It is not enough to say simply "I want to live in a big 5 bedroom house with a heated swimming pool", or "I want to drive a shiny, red Ferrari". They may be the material things you desire but to ensure your goal is effective you must state exactly how getting those things will make you feel. In fact when planning and stating your goals the best place to start is with the emotion you want to feel. It's no good having big houses, fast cars, and all the money you need if they don't bring you the inner fulfillment that is essential to your life.

So as you decide upon your goals begin by focusing on the emotion. You should consider exactly how or what you want to feel and let that shape your goals. If you find it difficult to define which emotions or feelings are important to you, think about how you feel right now and establish what it is you would like to change. Identify the real driving forces within you and what it is that you want to feel each day when you wake in the morning.

Being able to define your own emotion based goals will genuinely give you the best chance of ever achieving them and these five steps will help you to get off to the best possible start:

Step #1

Make some time and space available for yourself, grab a pen and some paper, and simply list the words that represent the emotions or senses you really want to feel. For instance the following may well feature in your list: Love; Happiness; Contentment; Peace; Satisfaction; Healthy; Fulfilled

There are probably many more that apply to you and your own circumstances so ensure that you take the time to make that list as complete as you can.

Step #2

Focus on those emotions on your list that are the most important and re-list them in order of priority. You must be able to give this your full concentration so that you can get to the factors that will truly drive you onwards.

Step #3

Think carefully what it is that would actually enable you to feel each emotion or sense and alongside each word write an accurate description of it. It may be getting that big house or fast car, but equally it could be finding a new job or developing a new relationship. Be totally honest with yourself and don't be afraid to aim high. You may well find that what you really want in life is entirely different to what you have become conditioned to believe.

Step #4

For each element you have identified list the actions that you will need to take to achieve it. To be meaningful your goals need to be realistically achievable and so it is essential that you know exactly what you will have to do and, crucially, be sure that you are able to do it.

Step #5

Combine the emotion, the material aspect and the actions you have listed and you have the basis for your goal. But it will only help you if you write it down and start working towards it.

They may seem simplistic steps but they will genuinely give you a great start to setting truly meaningful goals. To achieve them will need proper planning, determination, and total commitment, but one day you will reap the reward and you will feel exactly the way you want to feel.