Are you on track to achieve your goals in 2011? Do you wonder why, despite being committed and talented, you haven’t been able to hit key milestones or move-up the corporate ladder more quickly? Could your mindset be holding you back?

Many people are unaware of how powerful their mindsets are. Rather than focusing on what they truly want, their focus and “self-talk” is often on what they don’t want. For example, you may want to be successful in your career, but you’re thinking about all the obstacles in your way. Or you may want a new and exciting position, but you’re focused on the lack of good opportunities. Our thoughts are so powerful because they drive our emotions. Emotions impact the actions we take and the results we achieve. Consider, for example, thinking about things outside of your control, such as the poor economy or your company’s lack of growth. Naturally, emotions such as worry, fear and anxiety will be triggered, which is distracting and can thus compromise your results.

How to Take Ownership of your Success

So, the question is – how do we stay focused and on track to our career goals, and not allow our daily challenges to throw us off-track? One technique could be the way we focus on our goals.

In a study by Dr. Gail Matthews of the Dominican University of California, 267 participants from a variety of industries and backgrounds were recruited for a four-week research project. The participants were randomized into one of five groups. Group one thought about goals they wanted and achieved 43% of them. Participants in the other groups who were asked to write down their goals achieved 64% of them, or 34% more than those who just thought about their goals. The group that wrote and shared their goals along with actions and progress with a friend, created the highest level of success, achieving 76% of their stated goals.1

Certainly, the data supports the benefits of writing down our goals and tracking our progress to enhance our focus, momentum and success. Do you have written goals that you focus on daily? How much more empowered and successful could you be if you did?

^{1Matthews, G. (2007): Study Backs up Strategies for Achieving Goals. http://www.dominican.edu/dominicannews/study-backs-up-strategies-for-achieving-goals.html.}

An mPWR¹⁰ User Stays On Track and hits Career Goals…

“Since beginning mPWR¹⁰ our company has experienced phenomenal growth. We went from doing about $1M in revenue and we’re now at $20MM annually and this was accomplished in six-months time! mPWR¹⁰ helped me crystallize my goal, where I was going and reasons for not going in other directions. It helped me filter out and gave me permission to say no to all the activities that weren’t going to lead me to my goals and focus each day on teh key activities that will take me there.”

George Griffith, Managing Partner and Chief Strategy Officer, ConneXion360