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Want to Reduce Stress? Set Goals!

What makes 3% of the population successful, 30% moderately successful and the other 67% just exist? Well, according to Harvard Business School researchers, the 3% who are successful have concrete goals that they’ve written down. The 30% who are moderately successful have some type of plan. But the remaining 60% are merely accepting life as it’s dished out to them.

There are many reasons (excuses?) why people avoid setting goals: not enough time, no clear idea of what they want, fear of success, fear of failure, others’ expectations of them and lack of focus. Ironic, since feelings of powerlessness and the inability to control outcomes cause us the most stress. Setting goals could help.

It’s important to write down your goals. Don’t leave them as vague feelings in your head! Each goal must be personal and clearly stated. You cannot be successful if you are not sure what you want. Nor will you ever know if you’ve attained it! This will only cause more frustration.

Dr. Joseph Mercola of the Optimal Wellness Center outside of Chicago offers these suggestions for setting and achieving goals:

• Decide on the exact goal you want to achieve
• Write it down clearly and in as much detail as possible
• Set a deadline to achieve the goal, with measurable steps if it is a large one
• Make a list of all that you need to do in order to achieve the goal
• Put all those “action” steps in order, by priority and sequence
• Take immediate action on the most important item in your list
• Do something each day towards attaining your goal

Goal setting doesn’t have to be time consuming or elaborate. In fact, the simpler, the better. The point is, you’ll never get to where you want to go if you don’t have a clear sense of where you are headed. It’s just that simple – so get started!