One reason you may not achieve your goals is that they really are not your goals. How can that be, you might ask? It’s because we have so many ideas and beliefs embedded in us from birth (or before) on that until we look at what we say and think in depth we just parrot what’s been buried deep inside of us.

When you write your list of goals, you first should just write in a free flow manner – just write what comes out. I recommend you have a separate notebook or journal where you have your goals. You can use tabs or labels or post-its (R) so you can easily refer to the different sections. Make pages of lists if the thoughts keep coming out. You want to reach down and find out what it is you want (or at this point at least what you think you want). Once you have them all listed, take these pages and go over them slowly. You can do this in one of two ways and it’s just a matter of which order you want to use.

You can go over the list and start putting down all the specifics for each goal. I’ve talked about the reason for that in other articles but essentially you have to be specific in what you want in order for the Universe to deliver what you really want. It will bring what you ask for so if you don’t have all the fine points figured out, you will get what the Universe brings you which may not be what you want. Let’s say you ask for a new car and don’t take the time to determine all the elements. You’re liable to get a car that’s a lemon or perhaps one that has horrible gas mileage or is uncomfortable etc. Most people then would be upset and angry with the Universe and even say that the Law of Attraction doesn’t work. But, it did work, you simply did not tell it what you really wanted. Would you just order “a shirt” from a mail order catalog? No, of course not. You’d order a blue, long sleeve, lightweight material, size 36 and you’d most likely have a picture in the catalog and you’d say “yes, that’s the one I want!”. You have to do the same with your goals. Think of the Universe as a very big catalog from which you are placing your orders.

When you are listing the minute details of each item you listed, you’ll find that some come easily and others you have to struggle with. This could be a hint that the ones you are having more difficulty with are either not your own goals or they aren’t things you really feel strongly about or you’d be able to describe it quickly and with happy emotions. So pay attention to how easily you can do this step and how you feel about each one on your paper. Record those that don’t come easily on a separate sheet.

The other way you can work with your master list is to go through it once you’ve finished the first draft. At that point you cross off the items that just don’t click with you. These are the ones that don’t elicit a strong emotion from you. Once you’ve crossed these off, then you start to work with the ones that are remaining. At this point you begin to specify the detailed elements of each goal. You can first ask yourself if this is really your goal? Do you believe you can have this? Do you think you should ask for this? Is this really yours or did your parents or teachers or clergy or even your friends tell you this was your goal? This is an important step. When I was a small child I told people I was going to be a doctor – not that I wanted to be a doctor. I made that bold statement every time anyone asked. At that time, the response was always “you mean you want to be a nurse”. To which I would reply “no, a doctor”. You see, I knew what I was going to be and no one was able to move me from that goal. That’s the point where I want you to be.

If you can list everything there is about a goal, then it most likely is yours. If you feel emotion and joy when you’re doing this, it’s yours. If either of these are lacking, question this goal and put it on another sheet of paper and start writing about where that might have come from. Had I let others influence me when I was a child, I might have become a nurse but I would not have been able to detail the specifics or feel emotion about it because it was not my goal.

These are just a few pointers about making sure you ask the Universe for what you really want. To find out more about goal setting and achievement, check out Goal Setting For You.