If there is one, constant behaviour to be found amongst high-achievers, it is that they are all goal-setters. Without exception, they set specific, measurable challenges on a regular basis. This article addresses the question of why this habit is so ubiquitous amongst top performers.

Now, first of all, we should consider what exactly is, and is not meant by the term ‘goal-setting’. A goal is not simply an aspiration or a whim or anything half-hearted. It is a true statement of intent whether the goal is written down or not. Writing down your goals is indeed an important procedure, but it is not imperative. The most important characteristic of a goal is not that it is written down, as some people would have you believe, it is that the goal is absolutely believable for the person setting it.

Of course goals should conform to the SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timetabled) acronym guidelines but without doubt, the most important characteristic is that they should be realistic for the person concerned or, in other words, they should be believable. Without a realistic expectation of achieving the anticipated outcome, the power of this powerful technique is lost.

The reason that goals need to be believable is simple. For the mind to problem-solve its way to the imagined destination (the goal), it must emotionally commit to the task. Believability literally enables this most astonishing achieving mechanism we all share as creative human beings. When we can emotionally commit ourselves to the achievement of some future outcome, our creative mind is enabled and we are open to possibility; just as a fatalistic or pessimistic mindset closes off that same possibility.

It is an interesting to note that the horizon of possibility extends with practice. In other words, as we begin to make use of this technique and achieve goals that cause us to stretch in order to achieve them, so our ability to believe is also extended; and so too is our ability to believe in what it is possible for us to achieve. This is an exciting prospect for most people: you will be effectively providing the proof of your faith by your works – as St James said, ‘faith without works is dead’.

So, it seems that high-achievers have all proved this truth for themselves. They have all set and achieved goals and with each achievement have been able to extend their faith-horizon until they were able to set really big goals and also were simultaneously able to believe in them. That’s how they liberated the creative power of their minds to find the answers to the most challenging questions and solve problems that others thought would never be solved.

This same power resides within you. In order to become a high-achiever, you need to start small: set those goals, make them believable, achieve them, and by achieving them extend your own horizon of possibility. This is the route to significant self improvement and it too can become your plan to develop your abilities and become the high-achiever you always thought might be lurking somewhere within.