Goal Setting 101

The Choong Sil Kwan philosophy is, at the very least, a system for setting goals.  If there is anything that I want you to gain from your study of Tae Kwon Do, it is the power of mental focus, self discipline, and the ability to achieve anything in life that you want through the discipline of setting goals.

The following is a guideline for goal setting that will give you a clearer picture of what goals are, how to set them, and (most importantly) how to achieve them.

1. If it is not in writing, it is not a goal.  An unwritten want is a wish or a dream, but it is not a goal.  If it is in writing,then it becomes a commitment.

2. If it’s not specific, it’s not a goal. Vague desires  have no effect. It must be concrete.

3. Goals must be believable. If you don’t believe you can achieve a goal, you won’t pay the price for it.

4. An effective goal is always an exciting challenge. It must demand your best and a bit more or it isn’t going to change your ways and elevate your lifestyle.

5. Goals must be adjusted to new information. Adjust them down if they become unbelievable or up if they’re too easy.

6. Dynamic goals guide our choices. If you want it badly enough, you’ll turn off the TV and get to it. Goals will show you the right way to go on most decisions.

7. Don’t set short-term goals for more than 90 days. If you set a short-term goal that takes more than 90 days, you may lose interest.

8. Maintain a balance between long-term and short-term goals. Long-term goals tend to be hidden in a fog of the future, so have some short-term goals to keep your level of excitement up.

9. Include your loved ones in your goals. Involve them and they’ll back you up when you need encouragement.

10. Set goals in all areas of your life. Have other goals besides career and school objectives.

11. Your goals must harmonize with one another. Whenever you detect a conflict, set priorities that will eliminate the conflict.

12. Review your goals regularly. Remember, long-term goals can only be achieved if they are the culmination of short-term goals.

13. Set vivid goals. Define not only what you want but when you want it, and concentrate on it for a few moments every day.

14. Don’t chisel your goals in granite. Sometimes you have to change goals to conform to your growing awareness of what’s really important in your life.

15. Reach out into the future. The idea of goal-setting is to plan your life rather than taking it as it comes. Begin by setting 20-year goals. Then 10-year, five-year, three year, one year, monthly, weekly, and daily.  In other words, start with where you want to be 20 years from now and work backward.

16. Have a set of goals for every day, and review results each night. Use a day planner.

17. Train yourself to crave your goals. Visualize yourself possessing what you’ve set your goals for.

18. Set activity goals, not production goals. Activity will lead to production by itself.

19. Understand luck, and make it work for you. Expect good things to happen, and they probably will.

20. Start right NOW. Give goal-setting two hours of concentrated thought today. Then set aside 10 minutes a day for the next 21 days to review and revise. After that, two minutes a day and one hour a week is all it will take to keep you on track.

Try this system if you want to achieve your goals and within 21 days you’ll be well on your way to an immensely greater and richer future.

See you in class,

Brian Twitty