Guidepost: Your Four-Step Strategy for Individual Achievement Success
As a coach, I firmly believe that any success you've achieved is a testament to your innate power, a power we all possess. This power is what enables everyone to achieve their objectives, provided it's wielded effectively.
Your ability to accomplish your goals is primarily determined by four elements over which you have full control. Regardless of who you are or your position, I believe these are the only components you have complete dominion over. They are your thoughts, emotions, actions, and words.
Each time you've achieved a goal, it's a result of effectively utilizing these four elements.
Let me illustrate how you might have employed these elements to accomplish past goals; does your personal history resonate?
1. Precise, Meticulous Visualization of a Preferred Goal
You had a clear and unwavering notion about your objective. You pursued it because you meticulously considered the intricacies of the goal and the reasons for your choice, and you foresaw the advantages that would stem from its attainment. Vague or ambiguous goals, however, meant that your thought process wasn't profound enough, and hence the motivation was lacking as well.
For instance, a few years back, I decided I wanted to regain my previous level of physical fitness. I was plagued by two contradictory ideas: One was "I want to get extremely fit again"; the other was "It will be more challenging now that I'm older and out of shape." I lacked a single, unified notion. Consequently, I didn't exert enough effort and remained out of shape.
Then, just over a year ago, when I realized how much fitness I'd lost, I set an extremely specific objective that I had a clear understanding of. I defined this goal in terms of my body mass index target, diet, and exercise regimen, as well as the trajectory of progression. Result: I'm in excellent shape and enjoy regular exercise—I feel fantastic!
Recall a goal you've accomplished and another goal you didn't accomplish. Consider how clear each goal was at the outset and ponder the contrast.
2. A Persistent Belief that the Goal was Attainable
During your pursuit of the goal, you were convinced it was attainable and always felt the exhilaration of progression. Anytime your faith wavered or you doubted it would happen, you delayed the achievement.
A striking example is my initial failed attempt at fitness, compared to my subsequent success. In the former, I had fluctuating convictions about it, partly because I hadn't hammered out specific objectives and worried about regaining physical fitness at an advanced age. In my latter attempt, however, I remained steadfast and self-assured—and still do to this day.
Take a look at the two goals you remembered earlier and examine the differences in the consistency of your belief and the feelings you held about them.
3. Actions that were Consistently in Synch with the Goal's Demands and Senses of Achievement
You took actions that were in harmony with the demands of your goal and produced feelings of achievement. Every time you took an aligned action, you were presented with evidence of progress. Every time you took no action or misaligned action, you were shown evidence of no progress.
Using my fitness examples once more, in the first instance, my actions were sporadic, insufficient, and misaligned. In the second instance, they have remained consistent and measured, in part because I sought advice and assistance from an expert until I could proceed independently. The positive evidence I continue to see inspires me.
Compare your two chosen goals, and take note of the differences in the aligned actions you took.
4. Consistent Inner Dialogue in Harmony with the Goal, Beliefs, and Actions
Throughout your goal achievement journey, the words you chose for your inner dialogue with yourself kept you in step with your goal, beliefs, and actions. This inner dialogue provided you with the power to stay the course and even make course corrections.
Using my two fitness goals yet again, I can attest that the conversations I had with myself—my self-talk—were quite different each time, and each had a significant impact on my outcomes. I am certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that self-talk is the most potent of the four elements, as it influences feelings and thereby actions.
Compare your same two chosen goals, and observe the extent to which your inner dialogue differed between the two.
Conclusion
Hopefully, after performing this exercise, you'll agree with me that your success in any undertaking, regardless of your role or occupation, is a direct result of effectively employing the four elements above.
The recipe for success, therefore, is: Clarity of goal + Belief in its attainment + Aligned action + Aligned inner dialogue = Achieved goal. Whenever one or more of those elements is missing, your goal achievement will be delayed.
Your thoughts (desires) are the most accessible and human element here—so make sure you give them careful consideration and select these desires judiciously. Get a feel for the emotions necessary by visualizing how you'll feel once the goal is attained. Sustain those emotions by being grateful in anticipation of what is about to materialize.
Then ensure that you execute the actions the goal requires of you to attain it. Lack of action means lack of progress. Misaligned actions mean lack of progress. You can always adjust your actions.
Finally, make sure your self-talk is positive, optimistic, encouraging, and persistent, to keep your thinking, feeling, and acting in line with your goal.
Your personal history is evidence that the success formula works. How will you use this knowledge moving forward?
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In relation to the provided text, here are two sentences that contain the phrases 'david deane-spread' and follow logically:
In the Expert Coaches Council, David Deane-Spread shares his insights on goal attainment, emphasizing the importance of aligning thoughts, emotions, actions, and words for successful outcomes.
familiarizing yourself with David Deane-Spread's approach in the Expert Coaches Council could provide valuable insights for effectively utilizing the elements of success when pursuing personal or professional objectives.
