Make Your Goals Magnificent

The most common hindrance to setting and achieving meaningful goals is our tendency to make them too small and uninspiring. If we become too careful, realistic and rational, we run the risk of setting goals that have no power to stimulate our enthusiasm and excitement. A mediocre goal will not make you excited about getting out of bed in the morning. A mediocre goal will not activate your most capable and life-changing energy. A mediocre goal will become so quickly boring that you will have a tendency to forget you even made it.

A simple but effective formula for positive change and successful goal achievement is as follows: Mediocre goals attract mediocre support and magnificent goals attract magnificent support. You owe it to yourself to create magnificent goals. I can’t say it any clearer than that.

If, however, you set a goal that is well beyond the usual vision of yourself, you will create an ally that will energize and inspire you to reach unimagined heights. It will also generate a kind of magnetic attraction and pull in support from people, who will contribute to your success.

Now, think about it. This is the beginning of a new year, and you are being invited to participate in a dynamic process to “create a new you in 2009.” I know you want to lose weight and that is a worthy goal all by itself. However, I am suggesting that you not only make your goal to become thinner but also expand it to include additional items and achievements that will excite and enthuse you. Make the “new you” incredible. Make your new year magnificent.

Here is a bit of information that will support you as you explore the “new you” options. The number of this coming year, 2009, is propitious. Dr. Carl Jung, the great dream analyst, has stated that numbers have a certain power all their own. He indicated that numbers were not invented but were discovered. This means that they existed apart from human thought and that each basic number has a kind of energy that it brings with it when it appears in our lives.

The number 3, according to the Jungians, is an important number that implies and energizes change. When the number 3 appears, it brings its power for initiating a shift or a change towards something better. It is said that the number 3 “wants” to become 4, which is the number for wholeness. Wholeness (again according to the Jungians) is the highest goal of human life.

Now, back to creating the new you in 2009. This is a great year to facilitate change for the better, and you even have the power of the numbers with you. So, whether you accept my premise or not, it is still an interesting point and a support for your new and magnificent goals.

I have often been inspired by the 13th century Sufi saint and mystic, Jelaludin Rumi. His poetry seems to speak directly to my heart. When I am considering setting goals as significant as ‘creating a new me in 2009,’ I usually consult his timeless wisdom for inspiration and guidance. I think the following short poem contains the essence of what I want to share with you.

Why are Rumi’s words so relevant for us right now? Because he is telling us to follow the deepest messages and challenges of our hearts -- and not to listen to the dream-killing and limit-setting fears of small people. He is giving us more than permission to set outrageous goals. He is directing us to start a huge and (seemingly) foolish project.

Once we set our sites on the highest goals we can imagine, something magical and mystical occurs. Help begins to arrive from unseen and unexpected sources. It is as if the Universe itself loves it when a human attempts something magnificent. Then with gusto, the Universe reaches out its hand to move us forward and upward.

Is it a good idea to create a new you in 2009? No, it is beyond good, it is magnificent! You can be even more magnificent than you have ever imagined, and you have an entire year to get there.

Matthew Anderson, D. Min., is a counselor, organizational consultant and seminar leader. He lives and works in Boca Raton, Florida. To order his inspirational book, The Prayer Diet, click here. To ask Dr. Anderson a question, write him at mattcoyote@aol.com. eDieters can also join Dr. Anderson for his weekly chat each Tuesday at noon.