The number one secret for achieving goals
Written by Alex Poeter
Have you ever worked on a goal and felt that things weren’t moving fast enough? Or you started doubting your abilities to achieve the goal? Maybe you noticed unanticipated things happening that looked to you like something was going wrong? All of this has happened to me many times, and I want to share with you the most important lesson I took away from these experiences.
When we set a goal, we often put our rational or logical mind in charge of leading the process. And while I’m not saying that our rational mind shouldn’t play a role, when we keep it in charge, the following tends to happen:
It believes that achieving goals can only be done through a linear process.
It believes that things have to go a certain way, and anything that deviates from its predicted or expected course gets judged as “wrong”.
It wants to control the entire process because it believes that by maintaining control it can protect us from perceived danger and harm (e.g. failure, being judged by others, etc.).
However, if we step back, we can see that the assumptions behind these approaches aren’t completely true. Pursuing a goal is not always just a linear process, we can all remember mishaps during a process of achieving a goal that turned out to be blessings in disguise, and it’s clear that it’s impossible to control everything that’s going on in the world.
This means that when we put our rational mind in charge, we limit our abilities to achieve our goals. We deny ourselves access to our inner wisdom.
It’s our inner wisdom that gives us the best possible conditions for achieving our goals. But we have to allow ourselves to trust its guidance and overcome the pull of our rational mind.
Trusting in our inner wisdom means we don’t immediately jump to conclusions or judgment whenever something seemingly unwanted happens. Instead, we can shift our focus onto open-ended questions that allow us to access our inner wisdom, such as:
What is this apparent mishap or challenge pointing me towards that I need to see in order to achieve my goal?
What’s my inner wisdom trying to communicate to me so I can achieve my goal in the fastest way possible?
What action step feels truly good and right at this moment?
The key is to notice when judgment comes up, and to not get caught up in it. Instead, engage in an activity that helps you to clear your thoughts. And then try out one of the questions above, or a similar one. Our inner wisdom is always available and ready to support us. But it’s up to us to become still and listen for its guidance.
What can you do today to tune into your inner wisdom for guidance, so you can receive greater support for a goal you’re working on?