"The Little Voice of Vista": How to Achieve Your Goals
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Today is the second day of the Lunar New Year, and Vista is here to wish you a happy new year. I wish you good health, all the best, and good luck in the Year of the Tiger!
Whenever we usher in a new year, we always have expectations for ourselves and set many goals for ourselves. But I wonder if you have ever thought about a question, that is, how should we achieve our goals?
So, what exactly is a goal? Wikipedia tells us: A goal is a state or result that an individual or organization hopes to achieve in a certain ideal state. Goals usually have a deadline, so they need to be completed within the deadline to be considered as achieving the goal.
We all want to be better versions of ourselves, but if we want to change ourselves, we can only rely on our current selves to take action! The reason why we set goals is actually to promote our own growth through them! Even if you don’t achieve your goal in the end, at least you have made significant progress by working hard towards it!
So, you may want to ask: How should we achieve our goals? Is there any specific method that I can refer to?
A few days ago, I happened to be reading this book “[Super Successful Piano Classroom Workplace Encyclopedia: Seven Things Not Taught in Schools] (https://bit.ly/3scDW8G)” written by Takuhiro Fuji, the head of Japan’s “Lira Music” piano classroom. In this book, the art of goal achievement happens to be mentioned.
Takuhiro Fuji mentioned several methods in the book, which I think are of great reference value. I have excerpted three methods that I think are most worth learning, especially the third method, which I especially want to recommend to you.
Of course, I will also share with you some of my own practices. Now, let’s get started!
The first method: Make a wish list of 100 items
Fuji Takuhiro said that at the beginning of a year, he would write down a hundred “things I want to do this year” or “things that have been postponed.” From small things you can do right now to huge goals, just make a list of whatever comes to mind! He reminded everyone that while writing down a wish, imagine yourself when you realize your wish. The advantage of doing this is that you can write it down happily and have a better chance of realizing it, which can lead to stronger motivation.
When making a wish list, remember to break your actions into small, executable tasks. For example, if you want to learn English well this year, don’t just write that you need to practice English well. This is a bit too general, and you don’t know how to implement it?
It is recommended that you break down learning English into different tasks, such as: learning five new words and an English diary every day, finding time to practice English conversation with foreign friends every week, etc.
Taking the TOEIC test as an example again, if you hope to get a gold certificate, how should you break it down into small tasks? It is recommended that you start by purchasing reference books, planning your study progress for each week, and finding time to write exam questions…
You can use a digital note-taking tool on your computer or mobile phone to record these 100 wish lists, but I recommend that you buy a notebook and write down your wish list one by one in handwriting. Because through your own handwriting, you can strengthen your memory and motivation, and stimulate your brain to start working in the direction of practice.
Of course, just writing a wish list is not enough. In addition to taking action, I also want to remind you to review the 100 wish lists you have written to confirm the priorities that should be implemented.
Speaking of this, it also reminds me of my good friend Brother Fu. Many people know that Brother Fu is a successful professional lecturer and best-selling author, but do you know the secret of his success?
Wang Yongfu Teacher once wrote an article. He said that every year he would write down 50 goals, and then select the main projects that he most hopes to achieve.
Brother Fu said that as long as he can achieve different big goals every year, he will be full of gratitude. Because he knows very well that many goals, in addition to relying on his own efforts, sometimes also require the blessing of God.
Brother Fu said: If you write down 50 goals, of course you may not achieve them. But if you don’t write it down, you won’t even know what you want to achieve! If you don’t achieve these goals, it actually doesn’t matter, just keep listing the goals again and keep working hard! Having said that, the reason why I listed 50 goals is actually to give myself a clear direction to pursue and let myself know where to work hard.
Brother Fu is a very good role model. Recently, Brother Fu just passed the Doctoral Thesis Oral Examination and became a veritable Dr. Wang. Congratulations to him!
The second method: Set goals based on SMART principles
Many people should have heard of [SMART principle](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART principle), right? This is a method in management by objectives. The task of management by objectives is to effectively organize and control members’ goals and objectives to achieve better work performance. It was first proposed by the management master [Peter Drucker] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter Drucker) in 1954.
The five letters “S”, “M”, “A”, “R” and “T” in the SMART principle correspond to five English words respectively: Specific (clear), Measurable (measurable), Achievable (achievable), Relevant (related) and Time-bound (time-bound).
The SMART principle is highly respected and is currently widely used in the corporate world. Let me give you a simple explanation below:
Specific: If you want to successfully achieve your goals, it is very critical whether the goals are set clearly and clearly. For example, “I want to control my BMI around 20” will be clearer than “I want to lose weight.” After all, only by having clear goals can we have a direction to work towards, and then work hard to implement and achieve the goals.
Measurable: All work progress and goal achievement rates must have specific measurement indicators, so that the overall implementation progress can be known. For example, “Learn 200 new English words in one month” or “The number of subscribers of my YouTube channel will exceed 1,000 within half a year” and so on.
Achievable: When setting goals, many people always set goals that are out of reach, but this can lead to failure. Therefore, one of the key points in setting goals is to list achievable goals. For example, for a person who doesn’t even know the Japanese syllables, setting the goal of “I want to spend one year passing the Japanese Language Proficiency Test N3 test” will be more reasonable and more likely to be achieved than “I want to write a novel in Japanese.”
Relevant: We must think about whether the goals we set are relevant to our personal growth. For example, if you want to increase your income this year, it may not be enough to just work hard at your original job. You may also have to think about whether there are any part-time opportunities, or make good use of slash methods to develop other financial resources.
Time-bound: Set goals. It is best to set a clear schedule, including a start date and an end date, in order to create a sense of urgency. Also because goals come with deadlines, it allows us to control time more effectively.
The third method: Try to see yourself now three years from now
If I ask you, how do you think you will be different in one year from now? I think you should be able to answer it. But if I ask you, what do you hope you can do in ten years? I think even if you can answer fluently, these answers may not have much reference value.
After all, ten years is really a long time for many people. Coupled with the unpredictable world situation, it is really difficult to predict the situation ten years from now.
However, if you were asked to imagine yourself three years from now, I think it should be fine. Takuhiro Fuji reminds everyone that in order to achieve a better version of yourself, you must first decide where your end point is? If you already have a clear blueprint for what you want to achieve, you will naturally know which resources to make good use of or how fast to move forward.
By painting a picture of yourself that achieves your goals, you will make subsequent actions more meaningful. Three years is neither far nor near, and it can not only make people dream, but also have a certain sense of reality.
It’s a good idea to try to see yourself now three years from now. In addition, I will also write a “five-year diary”. Looking back at every bit of my life that I have experienced in one, two, three, four or even five years, I think there will be very different inspirations!
Success master [Stephen Covey] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen Covey) once said that only by confirming your life goals first can you lead yourself in the right direction. This approach of “I design my life” is exactly the second habit of successful people proposed by Covey: begin with the end in mind.
To put it simply, the approach of [begin with the end in mind](https://wiki.mbalib.com/zh-tw/begin with the end in mind) is to conceive first and then act.
Stephen Covey pointed out that all things go through two stages of creation: mental creation and physical creation. In other words, we envision it in our minds first and then execute it.
The mental creation stage requires leadership, that is, thinking about the purpose and confirming what should be done to achieve the goal; the second stage of material creation requires management, that is, how to arrange time and order of operations in order to accomplish what should be done.
Speaking for myself, whether I am performing my own work or teaching, I like to use the method of starting with the end in mind. Taking the copywriting class as an example, I will ask students to conceive the purpose of their writing and set the target audience before starting to write. If you think clearly before you start writing, you will make great progress.
Stephen Covey said that the practice of beginning with the end in mind is actually to achieve your life by establishing the direction of your life, clarifying your goals, and implementing them every day. I also agree with this view, so I encourage everyone to write down the script of life in the new year, and then continue to move forward. You will definitely achieve the goals you set. I hope the above three methods can help you successfully achieve your life goals. Okay, our program today comes to an end! If you like “Vista’s Little Voice”, please subscribe to my YouTube channel, or go to Apple Podcast Give me a five-star review and share this show with friends who are interested.
Thank you. See you next time. Goodbye.
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Further reading
- “Vista’s Little Voice”: Have you started writing your “Achievements List”
- “Vista’s Little Voice”: Vista Reading 1/30/2022 - 2/5/2022
- “The Little Voice of Vista”: How to Prepare to Work from Home
