Setting goals involves a bit of concrete thinking. For right-brained musicians that are always exercising their creative muscle, this may prove to be a bit of a fish-out-of-water experience.
But there is an advantage to being highly creative, even as it pertains to goal-setting. If you can vividly imagine what you want your future to look like, you should be able to put your daydreams into words that mean something to you.
In essence, setting goals should be no different for you than for anyone else. But if you want to set goals that actually matter to you, you’re going to have to take some time to focus.
Why is Setting Goals so Important?
In general, goal-setting isn’t something you learn in school; it’s something you learn in books. Some of the best information, incidentally, is in books.
You can think of goal-setting as the secret everyone knows, but nobody does. Most experts says that only two to five percent of people actually write down their goals!
Do you want to gain an edge over your competition? Write your goals down!
If you actually write your goals down, your chances of achieving them skyrocket.
Have you ever written out the lyrics to a song before a show so you would later remember them onstage? Whether you know it or not, that probably played a huge part in you recalling them.
Steps to Follow in Creating Your Goals
I have seen a lot of “this is why your goals don’t work, and this is what you should do instead” type material out there. When it comes right down to it, I don’t think it matters how you phrase your goals.
If you’re not willing to put some work behind your vision in the first place, the details won’t matter! If your goals motivate you, you know you’ve done it right.
I find personal development expert Brian Tracy’s statement far more encouraging and intriguing: you will always accomplish 80% of what you have written down. I have found this thinking to be spot-on, as it is always reflected in the completion of my to-do lists.
So, here are three simple steps to follow in creating your goals:
- Write down your goals. You already know how strongly I feel about this. Some people say to use blue ink on white paper, while others recommend red ink on yellow paper. I don’t care which you choose, but please make sure to use pen and paper and not a keyboard and monitor.
- Put a deadline on your goals. Goals without a deadline are just hallucinations. Be sure to create a reasonable time-frame for the completion of your objectives.
- Make sure your goals are quantifiable. In other words, “make lots of money” is just a statement. “Make $80,000 a year working in my passion” is a goal.
Conclusion
Some creative people fear that their goals are wrong. This fear is usually connected to a lack of self-worth.
If you don’t feel that you are deserving of accomplishing your goals, you probably won’t.
If you feel unworthy of your goals, you will fear being mocked and ridiculed by others.
Here’s a simple way to know if your goals are genuine: they came from inside you. If they sound too good to be true, you’ve hit upon the sweet spot.
Don’t forget; if your goals aren’t from you, they won’t motivate you. Pleasing others should be the furthest thing from your mind, as achieving your desires will prove just as valuable to you as the people you care about.
As for the self-worth issue, let it play itself out. Don’t try to fix it.
You are worthy of your goals whether you know it or not, so write them down, and tell your brain too.
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