11 Goal Hacks: How to Achieve Anything

1. Stop fantasising
The biggest enemy of any goal is excessive positive fantasising.
Those whose fantasies were more negative did better
Don't experience the future positively before you achieve it.

2. Start committing
One powerful psychological technique to increase commitment is mental contrasting.
This involves entertaining a positive fantasy but then pouring a bucket of cold reality over it

3. Start starting
What the Zeigarnik effect teaches is that one weapon for beating procrastination is starting somewhere...anywhere.

4. Visualise process NOT outcome
Visualising the process of reaching your goal, helps focus attention on the steps you need to take.
It also helps reduce anxiety.

6. Sidestep procrastination
When goals are difficult and we wonder whether it's really worth it, procrastination can creep up on us
Under these circumstances the key is to forget about the goal and bury yourself in the details.
Keep your head down and use self-imposed deadlines

10. Know when to stop
'Sunk costs' refer to the effort or money we've already expended in trying to reach our goal. So, even when our plan is failing, we keep pushing on.