You may have a dozen or more goals you would like to achieve swirling around in your mind. Your intentions are good, but after a busy schedule and life struggle set in, people often forget their goals. Has this happened to you? Think for a moment of a goal you truly wished to achieve that you never got around to working towards. This type of situation happens to many people throughout their lifetime.
Graduate students at Harvard were asked if they had written down goals regarding their futures. The study revealed only 3% of the students had written their goals down, 84% surprisingly didn’t have goals and 13% had a few goals set in their mind. If you were a student participating in this poll, what would your answer be?
About 10 years later, the research team followed up with these same students who participated in the study. The results revealed that the 3% of students that wrote their goals down were earning an about 10 times more than the remaining 97% of the class combined. However, the 13% of the participants who had kept their goals in their mind did reveal they earned twice the amount of the 84% who didn’t have any goals at all.
The results of this study show that writing down your goals is essential to achieving success. You can start setting goals and writing them down by following the tips below.
- What are your goals? – Take this time to truly understand the goals you want to reach in your life. Start by asking yourself “What type of life do I want to live?” “How much money do I want to make?”
- Write Your Goals Down – Put your goals in print! Write them on a piece of paper, whiteboard, your memo in your cell phone and any other place you can find them easily. An excellent suggestion is writing them on a whiteboard and hanging it in your home or office so you can see it on a daily basis.
- Make a Plan – After writing down your goals, create a three step plan to achieve this goal. For example, Step 1 – graduate college, Step 2 – Intern at a prestigious firm, Step 3 – Apply for a job at top companies in your industry.
Always take your goals seriously and don’t be quick to erase them or delete them from your life. The power of writing down your goals is obvious as seen in the Harvard study mentioned above. Begin achieving your desired results today by writing down your goals! Remember hard work often pays off and allows you to reach your highest goals.