Many people set goals for themselves, which is a good thing. Unfortunately following through on those goals becomes a very difficult thing for most and most goals are never achieved.  In this article, we will explore some techniques that you can use to help you meet the goals that you set for yourself.

Let us begin though by becoming very clear on what you want your goals to be. To do this, you will have to spend some time alone and explore your inner visions. See a picture of your ideal future self and work backwards to find out what you will have to do to get there.

It’s also possible that you already have a list in your head of all of the things that you would like to accomplish in the next little while. This will not be enough though; you have to put all these goals on paper. You have to create for yourself a sort of mission statement that will give you the guidance that you require to get yourself going in the right direction.

Putting your goals on paper makes them real and takes them out of the chaotic mess that your mind can become sometimes. Creating a mission statement for yourself, with as much detail as possible, allows you to have the focus that will allow your mind to begin to work on solutions to possible obstacles and to prepare itself to work hard for your benefit. Get detailed; plan your short term and long term objectives, but more importantly create an inspirational paragraph that will represent what you plan to accomplish. Remember to write all this down on papper.

It is also very important that your goal is a dream that you have, not a deadline that you have to meet. If you think of a goal as a deadline, then the pressures that you put on yourself will never allow you to meet those goals. Deadlines seem logical since this is how things seem to work mechanically but people are far more complex than a mechanical instrument. You have to take into account the fact that you are a person with feelings; when you don’t consider your psychological make-up, you are not taking advantage of your full potential.

When you try to achieve a dream, as opposed to meet a deadline, you are following an inner vision. You look forward into the future and you are inspired to use all of your abilities to complete this goal because you have a deep desire to fulfill a wonderful dream. Learn to see your future goals as wonderful dreams and you will naturally create a forward momentum that will give you the strength and impetus to achieve them.

Then just follow your natural impetus. You will see that when you are trying to accomplish a desired dream, you are naturally excited to get started. So use that energy to get started and focus on this good feeling. When you run out of energy, just take a break and then later or the next day go over your written list again until you get excited and once again go for it. Focus on those good feelings and ignore the lazy ones; just take it as a sign that you need a break for now and that you will re-read your goals later and begin excited again. Then re-read, fine tune, get excited, and get going on your wonderful dream again.

And if you need some final bit of inspiration, then there is nothing more inspirational than your death. If you were to die tomorrow, then what would you have accomplished today? A great way to put this together is to think about what your tombstone, or better yet your obituary, would say. Think about what people would say at your wake. As gruesome as this might seem at first, please try to think about what others would be saying about you after your death.

Would they talk about all of the things that you did or would they be talking about what a quiet and dull life you led? Would they talk about the fact that you died at such a young age because of your eating habits or would they talk about the fact that you were in amazing shape and looked great even at your advance age?

Become the person that you always wanted to be before it’s too late. Use the techniques and suggestions in this article to achieve all of the dreams that you have. Learn to use your mortality as a great friend to get you motivated to act your best.