Babe Ruth was once quoted as saying, "It is hard to beat a person who never gives up." Setting goals is one of the most essential keys in accomplishing success. Setting goals is not the same as making your New Year’s Resolution—now, that is simply a wish. Merely hoping and wishing for something is not enough to make it come true. Setting your goal is like having a target to aim and shoot for and an action plan on how to get there. Did you know that only less than 3% of individuals have written goals? Research have shown that the most victorious people are the ones who have written and specific goals.

There are actually numerous principles for success utilized in goal achievement. And one of which is to properly program your thoughts. You have to study and review your goals in the morning and at night prior to retiring to bed. Have them written on an index card so that you could review during the day. At night, ask your subconscious mind for certain tools and techniques for assisting you to attain your goal and for solutions to your problems and difficulties. The road to your goal achievement may seem too overwhelming at first. So the easiest way to continue is to break down your goals into smaller steps and pieces.

Begin with the initial step then you can advance onto the succeeding ones. When you make your plans, a more effective way to do this is to start with the end part, then you could work your way until the present. When you plan your objectives, select which kind of categories you will want for your goals. Establish your own time frame—you could have continuing goals like in exercising 3-4 times per week. In addition, you can also have lifetime goals, 10 years from now, 5 years, a year, 6 months ahead, 3 months, monthly or even weekly goals. Measure your improvement and progress.

After completing a step, try to check it off. Watching and witnessing your steady progress is one good motivator. A good example of this is if your aim is to be able to do an accumulated 80 push ups, you can mark off the breakthroughs of 20, 40, 50, 60, 75 and finally, 80! Be specific when you write your objectives and aspirations. And I don’t mean just writing down, "I wanna lose some weight." Instead, write down "I would weigh 125 pounds by January 2009. Also, make sure that your goal statement is in the positive mode. Do not merely say, "I never want to be fat anymore." Rather, say "I would be a healthy 120 pounds by February 2009.

Another very essential golden rule is that of persistence—lots of it! Nobody has ever enjoyed fantastic goal achievement in the absence of persistence. And oh, another thing—never get disheartened by setbacks. They’re all part of the whole process and learning. Often, these act as just course corrections to remind you and get you right back on target.