Smart Goals Setting

Goals are accepted as being important in achieving success but for them to be more than a vague "wish" they need to have specific characteristics. One acronym that helps when you are writing out your goals is SMART.

That stands for:

Specific
To make sure you're goal setting rather than wishing it's important to get down exactly what it is that you're targetting. An example would be rather than putting "I'm going to lose some weight" writing down "I will lose 5lbs". Doing it that way would give you a target that's specific instead of vague.

Measurable
Similar to specific this means writing down something that is clear and concrete. If you write down "I will lose 5lbs by the end of the month" there can only be success or failure because come the last day of the month you either will or will not weigh 5 lbs less than you currently do.

Achievable
Your goals need to be set so that you can achieve them with a bit of a stretch but not so much that you're setting yourself up for failure. Saying that you want to lose 40lbs is achievable if you're heavily overweight but if you only weigh 100lbs to start with you're much less likely to hit your target.

Realistic
As with the achievable category your goal needs to be something that's possible. If you've decided that you want to lose the 5lbs in this example setting a target of doing so the day after tomorrow is pretty unlikely short of surgical intervention! To lose it within 4 weeks is much more realistic.

Time Sensitive
With any goal it's important that you have a date set that gives you a deadline to aim for. Without it you have very little pressure to help drive you forward.

Remember SMART people set SMART goals!

By definition, an affirmation is a statement repeated time and again either verbally or mentally -- or written down. The words of the affirmation statement - in themselves -when spoken, thought of, or written *without* a pictorial (visualized) or emotional connection -- make a very weak affirmation.

Affirmations, when worded correctly -- and when emotionally charged - are able to tap into the unlimited creative power of your subconscious mind, and manifest your desires.

Affirmations are not all created equal. Some are, of course, better than others. There are *power affirmations* that have been proven again and again to work - and I'll reveal some of them in a moment.

When you examine the structure of these power affirmations, you, too, can learn how to create your own powerful affirmations for your specific purposes.

Consider the following:

"I am what I choose to be."
"All my needs are met instantaneously."
"I love and accept myself exactly as I am."
"_____________ comes to me easily and effortlessly."
(Fill in the blank with what you desire.)
"I am now perfectly healthy in body, mind and spirit."
"I now create my wonderful, ideal life."

What do the above power affirmations have in common?

1) They're stated in the present tense.

An affirmation is more effective when stated in the present tense. For example; "I now have a wonderful job." Avoid affirming something in the future tense, e.g. "I am going to have a wonderful job" or the results will always be waiting to happen.

2) They express a positive statement.

Affirmations need to be stated in the most positive terms possible. Avoid negative statements. Affirm what you do want, rather than what you don't want. For example: "I am no longer sick." This is a negative statement. Instead, affirm: "I am now perfectly healthy in body, mind and spirit." This statement is much more powerful as it is positive and reinforces your desired goal and doesn't confuse your subconscious mind with the mention of the undesirable condition.

3) They're short and specific.

Short affirmations are easy to say, and have a far greater impact at the subconscious level than those which are long and wordy. Keeping them specific and to the point adds power as the idea is uncluttered by extraneous elements.

The mechanics that make affirmations powerful are:

* Repetition
The importance of repetition cannot be overemphasized. It imprints the affirmation into your subconscious mind.

* Emotions
Get involved, be passionate, and use your emotions. Think carefully about the meaning of the words as you repeat them rather than just writing, typing or saying them.

* Persistence
Practicing affirmations with persistence achieves results much sooner than practicing them periodically. Successive sessions will have a compounding effect.

* Belief
You don't necessarily have to believe your affirmation initially, in order for it to work. Belief will grow with your forthcoming successes. What you do need is the ability to *feel* what it would be like when the desire you're affirming is fulfilled, or your need met. Every time that you have a need -- and that need is met -- a certain "feeling" is produced in you. You need to evoke that same feeling when you state your affirmation. In other words, you need to feel with every fiber of your being that what you desire has already happened. Without this feeling, your affirmation is powerless.

* Impress Yourself
Personalize your affirmations. They must *resonate* with you -- feel right for you. The stronger your connection with the affirmation, the deeper the impression it makes on your mind, and the sooner you will experience positive results.

So there you have it - the simple formula for creating affirmations that work. Based on the above, you can easily create your own affirmations to manifest any desire or need you have in life.

TIP: Although the practice of affirmations is easy, some people find it challenging to repeat the affirmations continuously while maintaining the highly charged emotional state necessary in making affirmations work. DID YOU KNOW... that you can use your computer to make the affirmation process effortless - and that you can automate those challenging aspects (such as maintaining highly charged emotions), and thereby, manifest your desires more quickly? Go to Jeff Staniforth's site to find out how.

Join the millions of People Around the World Who Have Discovered the Power of Affirmations. Send for FREE subscription of "Affirmations For The Mind" Tips and Techniques Newsletter, the premier publication on self-improvement & personal growth. Each issue contains powerful sample affirmations that have been tested and proven to get results.Click Here to get your copy.

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Appeared in "Affirmation For The Mind" newsletter and reproduced by kind permission of Jeff Staniforth
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