YOU JUST HAVE TO ABSOLUTELY DO THIS) now comes the hard part, reading this to yourself OUT LOUD TWICE A DAY! Yep, this is actually the hardest part of achieving any goal. Convincing yourself that it’s real and the only way to do that is to read it out loud first thing in the morning and last thing at night, so you can commit it to your subconscious mind. Once the goal is firmly planted there, only then can you start to take the massive action, but don’t wait, go for it!

Next week I’ll show you how to make plans.

Oh and by they way, remember this golden rule when turning a dream into a real goal (in other words writing it down). You don’t have to know how you are going to achieve it when you make the goal, nor do you have to have all the answers on how to execute the plan, just the foresight or the vision. The rest comes later, as you make your plans and then follow them. If you don’t believe me seek out examples of this throughout history, JF Kennedy did it when he promised the American people that he would safely see a man walk on the moon and safely return to earth. At the time he made that speech in 1961, NASA didn’t exist and the Americans were still a ways to go to put a rocket into space!!! At every turn scientists kept telling him that it would never be done.

Till next time, keep safe

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