When setting a goal, it is very important to estimate how long it will take to achieve your target. Once you have an idea of a time frame, you will then be in a position to stipulate a specific date. By identifying a completion date, this will ensure a much greater chance of being successful. Put the date on your calendar, and imprint this date into your mind!

This seems simple enough. Unfortunately however, many people set totally unrealistic time frames, which will set them up to fail.

Some goals will take a number of hours each week to achieve. For instance, if you are studying for a particular qualification, you will need to be able to dedicate a certain number of hours each and every week. If an exam date has been set, then this is the time frame that you will need to work to. If the course requires 20 hours of study per week, you are unlikely to succeed if you dedicate only 5 hours.

Ensuring that you make best use of your weekly allowance of time is crucial. We all have the same amount of time in a week – 168 hours to be precise.

How do you spend your time, and how much time can you dedicate to achieving your goals?

I suggest the following to help to ensure that you make the best use of your available time.

1) Decide how much time you will need to devote each week to achieve your goal.

2) Keep a diary over a period of a week and record all of your activities. Be as accurate as you can to discover how long you spend on each. Remember that eating, sleeping, washing and so on do take time, so always include these every day activities!

3) Be honest with yourself. If you spend 3 hours a day watching TV, write that down.

4) Now review what you do during the week, and how much time you spend on each. Just like budgeting money, where can you make time savings?

5) Identify times in the week that could be used in the pursuit of your goals. If you spend a high percentage of your week watching television, I bet that much of this could be used to achieve your dreams instead!

6) Once you have identified time periods to devote to goals, get hold of a weekly planner and color in the periods that you will schedule as your “goal achievement time”.

7) Follow your schedule and you will find that it will soon become a part of your routine.

Not only will you start achieving some really worthwhile goals, but you will also gain a wonderful sense of achievement, which will spur you on to achieve more and more!

There are many people who try to achieve what they desire in life. Unfortunately, many people don’t accomplish what they set out to do.

Here are some of the top mistakes that people make, and ways in which these can be avoided.

1) Setting timescales that are impossible to reach. Often, people will set totally unrealistic time frames to achieve goals in their lives. Before deciding on a completion date, take careful consideration of your other commitments. Don’t expect to be able to devote 3 hours every night to a particular goal if you only have one hour of spare time!

2) Failing to write down goals. You must commit your intentions to paper to know exactly what you are aiming for. This also acts as a form of contract with yourself, and you are therefore much more likely to carry it through.

3) Setting goals that are not going to make a marked difference to their lives. Achieving is hard work, so you want to make sure that the benefits of accomplishing your goal will far outweigh all of the effort that has gone into it.

4) Failing to consider the true extent of the work that needs to be done to achieve the result. Before starting on the road to a particular goal, carefully consider what is actually involved to ensure a successful outcome.

5) Setting goals that are far beyond their own capabilities. Be honest with yourself. Are you going to be mentally and physically able to achieve your goal?

6) Trying to achieve something that they do not enjoy doing. A sure way to get your motivation plummeting is to attempt to achieve something that you hate doing. Life is to be enjoyed, so avoid setting goals that aren’t going to fulfill you.

7) Expecting far too much of themselves. The challenges that you set yourself should stretch you, but you shouldn’t be setting yourself up for failure by setting goals that will be too difficult to accomplish.

If you find it difficult to achieve goals that you’ve set yourself, start off with smaller, less demanding tasks. As you accomplish these, you will find that your confidence levels will increase, and you can set yourself more difficult assignments. As you grow more and more confident in your abilities, you will be able to successfully achieve more and more in your life.

If you find yourself thinking negatively, you really must do what you can to change your thoughts! Negative thinking will place you on a downwards spiral, and it will most certainly rub off on other people.

Here are 7 of my tips to help you think more positively!

1) Stop what you are doing and sit down. Grab a piece of paper and write down what is causing you to think negatively. Be specific and put your thoughts down in detail.

2) Is it a particular situation or person that is causing the problem? Think about it in depth. Is it really your fault that you find yourself in this predicament? Often bad situations are caused by events outwith your control.

3) Try to identify other causes for the problem. Don’t blame yourself! If you spend time thinking about it, you are bound to discover outside influences that contributed to the situation.

4) Once you are able to confirm that these events have occurred due to something outwith your control, you are then able to stand back and stop pointing the finger of blame at yourself. This will be a major breakthrough as far as your thinking is concerned.

5) Review your circumstances again. Identify the positive aspects of the situation. There will be at least one. List every positive aspect you can think of. You should now be thinking of your situation much more positively.

6) What problems still exist with your situation? Work out ways in which you will solve that problem. And of course, ensure that you take action!

7) By addressing these remaining issues, you should be able to turn what was once a negative event into a much more positive experience. You will have learned a great deal from it, and add it to your life experiences!

When you find yourself thinking negatively, identify the causes that were outwith your control. Then take control of the situation by finding a solution to the problem. Nothing in life is truly insurmountable – you just need to take time to look at it more closely and find a solution!

The benefits of having a positive attitude are immense. Not only are you much more likely to be successful in life, but there are numerous other advantages to looking “on the bright side”.

Here are 7 of the best!

1) Perhaps the most important benefit is better health. By thinking positively, you will tend to look after yourself more, with the result that you will be healthier. Being happy and having the ability to laugh certainly makes you feel better!
2) Positive thinkers have less stress in their lives and have much more control over how they react to events. If something bad happens, optimists will review the situation. They will then assess what the actual problem is and try to resolve it. It is much better to take control and sort out the problem. These are major contributions to reducing stress in your life.
3) It is probably fair to say that those with a positive attitude will have more friends and a better social life. People with a negative attitude are best avoided whenever possible!

4) Positive people will be more confident. They look forward to meeting others and accepting daily challenges.
5) They will also have a greater belief in their own abilities. Challenges and opportunities will be regarded as possible rather than impossible.
6) Positive thinkers enjoy life more. Getting up in the morning with a positive attitude will ensure that you are able to face the day ahead with energy and enthusiasm.
7) Optimists look forward to the future. As positive people enjoy life more, they look forward to meeting the opportunities and experiences that life presents.

They appreciate that every day will help them to increase their knowledge and experience. Positive thinkers plan ahead to help themselves get nearer to reaching their full potential!

Do your utmost to be a positive person and to surround yourself with positive people and experiences. Enjoy the benefits of having a positive attitude!