When you set a meaningful, worthwhile goal in your life it is not going to be something so simple that you could achieve it one day. Therefore you need some system to make sure that what you are doing today is the best thing you could be doing to take you closer to achieving your goal.

Here is a simple three step formula that will keep you on target and moving forward each and every day.

Step 1: Decide What To Focus On

This is not the same as setting a goal. In fact this is what turns your goal into reality. The idea is to remove all distracting thoughts and focus your mental energy on something that will actually move you closer to achieving your goal. The goal itself is too big to do this so it needs to be broken down into daily targets. The easiest way to explain this process is through an example.

Let's imagine a salesperson who has a goal to earn a certain amount of money this month. What should they focus on in order to do that? In order to make their goal income they have to make a certain number of sales. In order to make those sales they need sales appointments. If our salesperson looks into his or her appointment calendar and sees empty appointment times then what they need to focus on is filling that calendar.

This same process can be applied to any goal. Start with the goal and then progressively step back until you find the most basic step that needs to be achieved today and then focus your energy on achieving that step.

Let's look at another example. A person decides they want to get into better shape. First they have to decide what that means; do they want to loss weight or build muscle or both. Let's imagine that our person decides that their priority is to lose 20 pounds (9 kilos). This could be done by improving their diet and improving their exercise habits, but which should they focus on. Often when people start a new exercise program they actually eat more so the best thing to initially focus on is establishing good eating habits. Today's focus would be on eating in a healthy manner today.

Notice that with this focus system your are looking for one thing to put your attention on. The idea is to find the single thing that will have the biggest positive effect. It also must be something that can be achieved today. For example with the weight lose goal you can't focus on losing 20 pounds because that can't happen in one day but you can eat appropriately today so that is a practical target to focus on.

Step 2: Decide What Action You Need To Take

Once you have decided on that one most important thing to focus on then your next step is to decide on an action to take that will best help you to achieve that target. You do this by asking a particular question; what action can I take today in order to best achieve my daily target?

In our first example above we have a salesperson whose focus is to book appointments. Their question would be; what action can I take today in order to fill my appointment calendar with potential clients? Their answer may be to make prospecting phone calls or it may be to place advertising in the local newspaper or it may be some other action. The most important thing you are looking for is that it is something that you can do today that will give you the fastest possible result.

In the second example our person has decided to focus on establishing a good eating pattern. Their question would be; what action can I take today to improve my eating habits? They might decide that the best thing to do is to get rid of all the inappropriate food in the house and replace it with good healthy food so that they have no choice but to eat in a healthy manner. Or perhaps they might decide they need to join a weight loss program that promotes healthy eating and holds regular group support meetings to help members stay on track. Whatever they choose to do it has to meet the criteria of helping them establish good eating habits today.

The most important components of this second step are:-

1. asking yourself a question that leads to action,
2. ensuring that the action will achieve the target you are focusing on,
3. ensuring that it is action you can take today, no matter what.

Step 3: Take That Action

Step 3 is to take the action today as soon as possible and to keep that action up for as long as it takes to get the result you are seeking.

If you can't take the action today then you have not done step 2 properly so go back and find an action that you can take today. Likewise if the action is not producing the result that you require then you need to go back to step 2 and find a better action to take.

All stress, all worry, all self doubt, all negative feelings can be eliminated by taking action today that produces a desired result today. If your target is not possible to achieve today then you need to go back to step 1 and further break down that target so that you are focusing today on a step that can actually be achieved today. That's what focus is all about, making the present moment productive.

In Summary

Start with your goal and then go back one step at a time until you have a target that you can achieve today and set that target as your focus. Ask yourself what action you can take today in order to achieve that target. Then take the action. If you follow this three step formula each and every day then before you know it your goal will be a reality.