The Simple Trick to Improve Your Goal Setting Right Now
We’ve all been there. It’s the start of a new month, a new quarter, or the classic “New Year, New Me” season. You sit down with a fresh notebook, a cup of coffee, and a head full of big ideas. You write down things like: “I want to grow my business by 20%,” or “I’m going to be a better leader.”
Then, life happens.
Emails pile up, meetings run over, and that notebook gets buried under a stack of invoices. Six months later, you find that list and realise you haven’t moved the needle on a single one.
The problem isn’t your ambition. The problem is your methodology. At Leadership Management International UK (LMI-UK), we see this all the time. High-achievers fail to hit their marks not because they lack talent, but because they haven’t “programmed” their goals into their subconscious mind.
If you’re ready to stop wishing and start achieving, there is one simple trick that changes everything. And no, it’s not a fancy app or a £500 planner. It’s about how you talk to yourself.
The Power of Putting Pen to Paper
Before we dive into the specific “trick,” let’s look at the foundation. Research shows that you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals just by writing them down.
There is a powerful neurological connection between the hand and the brain. When you write something by hand, you’re engaging the Reticular Activating System (RAS) in your brain. This is the filter that decides what information is important and what can be ignored. By writing a goal down, you’re essentially telling your brain: “Pay attention to this. This matters.”
But just writing “I want to lose weight” or “I want more sales” isn’t enough. That’s a wish, not a goal. To truly unlock your potential, you need to use the LMI-UK formula.
The Trick: The “Triple Threat” of Goal Writing
The “simple trick” that sets elite leaders apart is writing goals in a very specific way. At LMI-UK, we teach our clients to write every single goal using three mandatory rules:
- First Person
- Present Tense
- The Emotional ‘Why’
Let’s break down why this works and how you can do it right now.
1. The Power of “I” (First Person)
Your subconscious mind is a bit like a computer: it follows the instructions it’s given. If you write “The team should improve productivity,” your brain sees that as someone else’s problem. When you use the word “I,” you take personal ownership. You are the protagonist of your own success story.
2. The Present Tense (The “Right Now” Factor)
This is where most people trip up. They write goals in the future tense: “I will earn…” or “I am going to…”
The problem? The future never arrives. Your subconscious mind doesn’t understand “tomorrow.” By writing in the present tense: as if the goal is already achieved: you create a “cognitive dissonance” in your brain. Your brain looks at your current reality, looks at the goal you’ve written as a fact, and then works overtime to bridge the gap between the two.
Instead of “I will lead better meetings,” write “I am a confident leader who facilitates highly productive and engaging meetings.”
3. The Emotional ‘Why’
Logic doesn’t jump out of bed at 5:00 AM. Emotion does.
As the famous author Simon Sinek says, “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” The same applies to your goals. If your goal is just a number, it’s boring. If your goal is tied to a feeling or a purpose, it’s powerful.
Why do you want that promotion? Is it for the title? Or is it so you can provide a specific lifestyle for your family? Why do you want to grow the business? Is it for the turnover? Or is it because you want the freedom to spend a month travelling every year?
The Formula in Action:
- Weak Goal: “I want to increase my department’s revenue by 10% this year.”
- LMI-UK Goal: “I am successfully leading my team to a 10% revenue increase, which gives me the pride of being a top-performer and ensures our company’s long-term stability for everyone.”
Spaced Repetition: Programming the Subconscious
Once you’ve written your goal in the first person, present tense, with a big emotional ‘why’, you’re halfway there. But even the best-written goal will fade if you only look at it once.
This is where the LMI-UK methodology really shines. We use the power of Spaced Repetition.
Think about how you learned your times tables or the lyrics to your favourite song. You didn’t just read them once; you heard them or said them over and over at intervals. Your subconscious mind is programmed through repetition.
The “trick” isn’t just writing the goal down; it’s reading it, out loud, every single morning and every single night. When you do this, you are literally re-wiring your brain to look for opportunities that align with that goal. You’ll start noticing things you previously missed: a new contact, a better way to manage your time, or a potential new market.
Moving from Theory to Measurable Results
While these tricks are simple to understand, they can be difficult to maintain on your own. It’s easy to be motivated for three days. It’s much harder to stay disciplined for three months.
That’s where structured coaching comes in. At LMI-UK, we don’t just give you a book and wish you luck. Our programmes are designed to facilitate permanent changes in theatre of the mind. We focus on measurable results: not just “feeling better” about work, but seeing actual, tangible improvements in productivity, leadership, and bottom-line figures.
We’ve seen case studies where leaders have completely transformed their organisations simply by changing their personal habits and goal-setting structures. It’s not about working harder; it’s about working more effectively with the tools your brain already has.
A Quote to Remember
“Success is the progressive realisation of worthwhile, predetermined, personal goals.” : Paul J. Meyer, Founder of LMI
This quote is the heartbeat of everything we do. Notice the words “progressive realisation.” It’s a journey. It’s a process. And it starts with how you define those goals today.
How to Start “Right Now”
You don’t need to wait for Monday. You don’t need a new fiscal year. You can improve your goal setting in the next five minutes.
- Grab a piece of paper. (Digital is okay, but paper is better!)
- Pick one area of your life: business, health, or personal development.
- Write one goal using the LMI-UK formula: First person (“I am”), Present tense (as if it’s happening now), and include your emotional “why.”
- Read it out loud. Notice how it feels compared to a standard “to-do” list item.
- Commit to reading it every morning for the next seven days.
If you find that this simple shift starts changing your perspective, imagine what a fully structured leadership programme could do for your entire organisation.
Goal setting shouldn’t be a chore that you fail at every year. It should be the roadmap to the life and career you actually want. By changing the tense, adding the “why,” and repeating the message, you turn your goals from distant dreams into your current reality.
Are you ready to see what you’re actually capable of? Start writing.
Interested in learning more about how LMI-UK helps leaders achieve measurable results? Explore our FAQ or browse our full list of programmes to find the right fit for your development journey.