If you're less successful than you'd like to be, there's a good chance that your goals and values are at odds with one another. Success is virtually impossible if our objectives are antithetical to our core values. We loathe acting in ways that are inconsistent with our values and if there is a mismatch, something must give.
If you are perpetually unsuccessful in achieving your goals, your values may conflict with them.
Use these techniques to set values-based goals:
1. List your current values.
Have you ever considered your values? The majority of people have never given their values second thought. This is unfortunate, as people's values shape their beliefs, decisions, and actions.
Take 30 minutes and list your values. Then, put them in the order of importance to you.
Determine if your behaviour is consistent with your values. What set of values would represent your behaviour if there is a mismatch?
Most of us have an idealized view of our intentions, values, and characteristics.
2. What are you attempting to achieve?
What are your life's objectives?
What do you wish to achieve?
Do you want to acquire wealth?
Get abs?
Write a film script?
Protect the whales?
Build a real estate empire?
The first step to achieving great success is to define your goals.
3. How do your current values affect your objectives?
If your values and goals do not align, your chances of achieving success are bleak if nothing changes.
For instance, if you believe that wealthy people are inherently evil, you will never amass significant wealth.
If comfort is your top priority, you will never complete a triathlon.
Do you value having a great deal of free time? A goal that requires significant effort will not be achieved.
Evaluate your objectives and your values. Are your goals consistent with your values? Do your values support your goals?
4. What is the ideal set of values to support your objectives?
Imagine you could create a person from scratch who would be suitable for achieving your goals. What characteristics and values would they possess? What would be different about you if you held these values?
Consider the people you know who have accomplished similar goals to yours. What would you say about them?
5. To what extent can you match these values?
How can you rearrange your values to fit the ideal set? The closer you can get, the greater your chances of success.
6. Reinforce the essential values.
Consider that your goal is to save $100,000 for the down payment on a cottage. Suppose you have determined that you must prioritize saving money over spending. How can you instil this value and make it a part of yourself?
Convince yourself that you are this kind of person: For instance, pick up and save the change you find on the ground. Cut coupons. Find stress-relieving activities other than shopping. Save a portion of your income as soon as you receive a dividend from your business.
When you repeatedly demonstrate to yourself that you possess a value, those actions will build and strengthen that value.
Are your goals and values compatible? They must be. When a mismatch exists, it is essential to adjust your values or dreams. There is a limit to the amount of resistance one can overcome. Achieving success is much simpler when your values and intentions are highly compatible.