Goals, or commitments, as some may put it, are the cornerstone of personal development. It’s what separates the ones which grow from the ones that remain flat. The only way to advance in life is to aspire to get better. We all have heard that our goals must be S.M.A.R.T. These are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and anchored within a time frame. But unfortunately, we have overlooked perhaps the most essential thing regarding goals – writing them down.
We more than often keep our goals in our heads. I was like that for most of my life. I knew what I wanted and I thought that was enough. Yet somehow, it felt like the link between my brain and my life was missing. So how do I get the goal out of my head and into my day-to-day? It turns out keeping the dreams in our heads will likely do absolutely nothing in the natural, physical world.
Be that 3%
With the advent of the digital age, many of us have put away paper and pen. I buy all my books digitally now, and I haven’t written a cheque in ages. The legacy agenda has taken the back seat to your calendar app. But it turns out that we may have perhaps overlooked the most powerful tool when it comes to our goals. Writing stuff down does appear to have its merits, especially when it comes to your goals.
A Harvard Business Study found that among M.B.A. graduates, the 13% who had goals earned on average twice as much as those who didn’t. And among the graduates, 3% of them wrote down their goals. The goals were clear, with plans laid out on how to accomplish them. It turned out that those who wrote down their goals earned 10x more than the 97% who didn’t, including those who had goals but kept them in their heads. The defining factor was pen to paper.
Psychology professor Dr. Gail Matthews also led a study of 267 individuals. She found that writing one’s goals was among three key actions that influenced goal achievement in the workplace (the other two being committing to your goal via directed actions and creating accountability for getting them done).
But why does writing down your goals matter?
It’s tough to pinpoint the reasons why it turned out this way. I actually prefer not to explain it; it just somehow works. There just seems to be something about using your body to manifest what is in your head. Perhaps it is related to what Tony Robbins infamously said – motion creates emotion. Writing goals down appears to be no exception to that.
I don’t have enough time! This is pointless!
You might argue that you don’t have enough time to write them down. To that, I ask – how can you find the time to accomplish your goals when you don’t have a few minutes daily to write them down? You will see that when you start adopting this practice, your goals will change. Your language will change. The end goal will change. You refine your goals in ways that were impossible when stuck in your head. There is a reason why journaling is one of the most important things to keep your mental health in check (I do journal every day, more on this in a future article). Journaling your thoughts on paper dissociates your thoughts from your brain, and you tend to see your ideas in a whole different light when written in front of you. The brain does play tricks on you.
You might also find it cumbersome to write down the same exact words time after time. And I don’t blame you one bit. It does seem silly. But change only happens after daily, consistent action. You are rewiring your brain to commit to them when putting them on paper, and your acts and behavior change to accommodate your goals.
And what if you are too tired to do this? I must admit, there are nights where I am simply too tired to spend 15 minutes writing my goals down. What I tend to do is abbreviate each goal – I keep the wording to a minimum. I would rather still write down a very brief version of my goal than not write at all.
This is bigger than you think
Celebrities and famous people are write down their goals. Grant Cardone will write down his goals once in the morning and again at night. He wants to start his day on the right track and dream his goals at night. Steve Harvey also wrote them down and overcame multiple struggles. He has published many videos on YouTube describing this.
My system
I prefer to use a 21st-century approach to writing my goals down. I’m equipped with an iPad and Apple Pen. I use an online notebook to write my goals every day – once in the morning and again at night. I measure this as well in a goal-setting system, just to make sure I don’t derail. After writing them down so many times, I hardly had to think about what my goals were after a while – they became a part of me. Of course, each time I write my dreams, there are always variations in the wording – I rarely use the same text every time. But the overall message of the goal remains. Of course, you can use a conventional pen and paper as well. I also compliment my goals in a vision board (more on that in a separate post).
I organize my life into 3 areas – personal and career. And within those areas, I have defined my 80/20 priorities (more on that in another blog post). When I write my goals, I list them down in order. I prefer to start with my personal goals and finish with my career ones. Doing it structured this way will ensure that your goals are organized and nicely filed in your brain, making it easier to write on paper.
Live in the future
I also write my goals in the future tense. For example, if I am strength training to gain some muscle, I will say, “I am ripped beyond belief” instead of “I will be ripped one day.” Writing your goals in the future can use the Law of Attraction to your benefit – you apply some commitment to them, and it keeps you accountable. It just works.
Photo by Jan Kopřiva on Pexels.com
The next thing I do is set a deadline as to when I want them completed. That is also very important. Setting a deadline commits yourself to the goal. I always tend to be aggressive with my goals, as I’d rather complete half of an aggressive goal than ¾ of an easy one.
OK … goals are written, now what?
Once my goals are written down, and I have decided on the what, the next step is defining the how. That is where massive action comes in. First, decide on a concrete plan to get there. Then, start at the end and work backward, listing every single thing you have to do. Finally, break it down into as many small tasks as you can – I call these pivot steps.
Why not give it a try?
If you wonder if this makes sense at all, ask yourself how you have been doing on your goals. If you are constantly reaching them, then perhaps you’ve figured out what works for you. But you can’t overlook the studies and examples I’ve cited here. Writing goals down does appear to work. Isn’t it worth a try?