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In Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen's original "Chicken Soup
for the Soul," I am reminded of the short story titled
"Another Check Mark On the List." This is a story about a
15-year-old boy named John who, on one rainy day, when it was too wet
outside to play, he decided to write a list of goals. John continued
writing until he had 127 goals. These goals included exploring the Nile
River, climbing high mountain peaks around the world and learning 3
foreign languages. He also wanted to be featured in a Rose Bowl Parade
and play several musical instruments.
Of the 127 goals that he listed over 60 years ago, John has achieved
108. If he lives to become 75 years old he will achieve 109 (he listed
"live to see the 21st Century"). How did John achieve all of
these goals? He wrote them down.
Step 1 Write It Down
Write it down, write it down, and write it down!
Have you ever got to a point where you were going to write down a New
Year's Resolution or some other goal you thought you wanted, only to
find yourself procrastinate. One year later, did you need to achieve the
same New Year's Resolution or goal? Why does this happen?
It happens because of that little voice inside of you that says, "I
am not good enough or worthy enough to be in possession of the benefits
derived from achieving my goal." "I have been programmed for
failure."
I recently read a motivational quote that said: "If you can't write
it down, you can't do it."
Let's think about that for a minute. Every day you may be compiling
lists of things to do to run your household, perform your job, or plan
your business trip or vacation. How many times do you really write down,
exactly what you want out of life? How many long term or short-term
goals do you write down?
Now when thinking about what you want to achieve focus your attention on
specific words and ideas relating to your goals. Give those words and
ideas your complete attention as you write them down.
Did you ever write a letter, business report or term paper and at times
find your fingers flying across the keyboard?
Since written words are symbols of objects, ideas or feelings, could the
physical process of entering these words onto a page actually create a
subconscious connection?
I believe it does. When you use language to communicate on paper, you
need to process the information on a subconscious level.
The help you are getting while creating your list of goals is coming
straight from your powerful subconscious mind. Why not take advantage of
the power of your mind in achieving your goals?
Write your goals down in your day planner, write them down and
hang them on your walls. Write your goals on sticky notes and place them
on your bathroom mirror or on your windows.
Every time you write your goals down, your body is moving towards them.
The goals are getting clearer and clearer. The roadmap you create by
writing goals down is projected straight to your subconscious mind and
is being acted upon.
A now popular syndicated cartoonist wrote down 15 times a day, every day
the following sentence. "I want to be a syndicated
cartoonist." He did this every single day, even when he didn't feel
like a syndicated cartoonist. Now, Scott Adams, the creator of the
"Dilbert Cartoon" is a full-time, syndicated cartoonist, known
the world over. Scott "wrote it down."
One way to state that goal in a more positive and immediate context is
to say, "I am a syndicated cartoonist." Act as if you already
are in possession of the goal. It takes a lot of pressure off you during
your daily activities when you feel the new role. You then become
comfortable with it.
Write your goals down everywhere. As you write them down think about
John, the 15-year-old goal achiever from the "Chicken Soup for the
Soul" story. Now that John is in his seventies, what advice would
John have for you when you ask him, "What is the most important
thing I can do to achieve my goals?"
Listen to John whisper in your ear these three words.
"Write it down."
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