Prioritise.

Most sporting achievements are made possible because of good balance. Successful athletes, sportsmen and sportswomen are blessed with that and recognise its importance, and so it is in setting personal goals. The ability to differentiate between your pursuits and to choose goals in all areas is the essence of this possible equilibrium.

Along with this recognition and awareness of different areas of your life comes the need for you to be able to switch off from one to another so that your focus is kept sharp. Confusion between say, social and business, is like outside interference into a personal conversation. Pausing before centering on your specific goal will serve you. If you can imagine a big switch inside your head and activate it each time you move from one goal area to another, you’ll get 100% concentration and that will ensure clarity of purpose.

As you compile your list of goals, you might find it easier in some areas than others. That’s understandable since you might not have had much practice doing this. However, for maintaining balance and flexibility in your thought patterns, one or two goals in each area rather than five in one and one in another is to be encouraged. You hopefully will experience the benefit in this as you become more used to seeing the results of your goal setting activities.

It is a case of being in the habit of writing your goals down rather than relying on remembering everything. I mention this because the older we get, the more difficult it becomes to identify individual thoughts. Please accept my personal experience, being a self-confessed dinosaur!

When writing your goals down, remember to write what you want, not what you don’t want! Sounds elementary, yet an example would be if you were to go into a shop and produce a list of all the items you didn’t want to buy. It would be a waste of time and energy and not a normal exercise. Make your goal list as normal as sensible shopping State clearly what you do want. This list might help you.

• Clearly state what you want and write it down.
• Believe with a passion that you can achieve it.
• Plan your strategy, it will give you a track to run on.
• Break it down – one step at a time, like Everest was climbed.
• Set a limit: a deadline will inspire you.
• Persist: failure cannot live with persistence.
• Welcome obstacles. You need reminders of your vulnerability in order to reach greater heights.
• Celebrate your goal and move on. Achieving goals is part of life’s journey and not your final destination.

Action. Listing the benefits of achieving a goal is a terrific action. Visualising your achievements is akin to how Olympic athletes rehearse as they embark on their journey of achievement. We all have untapped potential and are blessed with talent of one kind or another. If you are lacking in self-confidence then it might be an idea to hire a coach.

I look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards, John