The simple exercise of writing a specific and measurable goal down is enough to produce successful results. All you have to do is to articulate a goal, that you can actually measure and then write it down. That act alone will produce success.
I have proven this empirically myself, but my claim is also backed by scientific research. One of the most notable studies was performed in 1979. This study asked incoming Harvard MBA students about their goal setting. 84% of them had no specific goals at all. 13% had goals, but had not articulated them in a measurable way and had not written them down. 3% had written, specific goals that were clearly measurable. In 1989, they made contact with these students again. The research indicated that the 13% that had goals were earning in annual income twice what the 84% were earning combined. The 3% that had specific written goals were earning 10 times more then the 97% of the others combined.
Bottom line. Write your goals down. Take time to set specific and measurable goals and that act by its very nature produces results. So I have a question. If the studies I have read are somewhat accurate, 95% of you have not done this. You have not taken the time to write your goals down. Why? Quite clearly if you do it, you will get better results, so what is stopping you?
Time? You are honestly going to say that you do not have time to set goals. If you do not even have the time to work on creating the goals, then when are you ever going to have the time to actually work on them?
I do not even know the other excuses we come up with. I think they are all around avoiding the thinking that is involved. You want to be perfect, so you craft goals that are impossible. The impossible takes a lot of effort, so you never get to it. You put it off, and off, and off.
Perhaps we are afraid? Fearful of setting a goal and then failing. Setting the wrong goal and therefore are reluctant to commit. Fear causes us to put off goal setting because we are avoiding failure.
Honestly, I think writing goals down, and then secondly making sure those goals are very specific and distinctly measurable is probably one of the most important things to accomplish. I would advise to anyone who cares to listen that if you do not have a set of written goals, then set out immediately to do so.
When I was 19, I wrote down several goals. I still have the notebook that I wrote them in. They all came true. In January of 2018, I wrote some goals down, many of those have come true and a few of them are well on the way. Writing goals down seems so simple, but it just works. So why not just write it down?
Guy Reams
