Goal Setting

Zig Ziglar is a former salesman who uses his people skills and his charisma to help people to be the best that they can be. Ziglar teaches motivation skills, as well as more concrete skills such as goal setting.

In a recent talk, Zig Ziglar noticed that he has never seen a depressed person with goals. Why is it that you cannot be a diligent goal setter and still be depressed? The answer to this, Ziglar reasons is that your mind can only hold one thought at a time. That thought will either be positive or negative. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that if you are focused on your goal, which is purely positive, then you cannot simultaneously be focusing on the negative thought that is causing your depression.

So here are some action steps that you can take to help you to use goal- setting to fight depression.

1. Keep your top goals on a small card under your mattress.

I had a very good friend who practice this technique. She would look at her card every night before bed and then every morning when she woke up. This had the effect of putting her in a goal achieving frame of mind every day.

2. Reward yourself for a positive thinking day.

This is opposite what most people do. Most people, when they are negative decide to reward themselves to try to make themselves feel good. You would not reward your child for not making the bed, so you should not do it to yourself either. You decide what the reward should be, as long as it is something small. As soon as you feel yourself turning negative, remind yourself of your goal.