The third of the 7 things not to do to achieve your goals is to avoid crafting goals around what you will try to do.

1. Don’t include “shoulds” – do things because you have an appreciation for the benefit to be gained or the pain to be avoided that is associated with the goal
2. Don’t obsess over the bull’s eye – give yourself a range to shoot for instead of a single point.  In addition to the target, identify a lesser amount that you would be pleased with.  At the same time establish what you would consider a stretch goal.

3. Don’t “try” anything

   Using the word “try” in your goals is the same as broadcasting a loud and clear message to yourself that you have no intention whatsoever of succeeding.  If you were to ask someone whether they will have a specific assignment completed by noon tomorrow and they responded with, “I’ll try,” you would have almost no confidence that you would see the completed assignment by noon.

   If, on the other hand, the person responded that they have blocked out what they believe to be a sufficient amount of time, have done all the background research they think in necessary, and have a college schedule to proof read the work by 9:30 in the morning, you’d think they were serious.

   What’s the difference?

   The difference is that the first person is communicating the doubt, the second is communicating what they are doing to increase the odds of success.  You still don’t know that the second person is going to complete the assignment, but their internal messages are screaming that they intend to do everything possible to meet the deadline and to meet it with quality.  They are focused on what they will do, not what they will try to accomplish.

   In the words of the wise Jedi master, Yoda, “Do or do not … there is no try.”

   The rest of the list

4. Don’t focus on other people
5. Don’t ignore your past performance
6. Don’t forget who you are
7. Don’t be vague