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"7 Steps To Achieving Your Goals"

From: Jason Stanley, 3rd Dan Shitoryu
February 1, 2002

Quite often we justify our lack of commitment with poor excuses. How many people have you heard say something like, "I joined up at the gym for 3 months and by Easter I will be rippling with muscles..."? You see them 4 weeks later and inquire about their fitness campaign.

They tell you they trained really hard for the first two weeks and in weeks 3 and 4 they didn't go because they had to go out, or they worked late or they just lost interest or just got out of the rhythm. They wasted a couple of hundred dollars doing something halfheartedly.

One of the most difficult things to do is stick to a plan. Even more difficult sometimes is setting the goal, which should actually come first. Think about it. You might go to the gym and the instructor devises you a plan to 'build up muscle' or 'to tone your body'.

So they give you a sheet with some exercises on it and you follow it religiously right? Not quite. What happens when you miss a week? What incentive/punishment/reward system is in place? Usually not any. And because the original goal was wishy-washy and not specific there is no way for you to gauge your progress and formulate a specific plan with a reward system.

Achieving success is hard work, no doubt, but can be more easily measured and attained with 7 simple steps.

Step # 1 - Set a Goal
Set a targeted (specific) goal, such as - get my black belt, or lose 5 kilos. Don't set a nonspecific goal like - to train hard and improve or to lose weight . You can measure the former but how can you measure the latter? Your goal must be measurable.

Also, your goals should be realistic and set for you and you only. Don't set your targets based on other people's skill or performance levels. Everyone is unique and some individuals learn and develop more quickly.

Step # 2 - Research
Find out what is involved. You need to know everything: the details of what's involved as well as a comprehensive overview. So in the example of getting your black belt, you would first obtain the syllabus and go over it with a fine toothed comb. You don't want any surprises.

Step # 3 - Set a Deadline
A goal without a deadline like a race without finish line. How will you know you've successfully completed the race or if you've still got 10 miles to go. You need to give yourself a realistic target date of when you aim to complete your goal. So the example above might now be - to get my black belt by September 2002.

Step # 4 - Work Backwards
What do I mean work backwards?

By starting at your target and working backwards you can figure out exactly what you need to do in order to achieve your goal on time. If you could go forward in time, stand at the goal and look back to today, you could identify every single step required to achieve your goal. You could formulate your plan complete with step by step instructions. By identifying the target, you can then do the mathematics and work backwards, step by step, to today.

At this step you need to identify everything required to obtain your goal. You've done your research (step 2), so your already know generally what is involved. However, now the details are more important in order to break your goal into attainable steps. You can then set sub-goals or mini-goals as part of your overall plan. You would follow the system in the same way as for the major goal.

You then simply follow the steps you have created from start to finish. (Note: You only work backwards when planning and identifying your goal.) You will then have created the precise path to your goal, rather than a loose plan that will have you wandering all over the place without a destination in sight.

Step # 5 - Take Small Steps
I can't stress this enough. Start small. Why? Because if your initial target is too ambitious and you fail, you won't feel like setting a second goal: If your steps are small and attainable, you'll succeed more often, improving your confidence and increasing your chances to go on to the next step. Each mini-goal is a goal in itself, however it is easier to manage. You have bite size pieces to work with rather than an open-ended, wishy-washy plan with no goal. This is why you must break down your major goal.

Consider the analogy of a motor vehicle. It is a complex machine in its entirety, would you agree? However if you broke it down to it's smallest pieces, you would see that it is simple parts like nuts and bolts. Your overall plan might be just as complex and as difficult to comprehend, but each individual step will be much simpler and easier to handle. Once you accomplish the first step, you move on to the next.

Start small. Be realistic. Achieve. Move on to the next goal.

Step # 6 - Constantly Remind Yourself
Once you have formulated your plan, constantly remind yourself of your goal, so that it's not left half finished. Put it on your refrigerator or somewhere else where it will always be in your view. A journal is another good way to mark progress and be reminded of your goals.(Click here to read an article about keeping a journal)

It is important to remind yourself of your progress and of your goal. You don't want to end up like your friend who paid up for their gym membership and then made excuses do you?

Mark your progress as you achieve each mini-goal, by crossing it off a list, or ticking the box next to it. This gives you a sense of achievement. You can see where you started, how far you've come, and where you need to go in order to fulfill your dream. Because it is constantly in your mind, you will also become more focused on it. You are then less likely to make poor excuses for not doing it as you are constantly thinking about it. Your goal will be in the forefront of your mind.

Step # 7 - Reward Yourself
Rewarding yourself is a good way to stay interested. You know that when you achieve the next goal or set of mini-goals, you should reward yourself. Remember your rewards must be something that make you feel good. Don't reward yourself with something you don't really want, otherwise you won't be driven to achieve. Also, your reward must be in alignment with the goals you set. Don't set a mini goal to train 4 nights this week and then reward yourself by taking a month off training.

As an example, if your major plan had a time line of 3 months with 12 steps, you could set mini rewards for every 4 steps you complete. In this example you would be rewarding yourself every month or so, which is healthy for your mind as well as your success. You don't want to reward yourself every week, because it then becomes routine. Remember a reward must be special and something that keeps you motivated, but can't be too far out of reach because it will seem like you never get there.



Now that you have 7 Steps to Achieving your Goals, here are two simple examples of how to apply this method.

Example A.
1. Major Goal - To learn the kata, Seienchin.

2. Research - Find out how many moves are in this kata - about 50 individual techniques in Seienchin, depending on your style and how you break down each movement.

3. Set a Deadline - 12 weeks.

4. Work Backwards - do the mathematics... 50 moves, 12 weeks, 2 weeks for revision. Therefore 50 moves/10 weeks = 5 techniques per week. 2 weeks spare to put the entire kata together.

5. Take Small Steps - So for the first week, just learn the first 5 movements. The second week, add the next five movements to the first 5 techniques. Week 3 add the the next 5 to the first 10, etc.

6. Remind Yourself - Write your plan down on a piece of paper and put it on your fridge or in your journal. Cross off or tick each week as you complete it.

7. Reward Yourself - After the 4th week, if you have learned the first 20 moves and can perform them in sequence without a mistake, reward yourself, with a trip to the movies (or similar).

Follow this procedure until the beginning of week eleven, in which the kata will be complete. Then practice the entire kata and continue to work on it in entirety for the remaining 2 weeks. This is a good way to refine your kata as you learn. If you learn it all in one hit, you may have too much to work on at once. By refining each portion as you go, by the end of the 12 weeks, you will have a very well practiced and finely tuned kata.

I have attached an example of how to structure your task list below. If you miss one week, you must make it up as soon as you can, or you will end up with your target date blowing out. Simply tick off every week you achieve and put a cross for the weeks you don't achieve. You can keep track of your progress as you go. It's a good feeling when you can check off the next week as it gives you a sense of progress and achievement and puts you one step closer to attaining success.

Task - To Learn Seienchin by May 1993
Today's date - 1st February 1993
Time frame - 12 weeks.
Known quantities - 50 moves. 12 weeks. Require 2 weeks to spare.
The mathematics - 50 moves, 10 weeks. -> 5 moves x 10 weeks. -> 5 moves per week.

Week 1 - Achieve -
Week 2 - Achieve -
Week 3 - Achieve -
Week 4 - Achieve -
Week 5 - Achieve -
Week 6 - Achieve -
Week 7 - Achieve -
Week 8 - Achieve -
Week 9 - Achieve -
Week 10 - Achieve -
Week 11 - Achieve -
Week 12 - Achieve -

Example B.
1. Major Goal - Add 5 more fighting combinations to my repertoire

2. Research - ask Sensei for a new one each week, obtain new technique from books, articles or magazines

3. Set a Deadline - 5 weeks

4. Work Backwards - do the mathematics - 5 weeks/5 combinations = 1 per week.

5. Take Small Steps - Focus on the one technique I have dedicated myself to learn.
Week 1 - Practice Combination 1 only
Week 2 - Practice Combination 2 only,
etc. Don't worry about the previous week's combination. You won't forget it, because you wrote it down in your journal, right?

6. Remind Yourself - Revise my notes constantly, but only practice the one technique for each week. Keep a list of the 5 new combinations on the fridge.

7. Reward Yourself - Because this example is only a few weeks from start to finish, no additional reward should be necessary. The reward is in the goal itself: Becoming a better fighter, expanding knowledge and understanding.

At the end of the fifth week you have 5 new combinations to call on. You can now revise, tweak them as needed and won't forget them as they are all written down in your journal.

In Closing...
I hope this article will help you in identifying your goals and formulating your plans. There is no doubt that the better prepared you are , the better your results will be. And through preparing a plan like the simple examples above you can accomplish your goals in a far more rewarding and structured fashion.

Structure your plan well and follow it exactly. If you learn faster than what you expected, then you might have been too easy on yourself. Make your next goal a little more difficult. With practice you will learn what targets are realistic for you and will better gauge your plans to reach those targets more efficiently.

Jason Stanley
www.karatetips.com