One of the most satisfying moments as a human being is when you have a clear vision and a goal, and you then achieve it. It is a wholesome, addictive experience, but remarkably few people actually complete what they want to achieve.
There can be a million excuses as to why people don’t reach their goals, but, essentially, there are three reasons why people miss out. The first is that the vision is not clear enough, which is a massive problem as it’s almost impossible to find your way somewhere if you don’t know where it is in the first place. The second problem is that they don’t have a clear strategy, they might know where the place is, but they don’t route there. And the third issue – and most common – is that they may be on there way, but they don’t have any definable targets to ensure that they keep up the pace and get to where they want before it’s too late.
Your Vision
Everybody has visions. It could be scoring the winning goal in the World Cup, wooing the person of your dreams, becoming a rockstar, getting fit, or creating your own business.
The trouble is, visions are often vague and, if no action is taken, they’re nothing more than a pipedream. But that’s not to say visions are bad. On the contrary, they’re invaluable. But the important thing isn’t to merely have a vision, it is to have clear vision. The clearer the vision, the more likely you are to make it a reality.
If you’re serious about your vision, you need to think about it in such detail that it is effectively reality. Nothing should be inexplicable in your vision. How did you reach your vision? What steps did you take get there?
Detail is key, and the best way to create detail is with numbers. How much, how many, when.
Your Strategy
If you have a clear, definable vision in place, you next need a strategy. How do you make your vision a reality?
Again, just as was the case with your vision, your strategy needs to have as much detail as possible. A strategy without detail just won’t succeed.
Say, for example, you want to buy your first house. Merely imagining the house won’t land you the house. But it’s a start, as you can picture what type of house you want. So, with this image in mind, you need to calculate how much this house will cost. Let’s say it costs 500,000. Now you know the cost, you need to figure out how to get the money. Let’s say you earn 50,000 per year and can save 10,000. That means it will take you 50 long years to pay off the house, forgetting the interest. So how can you gather the money you need? Maybe you get a second job, maybe you start a business on the side. But what is important is that you start thinking about the how – and exactly how – your strategy can make your vision a reality.
A vision, goal and a strategy is the key basis for achievement, but in order to make them a reality, you need clearly defined targets.
Your Targets
Once you have a vision, and strategy to achieve it, you need to set some targets in order to keep you on track.
One major mistake that people make when they set targets is that they are too big, too vague and too distant. Ideally, your targets should impact your daily life. You should wake up with them in your mind, ready to make happen, and go to bed thinking about how the next day can go another step to achieving your overall vision.
You should see your targets as a ladder, and the only way to reach your overall goal is to go up your ladder step-by-step. Make the steps to far apart or too high and you won’t reach them, so make sure you’re comfortable with every target you set and that you fully understand how you will reach that goal. Don’t overwhelm yourself.
Your targets are key to implementing your strategy, which, itself, is key to realising your goals.
