We all have goals.  Whether it is to pay off all your credit card debt, start a new business or save $20,000 in cash, we’re frequently led astray by greed, bad habits, negative thinking, and life in general.  I am all about stopping to smell the roses and enjoying life around me. I have to admit though, sometimes I find that I stop too long, and by the time I know it, I’m inhaling a bee and have lost sight of my objectives.

Just the other day, I was checking Facebook.  I only intended on reading the most current “News Feed”.  Read to the bottom and clicked on “Older Posts”.  Did the same for the next group of messages that appeared.  Clicked on.  Rinse and repeat.  By the time I realized it, 4 hours has gone by.  4 HOURS! Sigh.

Here’s what I recommend to make sure that you stay the course:

1) Keep it simple. Practice simplicity.  Do one thing great instead of three things good. For multiple goals and more complex ones, break them up into pieces and set a timeline for each segment.  That’s what goals are anyhow: the culmination of a series of simple tasks.

2) Take baby steps.  You can’t go from A to Z just like that. Each day, take a step in the direction of achieving your financial goal. What can you do today? It could be anything. If you want to start a business, it could be as small as researching business strategies on Google or Bing. If you want to be a successful stock investor, you can start by paper trading or reading investment books. If you take in or try to accomplish too much in a short amount of time, you may encounter mental exhaustion or analysis paralysis where both will lead you astray. Sometimes, in order to gain ground, you have to slow down.

3) Stay motivated and strategically visualize.  Close your eyes and visualize what reaching your goal will be like. Imagine how you would feel.  Envision how your life would be different.  Smell the air (if you can imagine that, damn you’re good).  Remember what’s in it for you.  Take into account whom you are doing this for.  Be mindful of your deepest desires.

4) Remind yourself constantly. Keep your goals on you at all times. A wallet or mobile device will suffice. Write yourself sticky notes and place them in highly visible areas you frequent. Inform your loved ones and have them remind you if you tend to be distracted often. I keep mine on my iPhone.

5) Surround yourself with positive like-minded individuals.  Their optimism and vision will encourage your progress.  Ignore the naysayers.   I don’t even bother telling these people my plans or accomplishments.  Their negativity is contagious.

6) Live a balanced life.  Live a comfortable life, not a wasteful one.  Manage your money wisely so it does not manage you.   Do not keep yourself poor by appearing to be rich. It’s a fool’s game that has no winner.   I learned the hard way. I took out cash advances to pay for my monthly rent. What was I thinking?

Six tips to stay on track may appear overwhelming, but really all you are doing is 1) simplifying the application process and 2) reinforcing it with positive thinking and complementing action.

How do you keep yourself on track?  I would love to hear your comments.   Until next time!

Au Revoir

Photo Credit: diP

Related posts:

1. Losing Sight of the End Goal