How to Set and Achieve Your Goals Using A Neurolinguistic Technique

In this article, I am going to describe a framework on how to effectively set and achieve your goals in life. The key is to mirror people who are constantly reaching their goals. In this framework, I will be describing five conditions for goal setting, setting a compelling future and path building. If you take these three steps separately, you will notice an improvement in your actions. I will show you how to combine all three to propel you to your goals and help you lead a fulfilling and gratifying life.

Let’s begin with the five conditions for setting goals:

1. State the goal in the positive. This may appear to be obvious, but most of us have trouble with stating things in the positive. If I ask a person what they want, they are usually quick to respond with what they don’t want. State in the positive “ I want to earn xxx dollars”, or “I want to land that job”, or “I want to get married.” You can see and feel the power in those statements, as opposed to “I don’t want to work in this occupation”. Your subconscious begins to work on what you tell it, so feed your mind with positive affirming thoughts.

1. Goal is something you can do something about. You need to be able to take charge exhibit responsibility with your goal. If you want to lose weight, then you can do something immediately towards that goal (eat less, exercise). This action will also empower you, giving you the ability to control your destiny.

1. Evidence for the goal. What can you see or feel about the goal? How would you know that you are striving toward the goal? If your goal is to buy a car, it’s pretty easy to figure out that you have attained the goal when you go to the dealer and buy the car. But a feeling is a bit more difficult. You have to base this feeling on yourself.

1. Specific Situation. What situation do you want to have that goal in first? Choose a specific situation in life to begin that goal.

1. Think about the Ecology. How does this goal affect the rest of your life? How does it affect your relationship with your friends and family members? Some people are afraid that if they earn too much money, it may alienate their relationship with friends. This may be causing a bit of self-sabotage, and it may be holding them back from attaining their goal.

You are starting to organize your brain like an achiever. Now let us move onto a compelling future.

I want you to make the picture of your problems smaller in your mind to allow more room for your goals. Take that goal and enlarge the picture. People who achieve their goals quicker see themselves in the goal. For instance, if you want to buy a car, see yourself driving a metallic blue Maserati Quattroporte (now you know mine). You will be enjoying the reward and seeing yourself with the end result.

The next step is to add music to your goal to make it more powerful. Add you favorite type, whether it be jazz, country, hip-hop, it doesn’t matter. Music elicits a positive feeling, and you can even add voices to encourage you. I like to add motivational speakers to my goals (Zig Ziglar and Tony Robbins are two that come to mind). These images need to be made rich and large.

The next part of the framework is Path Building. You need to step into the future and actually feel yourself achieving the goal. Once you have stepped into the future, I want you to look back and view all these steps that have led you. You will begin to notice all of the trials and tribulations as you walk back to the present. It may be having to work on weekends, sacrificing a vacation, or not being able to go to your school of choice.

Now look at these steps from the present and you will have a path to follow towards your goal. Finally, it is time to take one of the most overlooked actions in goal setting: TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION. What can you do today to get you moving in the right direction? It can be something as simple as picking up the phone and making a call. This immediate action will lead to momentum, which will give you the energy to continue along the path.

I would like to give you an example in my life to illustrate goal achievement. I was working at my business for twenty years and was losing that feeling of fulfillment and excitement towards work. I wanted to change businesses and begin to take control of my financial future. So I began with stating my goal in the positive: “I want to create wealth, fulfillment, and financial freedom with my new business, specifically real estate.” My new goal of investing in multifamily real estate was something I could do immediately. I contacted my partner Jake in Knoxville Tn, and we formed a partnership to buy apartment buildings. I had evidence for my goal when we purchased our first investment property, and I knew how this would affect the rest of my life. This massive goal would allow me to work whenever I wanted and would give me the financial freedom to pursue other interests in life and be able to spend more time with my family.

I made this goal bigger in my mind, adding sounds of Beethoven as my children played on the piano. I also interjected sound bites from Tony Robbins to add color and power to my goals. I stepped into the future and recognized certain pitfalls and stumbling blocks. Where was I going to get the money, where were we going to find deals, how are we going to run these properties? Now I looked at these steps from the present and traced my path towards my goal.

Finally, I took massive action. We bought our first property, and within four months, we purchased another. Within three years, we have been able to accumulate over 600 units. I would have never been able to achieve my goal without this framework, and I know you can use it to hit any of your goals, whether they are small or huge.

My desire was to be able to give you a framework to follow when setting goals for your future. Unfortunately, only approximately four percent of the population sets goals for their future. Is it no coincidence that about that same amount of people are financially free by the time they reach the age of retirement. Set targets for yourself so you know what you want and it will be easier for you to hit those targets.

Please leave a comment below and tell me how you set goals for your life!