It’s that time of year again, time for all the new goals and resolutions for the New Year. But did you know that nearly 80% of people give up on their goals by the middle of February? That’s barely 45 days into the New Year. It’s almost embarrassing to think about, but we’re all guilty of it. Our goals can get away from us sometimes, especially if we aren’t setting smart and authentic resolutions that actually align with your purpose. There is a way to set smarter goals, and in this episode of the Mind Over Markets podcast we’re taking a closer look at the psychology behind the infamous New Year’s Resolution. We’re discussing ways you can use Neuro Linguistic Programming - or NLP - to set goals you’ll actually stick to. You’ll start to notice the amazing effects it has on your attitude and, ultimately, you’re trading too.  Before we go any deeper, it’s important to understand why some people set goals and others don’t. Some people set goals to create a sense of motivation and direction in their lives. This experience provides feedback that lets you know how close you are to achieving your goal. More importantly, it gives you the opportunity to change your lifestyle accordingly. Others see goals as ahead of where they’re at right now in their lives, and that’s okay too. What we’re doing today is helping any of you stuck in that moment to see how you can make goal-setting work for you. George used to be one of those people who never set goals. He was more focused on being grateful for what he had and saw goals as something way ahead of where he was at that moment. But there are ways to resolve that misconception, and you can create achievable outcomes easily with the exercise we have for you in today’s episode.  Take a closer look at some of the questions we ask to create achievable outcomes:

1. What will you see, hear, and feel when you’ve accomplished your goals?
2. Where are you now in relation to your outcome?
3. How will you know when you’ve accomplished this goal?
4. What will this outcome allow you to do?
5. Is the goal only for you and are you the only person in charge of your results?
6. Are there any drawbacks to you achieving this goal?
7. What personal resources do you have that will allow you to achieve your goals?
8. For what purpose do you want for this goal?
9. When do you want to have this accomplished by? What time of day?

We both share are own experiences with goal-setting as we go over these questions with you. We each have different perspectives, and different resources for example, so you can see how different types of goals work with this exercise. Once you see the big picture of your New Year’s Resolutions from this NLP perspective, you’ll be better able to create SMART goals that align with your sense of self-worth and your purpose.  These smart goals are more than just making the smart decisions. SMART is actually an acronym for Simple goals that are Measurable, Achievable, and Realistic while all being Toward-motivated. We go deeper into each of these words and how they apply to our goals, including:

• S. Seeing yourself from a disassociated perspective that allows you to look at yourself objectively
• M. Measuring your goals with specific directives that speak to your subconscious mind
• A. Achieving goals with “I am” phrases that put everything in a positive perspective since the subconscious mind doesn’t process negatives
• R. Responsibly creating goals that don’t harm others or go against the greater good simply for your benefit
• and T. Timing your goals so they take you toward what you want instead of farther away

Most importantly, on today’s episode, we want to know what you’re going to see, feel, and hear when you accomplish your New Year’s Resolutions. Creating these emotions and visualizations around your goals makes them real, more tangible, and much easier to actually achieve. It’s time to recreate your goals for 2020 with this achievable outcomes exercise. We’re both sharing our own business and trading goals for the new year, and we can’t wait to hear all about yours too. It’s not easy to be vulnerable with your personal goals, but we welcome the opportunity to talk right here and right now on the Mind Over Markets podcast. In This Episode You Will Learn

• How we set our own goals around New Year’s (and all year round, too!) 2:29
• A few key reasons why we set goals for ourselves 5:44
• How to set smart goals with an NLP framework 12:43
• The 3 reasons why people ultimately fail at their New Year’s Resolutions 19:35
• The 3 reasons why people end up sticking with their New Year’s Resolutions 20:12
• How to be responsible for the goals you’re setting 25:00
• Some of our big business and trading SMART goals for 2020 32:10
• What your goals look like after creating an achievable outcome 39:19
• How to create affirmations around the goals you’re creating 43:33

Some Questions We Discuss

• Why do we always give up on our New Year’s Resolutions? 1:08
• Why do people sometimes not set goals at all? 8:40
• How can you see yourself disassociated from yourself? 17:04
• What does it really mean to “fake it til you make it”? 21:25
• How can we set goals that are toward-motivated? 26:50
• What will you see, hear, and feel when you’ve accomplished your goals? 34:04
• What personal resources do you have that will allow you to achieve your goals? 37:44
• What are you really doing when you start using “I am” statements? 48:08
• When is the best time of day to practice mindfulness and meditate? 49:12

Resources

• Learn more: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs