How do you measure success? Do you measure it by standards set by your parents, peers, teachers, coworkers, bosses or your spouse? Do you let others tell you that what you’re doing will count for nothing in the long run, even though they have no idea what your long term vision or intent is?

Do you measure it to your own standards? If it’s a business goal, do you compare to this time last year? If it’s a personal goal, have you improved over the last self-assessment that you did on this subject? If it’s a health goal, are you moving toward your target? Only you can truly answer these questions. Let the evidence of your efforts be your guide. You’ll know if and how much harder you’ll need to work in order to attain that number that you’ve selected, whether it be reps, pounds, cholesterol levels or a target weight.

Does the fact that we’re all trying to survive, let alone get ahead in the midst of the greatest economic recession in human history stand in the way of your plans for the future or are you unflinchingly pursuing them without heed to criticism or prejudgment?

Don’t be dissuaded by naysayers ad ne’er -do-wells that have given up on their own dreams and given out on their own ability to see past their failures. Use these as examples of what to avoid on your way to your own personal achievements.

Would we have light, let alone these computers we’re using to read and write this article if it weren’t for Edison’s countless failures on his way to successfully creating that first incandescent bulb? Would we have the theory of relativity if Einstein had listened to his teachers early in his education that told him that he had a problem with mathematics?

The list goes on and on of some of the greatest minds in human history only having succeeded after what most would consider catastrophic or debilitating circumstantial failures.

Success is a measure of human spirit. It can not be quantified or measured by electronic or other equipment. It can, in fact only be speculated upon by the criticism of others. True success is only measured in the eye, heart and soul of the individual who set out to and attained that goal.

Be that go-getter. Be the Goal-Getter! Take your hopes, dreams and aspirations and work them down into manageable tasks that, when put together, will surpass your hopes. Done properly, the end can in fact be much more than the sum of its parts. The “You Factor” is what makes the difference. It is why YOU are the only one that can truly measure the level of your success.

Setting up goals is one aspect of success that had been overlooked by many people most of the time. Usually, other aspects are played up and goal-setting simply become one of the many steps in achieving success.

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Many self-help experts outline some of the keys that make goal-setting successful. The following are some of those key points:

Goal setting is a skill and a discipline

They don’t teach goal-setting in schools but it should have been done because it has to be mastered. You need to find out as much as possible about the techniques of goal-setting and master them.

Another important aspect is the need of discipline in the process. Working on goal-setting can transform your life.

Goals must be in writing

This has been repeated over and over again by experts and gurus. The reason is that commitment documented in writing becomes embedded in the subconscious mind. Keeping your written goals where you can see them every day is a great way to keep them in both your conscious and subconscious minds.

The act of writing it down brings a better chance of success because the subconscious is helping in the process, drawing you toward your goal.

Clarity

One of the many qualities found in successful people is the clarity of their desires and wants in life. From your end, you need to be clear as well in your commitments, in your wants and needs. It sometimes takes a re-assessment or inventory of your own goals to gain the necessary clarity to move forward.

It had been proven in the past that clarity does have a big influence on the realization of your wants.

Being specific

This key aspect is also very important. Next to being clear on what you need, you also have to be specific.

The anecdote involving the comic Jim Carrey comes to mind. When he was starting out and was living in his car (he was broke), Jim wrote a check to himself for $7 million dollars. Shortly thereafter, he bagged the lead role in the movie “Pet Detective” and was paid exactly $7 million dollars. This is a perfect example of manifesting a specific goal.

Overestimate/underestimate

Most people, when writing how much they would like to be earning usually overestimate what they might achieve in a year. On the other hand, they’re dramatic in their under-estimation of what they can earn in five or ten  years time with the right goal setting structure in place.

Being more realistic with your earning capability and your time estimates will result in achieving more consistent successes.

Why

In achieving your goals, it is far more important to have compelling reasons why you must achieve them than it is to know how you are going to do it.  If you focus on your why, much of the rest of the task will fall into place naturally.
How

Frankly, you need not know how. Many people put off starting their goals because they do not know how to achieve them from the start. The key is simply…get started!

The more momentum you can develop in setting off toward your goals, the faster the ” how” will be revealed to you. The key is to take action. NOW!

Using these critical goal-setting keys can help you focus on the goals that you want to achieve. You can test it yourself and see what happens in the next 90 days. The success of these goal-setting keys depends largely on you and the intensity of your commitment.

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The hardest part in aiming for self-improvement is changing the way we think. Ideally, our thoughts and experiences are in a constant state of renewal. This is because we would be frequently exposed to new people and situations. However, the real world is the opposite. We would usually focus our mind to daily stressors. As we grow older and focus on our jobs, our friends are fewer and we repeat the same forms of recreation and mental stimulation. We even confine ourselves to the same social interaction.

However, this will not go on forever. We will wake up one day realizing we need to improve how we see the world. We need to change our cognitive patterns. Apparently, changing this will take a lot of effort. Below are five primary concepts to remember when we plan to change the way our minds think and the way we see the world.

First, you must do something you have never imagined doing. Get out of your comfort zone and embrace new recreational activities. If you love beach bumming, try activities that are physically straining such as bungee jumping, rock climbing, and trekking to name a few. Read books, articles, and magazines that does not interest you that much before. There is a variety of topics to choose from such as sports, politics, fashion, history, culture, music, and many others.

Second, meet new people with different perspectives, occupations and cultural backgrounds. People bring new ideas and perceptions. However, hanging out with people with the same perceptions as yours will only reinforce your own beliefs and might not help you see things in a different way. Furthermore, you might overlook your own mistakes, faults, and shortcomings. Forums and discussion rooms in the Internet may also help you expand your social circle and may provide venues for new insights.

Third, you must be aware of your thought processes, emotions, and moods. This will help you reconnect to your needs and real desires. In addition, many therapies for self-improvement have used self-awareness. Their methods have focused on personal exploration, understanding of the past, and acknowledgment of fears and mistakes. This is because you cannot change how you think without understanding why you think that way.

Fourth, stop doing the same daily routine. Insert a new activity in your calendar and schedule. By breaking your routines, your brain will open to fresh stimuli and create a new neural path. Go eat in a restaurant on day you are supposed to go to a bookstore. Go to a park and other gathering events that you do not frequently go to. If you love reading, try a different genre or an author.

Lastly, tell yourself repeatedly to think a different way. Using mantra is a popular method of self-improvement. This kind age-old method is also seen in religious practices where prayers are repeatedly recited. You may use your own customized mantra in doing this as long as it is something new. Then, try repeating your mantra whenever a situation presents itself as challenging your goal.

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Browsing the Internet using keywords such as self-improvement will lead you to several pages, articles, blogs, and sites that discuss self-help programs, giving tips on how to achieve goals, guidelines to create smooth working relationships, and many others. But what exactly is self-improvement?

Self-improvement is part of a larger system called personal development that involves programs, tools, and methods. Also known as self-help, self-improvement focuses on the level of individual which includes one’s goals, lifestyle, plans, dreams, and quality life to name a few. It is a self-guided improvement and self-help in terms of economic, intellectual and emotional aspects.

It is a continuous endeavor to improve one’s self by analyzing his actions, understanding his past, studying successful people, and taking action each day. Hence, if we say self-improvement, we mean uplifting self-esteem, developing self-awareness, skills and talents, improving self-knowledge, building or repairing identity, realizing goals and aspirations, and enhancing one’s quality of life.

An example of old self-help book is authored by Samuel Smiles in the 19th century. The book is titled “Self-help.” Another author of self-help books is Dale Carnegie who considered by many the pioneer of self-help movement. He wrote the book titled “How to Win Friends and Influence People” in the 20th century. In 1937, Napoleon Hill wrote the book “Think and Grow Rich” where he described the use of repeated positives thoughts to draw wealth.

Since then, various self-help books have been published discussing several issues such as women’s rights, marriage and wedding, religion and spirituality, leadership and goal setting, positive attitude, depression, and meditation.

A survey company estimated self-help and self-improvement materials to be worth around nine billion dollars in 2006. Infomercials, holistic institutes, books, personal coaching market, audio cassettes, and stress management programs are examples of the above mentioned materials.

Furthermore, there are different self-help movements that have varying focus, associated beliefs, proponents, leaders, techniques, and models. A common denominator to all is that they use available information from support group of people coming together because of similar experiences and interests.

An example of self-help groups is the ones for mental health such as Emotions Anonymous, Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, and Recovery International. They are voluntary associations of people who share a common goal of overcoming mental illness or boost level of emotional being.

The self-help claims also received criticisms from scholars. One scholar called a self-help movement as ineffective in achieving its goals in 2005. Stand-up comedian George Carlin said that a person looking for help from somebody does not technically get “self” help. Following such argument, there is no such thing as self help.

The self-help subject also attracted the attention of parody writers making itself the topic of many parodies. An example is the book-length parody of Walker Percy, which included parodies on self-help. In addition, W.R. Morton and Nathanel Whitten authored a book titled “The Superoptimist” and introduced the term “superoptimism.” The term is a “humorous antidote to self-help book category.”

The criticism however led the field to further include the presence of scientific research and well-engineered models. As a result, the newly-established branch of self-improvement focuses analysis, design, and execution of qualitative personal growth. This branch is called personal effectiveness.

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