Setting and achieving goals is perhaps the most documented technique for manifesting what you want—efficiently and effectively. Since writing your goals is so powerful, it’s important to know precisely what you want to create so you will be pleased when you get it. If you don’t specify your dreams clearly enough, you can end up creating a nightmare. Sometimes people who write down their goals do create a life that is out of harmony. Why?  Because their goals are all outward goals—such as making more money.   Yet, manifesting more money is of little good if it’s created at the cost of your time, relationships, and peace of mind.  Therefore, I think it’s best to create what I call “balanced goals.”  Balanced goals are goals that have both an internal and an external element to them. For example, if you want more money, it can be helpful to know why you want it. If you realize it’s to have more peace of mind, then why not make a goal to create more peace of mind in your life while you make more money?

To create a balanced goal, you need to know two things. First, you need to know exactly what you’d like to manifest in the material world. Second, you want to identify what you hope to experience as a result of achieving your external goal. The easiest way to know what inner goal is appropriate for you, is to ask yourself the following question: “What feeling do I hope to experience as a result of achieving my external goal (such as more money, a house, etc.)?”   Once you know what feeling or experience you ultimately want to have, make having more of that experience the focus of your inner goal. Below is an example of how you might go through the four-step process for achieving an inner goal. To better illustrate this process, I’ll use my interaction with a client named Sarah as an example:

1:  Write down your inner goal. To know your inner goal, ask yourself: “What feeling do I hope to experience as a result of achieving my external goal?”  When I asked Sarah this question, she eventually realized she wanted more comfort and security.

2: Write down the criterion that the goal has been adequately achieved. In the case of inner goals, I suggest people create an “intuitive scale” to measure how they’re doing. Ask yourself, “On a 1 to 10 scale (10 representing the best possible), how much of my inner goal (in Sarah’s case, how much comfort and security) do I currently have in my life?”  When I asked Sarah this question, she said she was “about a 4.”  Then I asked her, “Where do you want to be on a 1 to 10 scale, and by when?”  She responded, “I’d like to be at a level 7 five months from today.”

3: Brainstorm steps you could take to help you move towards achieving what you  ultimately want. Ask other people how they might go about achieving a similar goal. The more ideas you come up with, the better.

4: Do the activities on your brainstorm list in a logical order until you’ve achieved the goal–or need to create a new plan.

Notice that in the above example with Sarah, I had her create an internal way to measure her progress towards more security and comfort. You can always improve what you can measure. Although creating an “intuitive 1 to 10 scale” is not absolutely precise, I’ve found that people say it works surprisingly well in measuring their progress. All you need to do is rate, on an internal 1 to 10 scale, how you’re currently doing in the area you want to work on. Then, about once a week ask yourself, “How am I now doing (on a 1 to 10 scale)?”  Hopefully, you’ll see gradual improvement. If not, it may mean you need to do different tasks in order to be more successful.

For the best results, keep your goals on a sheet of paper that you can see every day. About once a week or so, read over your plan and see how you’re doing. See if you can schedule any more steps from your plan into the upcoming week.

By taking small actions each week on her internal and external goals, Sarah was able to achieve both her goals. In fact, she achieved her internal goal (creating more comfort and security) much faster than she expected. Sarah reported to me that her newfound comfort with herself assisted her on her job, which eventually led to the increase in pay she desired. When people create balanced goals, they often work in a synergistic manner that leads to extraordinary results.   As you set balanced goals, you’ll soon notice that your life feels more centered, balanced, and harmonious.  With the right method, it is possible to experience both wealth and peace.