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Achieve Your Goals With Four Steps

Typically, the end of a year brings thoughts and reflections of what goals we achieved, or perhaps did not meet, and what our dreams and goals are for the new year. Many people choose to make new years resolutions, but I would like to focus more on goals and how to achieve them. How do we make our dreams true, what do we need to do to really achieve our goals? Why do some never achieve their goals? What about the economy, how can I make these dreams true when the news is so dismal? Let’s look at four important steps, hopefully with a pad and pen nearby.
Step One, Stillness
Learn to be still. Before we can become clear on what we want in our lives, we first need to learn stillness. Find a quiet place where you can be alone with no distractions and begin to practice being still. I say practice, because it does not happen overnight. It requires practice just like any other skill. Breathe slowly in for seven seconds and exhale slowly for seven seconds. Do this at least six to seven times to calm yourself. Do not move, around, listen to your breath. Don’t worry about the thoughts going through your mind, tune more into your breathing rhythm. Neuroscientists now know that our brain states change with breathing patterns, enabling us to create our own calm and peace. When our mind is calm, we can think more clearly. Once we have achieved this stillness, we are ready for the next step.
Step Two: Awareness
The second step is awareness. We have become still in step one enabling us to think clearly about our life situation. Now we must become aware of what is working and what is not working in our lives. It’s time to be completely honest, and remember, we need to be very open and honest about our lives if we truly want to achieve our dreams. Sometimes this is where people fail to make realistic goals, because we do not look truthfully at the ‘isness’ of our life situation. Do not make the mistake of masking or hiding a problem. Make a list of what is working in your life and make a list of what is not working. In this stage, we’re simply looking at our life, not judging or trying to make changes yet. When we’re aware of our life as it is now, we can better reflect on what brought us to this stage of our lives, and how best to move forward. Awareness allows us to have clarity to think and see clearly. We’re now ready for step three.
Inspirational Quotes
"The more often you picture what you want, the more quickly you are likely to see results and to overcome the apparent obstacles between where you are and where you want to be." Charles J. Givens ~
"Hold tight to your dreams, for they are an elegantly engraved invitation to discover life and realize expectations."
"Your success and happiness lie in you." Helen Keller ~
"When we are mindful of every nuance of our natural world, we finally get the picture: that we are only given one dazzling moment of life here on Earth, and we must stand before that reality both humbled and elevated, subject to every law of our universe and grateful for our brief but intrinsic participation with it." ~ Elizabeth Gilbert
Step Three: Focus
Focus is the next step. We are now clear and ready to specify our goals, being able to distinguish between unrealistic and realistic goals or dreams. I like to call them dreams as they are something that comes from a place of stillness within, making them our souls desires. After reviewing the list of what works and what is not working, we can better focus on exactly what we need to do. Obviously, we want to eliminate what is not working with what works. Often it is just doing the opposite, which is not always easy, but necessary if we are making our goals from a place of awareness. Focus on the target (goal), and write down what needs to be done to reach the bulls eye. These are our goals. Perhaps we have one or we have five. Keep them realistic and authentic. Keep them posted or in an easily accessible location to review.
Remember, nothing changes overnight except our attitude. That can change in a moment!
— rebekahELLE
Step Four: Trust
The fourth and final step is trust. We should now have a list of goals and the steps necessary to achieve them. Trust is essential, or we are saying that our obstacles are bigger than our goals, our dreams. None of us are in this world alone, even if living alone. There is a huge network of support ready to help dreams become real. It requires trust in ourselves, in something outside of ourselves, and taking action. It is easy to be pessimistic in today’s world, but it is equally as easy to be optimistic. Be around uplifting people, keep yourself vibrant! With trust and optimism comes enthusiasm and hope. There is a magnetic energy that pulls us toward whatever we focus on. As we trust and focus on our goals, we will be better able to achieve them.
"The most important goal you will ever make is to love yourself and once realized, success is yours to share with others."
Achieve Success, You Can Do It!
Take Action and Achieve Your Goals
In conclusion, the four steps to achieving our goals are stillness, awareness, focus and trust. Once we are sure that our goals have been made from a place of focused concentration and awareness, our future is bright with promise. There will be distractions and pitfalls, and perhaps a goal may need to be modified, but trust that your goals can be achieved and make them happen! The time to take action is now.

Beautiful photos courtesy of Flower Story.
Thank you for reading and please feel free to share a comment.
Wonderful advice for setting goals and actively pursuing them. Now I just need to work really hard on focus. Right now I'm on here instead of focusing on a job I really need to get done soon. Thanks!
Excellent tips! I could use work on setting realistic goals. I've been practicing breaking goals into smaller goals so that they are achievable. I think it makes it easier to meet a larger goal when we see it as a series of steps to that goal.
Your initial image got my attention. It's a lovely picture with all those pretty colors and that inquisitive looking doe. Great article and useful information.
I love these steps and I actually live them. It took me an ungodly amount of time to learn these lessons but I finally did learn them. Now if I can just get my wife to adopt them. :) Great information.
Happy New Year 2013. A great Hub - good and very inspiring with help. Thank you.
A really great inspirational and teaching hub here. I have saved this and shared. You have mention all the keys to be a success and to find ones sense of purpose. It is a real pleasure to read. Wishing you all the very best! :)
Thanks for an informative and inspiring hub.
Amazing photographs and a great article. Thank you so much.I especially liked the Love is Energy video.
Goodness, I only have six months left to try to achieve this year's goals!
thankyou this is a wonderful piece of work. Thankyou. I love the images and content. A very special piece of work - thankyou.
I'm glad you put in the Take Action in the end there. Far too many people have ambition, but no drive.
rebekahElle this is a beautiful hub...inspiring to read; I loved your choice of quotes and video. Thanks.
Thanks for sharing these wonderful thoughts. I really have to TAKE ACTION if I want to really achieve something in 2010. God bless.
nice hub Ms RebekahElle, I have to focus,,and get it done too,
Happy New Year to you and yours, Maita
Nice optimistic hub. Beautiful. My motto from a quiet perspective is similar: First you have a dream, then you make a plan, then action following the plan turns your dream into reality. But I have to go celebrate the new decade now. The fireworks have started. Happy New Year and keep up the good work.
It's beautiful and poignant. I'd like to link it please to one of mine?
This is exactly what I needed to read right now. And that fact exemplifies the network of help you mention. Thanks so much for writing this.
Rebeka, very inspiring hub! I love the way you put achieving your goals into steps. Breaking it into steps makes it seem very manageable. I loved your pictures and the U-tube. Keep writing girl - you are an inspiration! Blessings...
I really have to work on that first step. With my mind constantly running a mile a minute, it's very hard for me to just be still. But the whole science behind it will really be the catalyst for me to keep trying. Thanks for such an inspirational hub.
Wow, this is really inspiring, in addition to beautiful text, each of photos you have chosen speak 10000 words.Happy New Year.
Very nice and inspiring article. Hoping to read you further soon.
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