The Formula to Get From 10% to 100%

Your goals have something standing in front of them, blocking them. You. There is a chasm between planning and actuation that comes from Your Own Mind that can make this planning process become counter-productive, and this often results in procrastination.

Some of the best ideas I have had are results of writing them down "on the spot". If I plan to write an article later tonight there is a high chance that I won't finish it until tomorrow, and then tomorrow somehow the final version will get pushed back to later on in the week. Likewise, a number of people I know often plan to write something, to go to a meeting, or to call someone, and end up pushing that planned event back again and again right afterwards.

Planning and action are two different parts of experience, but planning is still an experience in the mind, just a 'theoretical' one. Imagine if I said "I need to go to the store because I've run out of milk"… each time I open the fridge I'll be reminded of this plan, but if I said "I am planning to go for a walk later this afternoon" I might well never put that plan into action (unless it's a habit).

Planning something but never putting it into actions is what I refer to as "THE 10% SYNDROME".

You start on a personal project or goal, but the outcome seems to be in the endless future and it never comes into actualization.

The Current Situation

The main issue that causes this problem is that planning is not planning at all most of the time. It is common for us to idealise future goals and experiences rather than planning them. For example: 'I want to save up to purchase a car… I want to write a book about… I want to take a course in…" The more specific a plan is, the higher the likelihood that it will go from 10% (the original plan) to 100% (success).

However, often at least a little part of each plan and goal we make is idealised. It seldom or never gets to 100%. Sometimes the result gets to 80% or even 90%, but the final result is almost never the same as the original goal.

The Ideal Goal

Creating a goal such as 'I need to go shopping' or 'I want to increase how much I make next month' can bring to mind either idealised notions of the result, or specific ideas for achieving the plan, depending on how we look at it. In the first case the idealised notion would be acted out with just driving to the shop, where as the specific outcome would be accomplished through making a shopping list.

Separating the ideal result from the steps in the plan maximises the likelihood of success. Ask yourself what the exact requirements to achieve the goal are first. Then consider which realistic limitations exist that could prevent one or more of those requirements from being reached.

Planning should consist of creating exact steps towards achieving a specific goal. This makes it possible to bridge the gap between the current and ideal situation rather than further increasing the chasm between planning and action.

Bringing The Current Situation and The Goal Together

Apart from planning more exact steps to get from 10% to 20%, 35%, 60% and to 100%, there are 3 other techniques that can be used to create goals that reach 100% success rather than remaining stuck in idea-form or on a scrap piece of paper in a cupboard somewhere.

Part 1 – Build a Habit

First of all, rather than re-enforcing the separation between goal and outcome, build a habit of achieving goals with the proper process of planning. You can do this by starting with small goals and accomplishing them first. The process of planning and accomplishing even the simplest goals trains the mind to realize that planning can be used as a powerful manifestation tool and not just a wishing device.

Pick a goal that can be achieved in a few hours or less.
List the exact steps that are required to achieve 10%, 20%, 50%… and so forth of the goal, right up to 100% success.
Perform each step in order until the outcome of the goal is achieved.

Achieving a single goal makes future goals even easier to plan and accomplish when the mind is brought into the habit of going from planning to action as a procedure, rather than being stuck in planning-gear.

Part 2 – Let Go of Judgments

For those who are stuck in planning gear right now, there is also a method to re-frame previous goals and to transform them into positive outcomes. Planning, when idealised, creates a mass block to action through the use of judgment and false expectations. For example, a man meets a woman and wants to ask her out but feels anxious about doing so, but he still plans to ask her next time he sees her at the same place. However what will tend to happen is that the plan will begin working against him. His mind will keep bringing up thoughts in alignment with those anxious feelings like "what if she doesn't like me?… what if I sound bad"… etc.

This makes it even more difficult to escape the plan and to move forward with the action. The 10% never moves past being just 10% as a result. Furthermore, the process of over-planning, or over-idealising an existing goal makes the plan seem like it is coming together in the mind, but never transforms it into a real outcome.

Part 3 – Stop Planning

Therefore, the answer is to stop planning altogether. OK – well, not quite. But what I mean is: If You Are Going to Do Something – Then Do It.

Goals that do not turn into outcomes tend to remain in the mind and build negative judgments, making them even more difficult to get around to accomplishing. So where a goal can be achieved right now, do it right now. If a goal is a large project and requires a lot of planning, then make the planning process specific and realistic. Make sure that the goal moves from the 10% idea stage to the 20% beginning stage as soon as possible.

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