The power of clear goal setting and the first very important step to achieving great results with minimal effort and in the shortest possible time!

Fitness and wellness now days are such big parts of our life that pretty much every day we have the discussion with our peer circles at work, home, friends about what we have done, read or did in the gym so we have contributed to our health. And this is great because raises general awareness of the society to become healthier and move our generation through the evolutionary process of health and fitness.

But here is the problem- being bombarded with tremendous amount of contradictory information we (society, government, media, etc.) create fitness and dietary dogmas which bring us to endless debates about who is wrong and who is right but quite frankly those who have a clear goal in their minds don’t really care who is right or wrong.

The only thing that they are interested in is how to reach their goals as quickly as possible and what brings the desired results becomes valid stable data for them not what society and stereotype are suggesting. This group of great achievers is only minority in comprising to the rest of us and they do not always start their journeys by being the smartest, the hardest working, the richest, the most knowledgeable, or the most educated (they may acquire those qualities along the way though) people but yet somehow they manage to exceed by outperforming others. What other qualities do they have that set them apart from the rest of us?! In his book “Think and Grow Rich” Napoleon Hill presented 13 specific recurring qualities possessed by the most successful people in our history like Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, Asa Griggs Candler (Coca- Cola founder).

The principles in the book are more relevant to those of us that would like to gain financial success , though couple of those principles are directly transferable to fitness oriented enthusiasts.

1. Crystal clear goal vision
2. And burning desire

The blend of these two qualities is essential for achieving any great results in all aspects in life- business, relationships, sports and of course fitness and wellbeing.

I will start elaborating on burning desire as this principle is a bit more straightforward in comparison to the principle of goal setting. Burning desire will help you to get where you want to go for the following reasons:

1. Burning desire will help you to tap into something called by Napoleon Hill “infinite intelligence”. In short – Because of burning desire to accomplish something an individual gains the ability to not only attract but also spot the right specific information through various means that is necessary for the accomplishment of a specific goal.
2. Burning desire will help you to focus on the task completion regardless if it is a task you like or dislike. Long term self-discipline is not possible without the presence of burning desire.
3. Burning desire will help you to overcome fear, fear from being judged by society and your peer group. Very often great achievers need to do something radical from the general stereotype perception but burning desire keeps those individuals moving forward despite the fact that they are pointed with finger and being called crazy.

I would like to open a small bracket here and stop for a second as I hear some people are screaming “This sounds like an obsession!”.

Here is the difference

Obsession means that it impacts you and those around you in a negative and harmful way where desire to achieve something that will contribute for you to become a better person or serve society in a positive way is called passion

Obsession – when you do it too much and people think you’re weird but it has got no benefit to you or others
Passion– People think you’re weird but once the end goal is achieved they admire you!

Over the years I have realised that burning desire is not something that you can wait to suddenly appear in your head but you have to work to develop it. You might have the desire but to turn it into burning desire you will need to work to condition your subconscious mind so your conscious mind accept it as a normal behaviour or feeling.

Here is how I develop my burning desires.

1. Read books on the topic
2. Listen to audiobooks while I am driving (on the topic)
3. Listen to other people’s stories that have already done it
4. Listen to motivational speakers like Tony Robins, Jim Rohn, Jack Canfield and others
5. Have affirmations placed at various places where only I have access to and read them out loud when I am only with myself. I have them in my car, in my wallet, in my phone, in my computer.
   What is your way of motivating yourself?

You can read Part 2 of this post here.