Part of the planning process may bring you to a few major objectives that you need to accomplish for your business for the year.  Take a look at what you put down, give them the following test.

Are they stated in the positive or are they stated in the negative?

If they’re stated in the positive, you’ve got a greater chance of making them happen.  If they’re stated in the negative, you might very well be setting yourself up to have to do that same objective year after year.

Let me give you an example from the personal side.  Three years ago, I realized I had to get back down towards my ideal weight and found a nutritionist and started exercising more regularly and seriously.  The good news is that within five months time I had moved 95 pounds and very close to my ideal weight, going from 287 pounds to 192 pounds.

People would ask me had I lost any weight.  Or, they’d say, “How much did you lose?”  I’d say, I didn’t lose any weight.  I didn’t lose anything that I was going to want to find.  Could you imagine somebody saying this, “I wonder if you could help me out.  I’m looking for kind of ten pounds and I just can’t seem to find where it is.”  Of course, you wouldn’t do that. On the other hand, lose car keys, and you’re certainly going to want to find them.

It’s all a play on words, but I think that psychology can be very important.  If you say you want to lose something or reduce something or say get out of debt, you’re going to want to keep doing that over and over again.  Your mind won’t know the difference.  It will just keep following your direction, so it is much better stated in positive terms.  Rather than saying, “I will lose 95 pounds,” instead say, “I will get to my ideal weight of 192 pounds.”

Now, a hot book right now is The Secret and the fundamental theme of that book is that your thoughts create what you achieve.  As I read that book, I realized I had used that same principle when I was going through my weight change.

But, take a look at your goals.  If they’re staying in negative terms, make a shift, put the goals in positive terms and you might find yourself generating more positive results.