{"id":55803,"date":"2021-12-11T23:16:31","date_gmt":"2021-12-12T03:16:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=55803"},"modified":"2021-12-13T01:13:51","modified_gmt":"2021-12-13T05:13:51","slug":"commit-to-your-goals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/commit-to-your-goals\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Commit to Your Goals: Write Them Down"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Do you struggle to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-stick-to-your-goals-2\/\">stick to your goals<\/a> and follow through to the end? How do you commit to the goals you set for yourself? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you have a strong conviction that you can achieve whatever you set out to do, it\u2019s time to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-stay-committed-to-your-goals\/\">commit to your goals<\/a> on paper. When you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/write-down-your-goals\/\">write down your goals<\/a>, you solidify them in your mind, thereby increasing the likelihood that you&#8217;ll actually follow through with them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here is how writing down your goals can help you increase your commitment to them and help you follow through. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Power of Writing Down Your Goals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The simple act of writing down your goals can make a huge difference in your commitment to work towards them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tracy says that the simple act of writing down your goals is transformative, and he cites a Harvard study to back up his claim: In the study, Harvard MBA graduates who had written down their goals after graduation were later found to be earning 10 times more than those who hadn\u2019t written down their goals. (Shortform note: The Harvard study that Tracy mentions here is widely cited in books and articles. However, there is <a href=\"https:\/\/sidsavara.com\/fact-or-fiction-the-truth-about-the-harvard-written-goal-study\/\">no record that this study ever took place<\/a>. Still, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/markmurphy\/2018\/04\/15\/neuroscience-explains-why-you-need-to-write-down-your-goals-if-you-actually-want-to-achieve-them\/?sh=46cbcffd7905\">other studies<\/a> <em>have<\/em> shown that writing down goals increases your chances of success.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tracy recommends that you spend five minutes a day listing 10 to 15 goals. Refine the list as the days go by until your goals become clearer and eventually become second nature to you. This daily act of writing will help you commit to your goals by forging a stronger connection between your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/conscious-and-subconscious-mind\/\">conscious and subconscious mind<\/a>, orienting you toward goal-attaining actions. Tracy says it\u2019s okay to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-be-skeptical\/\">be skeptical<\/a> about this connection, but you should have the discipline to keep doing the exercise anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why You Should Strengthen Your Conscious-Subconscious Connection<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Tracy says that regularly writing down your goals reinforces the connection between your conscious and subconscious, but he doesn\u2019t go into detail about how this connection can help you. Author Maxwell Maltz explains that strengthening this connection is important to prevent yourself from sabotaging your efforts. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/psycho-cybernetics\"><em>Psycho-Cybernetics<\/em><\/a>, he writes that consciously deciding to achieve goals isn\u2019t enough to actually help you achieve them\u2014these <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/psycho-cybernetics\/chapter-2\">conscious goals should also be aligned with your subconscious goals<\/a>, otherwise, you\u2019ll engage in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/self-sabotaging-behavior\/\">self-sabotaging behaviors<\/a>. For example, your conscious goal might be to have an intimate relationship, but your subconscious goals might lead you to push people away.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To address this incongruence, Maltz says that you should work on your self-image, which is the \u201coperator\u201d of your subconscious. Having a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/positive-self-image\/\">positive self-image<\/a> ensures that your subconscious leads you toward productive, rather than destructive, behaviors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you struggle to stick to your goals and follow through to the end? How do you commit to the goals you set for yourself? Once you have a strong conviction that you can achieve whatever you set out to do, it\u2019s time to commit to your goals on paper. When you write down your goals, you solidify them in your mind, thereby increasing the likelihood that you&#8217;ll actually follow through with them. Here is how writing down your goals can help you increase your commitment to them and help you follow through.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":27803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,43],"tags":[545],"class_list":["post-55803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motivation","category-self-improvement","tag-goals","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Commit to Your Goals: Write Them Down - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When you write down your goals, you solidify them in your mind. Here is how committing your goals to paper can help you follow through.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/commit-to-your-goals\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Commit to Your Goals: Write Them Down\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When you write down your goals, you solidify them in your mind. Here is how committing your goals to paper can help you follow through.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/commit-to-your-goals\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-12-12T03:16:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-12-13T05:13:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/rewrite.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"833\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"489\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Darya Sinusoid\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Darya Sinusoid\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/commit-to-your-goals\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/commit-to-your-goals\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Darya Sinusoid\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0421cce75bc249b11e2517b3a91f9c46\"},\"headline\":\"How to Commit to Your Goals: Write Them Down\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-12T03:16:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-12-13T05:13:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/commit-to-your-goals\/\"},\"wordCount\":461,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/commit-to-your-goals\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/rewrite.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Goals!\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Motivation\",\"Self-Improvement\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/commit-to-your-goals\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/commit-to-your-goals\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/commit-to-your-goals\/\",\"name\":\"How to Commit to Your Goals: Write Them Down - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/commit-to-your-goals\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/commit-to-your-goals\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/rewrite.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-12T03:16:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-12-13T05:13:51+00:00\",\"description\":\"When you write down your goals, you solidify them in your mind. 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