Goal Setting: This Is How To Set Better Goals In An Instant

Goal setting is more than getting a pretty planner and writing down hopes and dreams.

While these steps are absolutely part of the process, there are other more important steps to complete first.

Goal setting is how you keep your brain from stressing out.

Stressing out is what stops you from reaching your goals.

Regardless of your input, your brain will set goals.

It can only produce the same results when you don’t teach it anything new.

This is why you need to set goals for you brain, so that it can work in your favor.

Without your intentions your brain cannot learn anything new.

Goal setting literally changes the structure of your brain

Your brain loves a good dopamine hit.

When it receives this chemical it also learns to associate what created it as a good thing.

Your brain doesn’t care about your values or goals.

It is just trying to get more dopamine.

This is why addiction is so powerful.

You are quite literally fighting your brain in an effort to experience better long term results.

You brain is all about creating shortcuts to receive pleasure.

These shortcuts are known as instant gratification.

Instant gratification examples:

• New relationships
• Drinking alcohol
• Overeating
• Gambling
• Doing drugs
• Overspending

These are all sources of instant gratification.

 Your brain is very good at seeking happiness and avoiding pain.

This is because its core function is survival.

It is your consciousness that shows your brain how to thrive, not just survive.

Your brain simply does what it needs to, to keep you alive.

So, it goes for the easiest and fastest solution to escape pain and feel pleasure.

Unfortunately, easy and fast is not always beneficial for you long term.

This is why setting goals is so important for your brain.

What happens to your brain when you don’t set goals?

You recreate your past

Your brain defaults to what it knows.

The only thing your brain knows how to do is what it has already done.

Until you make a plan and commit to learning something new, your brain will keep repeating the same cycles and you will keep getting the same results.

Your brain naturally wants to find what’s wrong.

Your brain’s default function is survival.

It naturally will seek out what is wrong in effort to avoid danger.

When you focus on what’s wrong all the time it makes you unhappy and depletes your vibrancy.

Your brain seeks out quick pleasure.

This manifests as instant gratification.

When you are always looking for quick pleasure, you compromise your future self.

External obsession

When you don’t have personal goals, you obsess over your external world.

Without a goal your brain will try to control people and circumstances that in reality you really have aero control over.

Having personal goals, gives you something to focus on that is within your control.

Overthinking

Overthinking happens when your brain doesn’t know what to focus on.

It begins to prioritize everything the same.

Even insignificant things that are meaningless to your life.

Remember, your brain defaults to surviving.

So not only are you focused on every little thing, but you also spend a lot of time in fight or flight mode over things that are not actually a threat.  

The kinds of goals you set matter

If you have been goal setting for a while, then you have heard of SMART goals by now.

Smart goals help you to believe in the goals you are setting so that the message your brain receives is a positive one.

SMART GOALS:

• Specific (not vague)

• Measurable (detailed)

• Achievable (attainable given where you are now)

• Relevant (related to the area of your life that needs improvement)

• Timely (with a definite deadline).

Positive effects of goals setting

Self-love

When you following through, you begin to feel better.

Following through, results in a higher self-worth because you kept your promises, prioritized your long-term welling.

You start to trust and respect yourself again when you follow through.

Confidence

Delaying instant gratification promotes self trust.

Your brain sees proof that you can do hard things and stick to a plan.

Overcoming obstacles, in the process of reaching your goals, make you feel more capable.

The more capable you feel the bigger risks and harder work you will take on, thus making you more successful.

Productivity

Setting goals increases your productivity.

When you give yourself a goal and a specific time to complete your goal, your brain naturally wants to achieve it.

The quality of your thoughts and giving your brain guidance, are what get in the way of your brains natural desire to produce results.

Consume less

When you are in consumption mode it’s hard to create anything.

Setting goals puts you into creator mode.

You prioritize creating something over consuming.

You save money, time, and replace instant gratification for meaning.

Fun

Don’t forget that setting goals and achieving them is meant to be fun.

If you feel like it is a burden, then you aren’t setting the right goals.

Get real with yourself and figure out what you are passionate about and if the goals you are setting are in alignment with what lights you up.

Final thoughts:

Accomplishing your goals is always a learning curve and you will encounter obstacle you never expected. The most important thing you can do is take some action every day to get closer to achieving your goals.

The universe has a funny way of putting hard things in your life when you start making progress. This isn’t to keep you from your goals but rather to prepare you for the achievement of them.

The easiest way to stay on track when you’re encountering difficult periods is to plan and journal. I suggest journaling about your obstacles.

I always do a brain dump and then focus on what the obstacle is teaching or preparing me for in regards to achieving my goal.

This works because I can plan realistically from a clear head and see the small steps that need to be accomplished each day.

Click here to get the secret goal setting hack that helped me achieve my fitness and career goals.