Chapter 21 - You And Your Subconscious Mind As Partners In Action…In Relation To Goals In Life

One of the most abused and maligned words in our language is "budget." About money and budgets, we might say that "some people do" and "some people don't." Among those who do, there are many who budget and like it, and there are others who do it and hate it! Among those who do not, are people who say it just won't work or it isn't worth it. As with politics, people are inclined to be violently pro or con about budgets and money. Right now, I am not inviting you to make a declaration of opinion on the subject. Not as far as money is concerned, anyway. But there is another type of budget that I believe calls for positive support by you, so hold on a moment!

The most important budget in the world

Whether we are formal budgeters with money or not we will have to agree on one fact about that cold, practical stuff. That is, we each have just so much money passing through our hands, and we have many needs and desires that require money. We are always concerned about keeping the two sides in balance. Since there is always just "so much" money, the practical angle is not how much we spend, but simply how we spend it and what value we get from that "so much" money. Whether the bank statement can be reconciled is not as important as what each check represents in "value received." Your "creed" and "three rules" will help materially if you are concerned about the monetary side of budgeting. But there is another slant to budgeting, a concept of it that you can't afford not to be concerned with. That is the budgeting of your life!

Do you get value received from what you do?

Your life and the pattern of monetary income and outgo have a remarkably close parallel in the way they operate. And the effect of a budgeting program on both is remarkably parallel in terms of measuring value received. Look at it this way: as with money, you have just "so much" of life. The time element in your life is like income. As with money, there are many needs and desires that you want to be satisfied within that time element. The needs and desires in your life are like the outgo or the spending of money. You are concerned with keeping the two sides of life in balance. Again as with money, the important factor is not that somehow you can account for every minute of your time but rather that you get value received from what you do and how you do it. And finally, as with money, the net value depends upon your outlook on budgeting, on how you budget your life. What you get out of life does depend upon how you budget it.

Budget your life

Budget your life? Yes! Budget it with goals, goals that define and determine how you will spend that income that is the span of your life!

Goals established in your life, goals supported with step-by-step planning, goals worked on consistently will determine whether you have budgeted your life so that you get the greatest "value received" from each day, each month, each year.

You know that influence of one kind or another is always making demands on your time. You know that influence is determining what you do, and what you do determines whether each ticked-off minute is labeled worthwhile or wasted. You know this choice of values is largely determined by the degree of self-influence you exert over time and action. And I am sure that you realize fully that established goals are tools of self-influence. Therefore, I am sure that increased skill in budgeting your life is something you want to cultivate to the highest degree. With the help of the power of your subconscious mind, and the application of plans, you can budget your life, and "like it!"

This way to achievement

First, I am going to give you six "goal makers" that have been tested and proved by thousands of graduates of the Simmons Institute. You won't need to take notes here, because I am giving this "super six" so that you can always use these pages as a reference. These "goal makers" are going to make "budgeting" a pleasure!

Major goals first

1. Establish positive, progressive goals! Relate your goals to your needs and desires to give them a positive slant. Establish goals that will take you forward from where you are, toward achievements that you can clearly define. This will label them as progressive. They become your major goals.

Alternate goals are important

2. Establish alternate goals along with the major ones. Set up alternate objectives, similar to the major goals, which you may switch to anywhere along the line without losing ground if circumstances require a change. For example, if a major goal is a trip around the world, and your vocational status changes so that you don't have enough time to spare, go to Hawaii or Europe instead. With alternate goals established, you will go somewhere stimulating and exciting. You won't stay home, sore at the world and your job because you couldn't make it around the world! Maybe you don't want to go around the world. But whatever your major goals are, be sure that they are supported with alternates, so that progressive accomplishment is always assured.

Timetables for progress

3. As soon as each goal is established, put a timetable along side of it. This is where many fall by the wayside in money budgeting. This phase of budgeting is too practical for them and, while they say they will spend so much for this or that, they end up not doing it, because they were not definite about their goals. So, be definite about the timetable of "what, how, 'when." Besides, your subconscious is depending on you to be definite. It wants specifics to work on.
 
Never turn back

4. Anticipate meeting obstacles, but also anticipate overcoming them. At any time along your way toward a goal, you may meet an obstacle that seems like "the end of the road" or that appears to say: "You're all wrong! Forget the whole idea!"

Don't let either throw you. Get a good strong grip on the progress you have made, and hold that position! Hold it until you can thoroughly evaluate the circumstance and determine how to overcome the obstacle. You can overcome it. Remember the chapter on knowledge and learning? That told you how to meet such a situation. The important thing is to keep the goal strongly in focus and don't turn back.

Variety is necessary

5. Budget your Me with a variety of goals. Remember that your subconscious is your partner here, and this partner thrives on variety. The "more the merrier" is the way your subconscious looks at goals. One goal at a time won't amount to an adequate "budget" anyway. The important factor is have several different kinds of goals on the list at the same time.

Sell your goals to others

6. Let everyone who should know be aware that you have established your goals and that "this is your life" as far as action is concerned. Much of your action in relation to goals is dependent upon your relationship with others. People like to be associated with stimulating, progressive action. They will help you along the way, if you ask them to. Try it!

Use the six "goal makers" and your skill in budgeting your life will increase day-by-day. Now I am going to add just one more "slant" to this plan. It is most closely related to your "timetable," but it also transcends all of the other five steps. This will become quite obvious to you once you are in action on your goals. It is that your goals are dynamic things. There must be, as in your life, an element of flexibility in their use. This will be taken care of if you have goals for today, goals for the coining week, month, year, as well as goals for your total life. Obviously some of the goals for today are really progress steps in the goals for the coming month or year. The important factor in budgeting, here, is that action toward your goals is progressive only when you relate them to the progress of time. This concept can make every day a "red letter day" for you, because you are always doing something new in relation to your goals. This will make a mighty interesting life, if you budget this way!

Goals must be hand-made

There is something stimulating and compelling about these "goal makers," isn't there? That's because they were custom made to fit the "creed" and the "three rules," which are becoming such major factors in your life. But even beyond that, they typify the kind of action that best uses the power of your subconscious. Goals are really "targets" in your life, and the only way to consistently score a bull's-eye on those targets is to keep your "sights" on them and keep firing! Goals consciously established according to this plan will become bull's-eyes that your subconscious will influence you to keep in sight, always. Budgeting your life, with your subconscious as your stimulating partner, will become a matter of standard procedure with you.

Specifically what should your goals be? If this is not clear to you at this point, you know where to find the answers. They are in Chapters 5, 6 and 7, and Chapters 14, 15 and 16. The answers are in the analysis you have made of your life, and in the practice steps you have taken.

You need now to boldly establish those positive, progressive goals, and assign them to your subconscious as the way you want your life to be budgeted!

In Sum

Budget your life.

This is to say that you must establish goals that will give you the greatest value every day of your life.
 
Result Getting Project

This project, recommended to be of several days duration, will induce the skill of "budgeting through goals."

Step 1. Set aside a time of the day or night when you can establish the atmosphere of a "retreat" for yourself, where your body is relaxed and you are at ease and where your conscious mind can concentrate on your "budget." A retreat, as you know, invites your subconscious to be an alert observer of your conscious thoughts and actions. Since this is going to be a positive action on your part, it will establish an ideal relationship with your subconscious. While you are thus "in retreat," make a list of your goals, as you are able to identify them at this time. Write them down just as you think of them. Take your time, ponder over each item until you can make a clear statement about it. Little goals, big goals, get them on the first draft of this budget. That's all this is at the moment, a first draft. But do make it complete, covering all of your needs, desires, aspirations. It should be quite a long list! The very act of making this list is giving a command to your subconscious to do something about the goals. On the first night after this retreat, make the command even stronger, by reading and reviewing the list just before you go to sleep. Let the contents be the important thoughts. The next day their importance will be increased. Now you are ready for Step 21

Step 2. Established another time of retreat for yourself. Take your list with you, plus paper for your timetable. With the preparatory work you have consciously and subconsciously done to set the stage, you will find that putting a date of achievement on each goal seems to happen "just naturally." Being intelligently practical about it, having not the slightest doubt as to the validity of your action, say about each goal: "This is when I plan to achieve it!" And put down a date. Obviously, this is going to put some time priorities on your new list, and you will end up with goals for the week, the month, the year, and even beyond. Stay with it, because now is when the list becomes a "budget of life." Put an alternate goal alongside of each major goal. List at least the first two or three action steps you will take in relation to each goal. Put a tentative date on each step. Now you really have a "budget of life," don't you? Just one more thing and you will be finished with this session. Make a list of each action step in a one-week period, beginning, say the day after tomorrow. Tonight, at bedtime, assign this one-week budget to your subconscious.

Step 3. The following day, spend another few minutes polishing up the one-week budget. Get the coming week's progressive plan all ready to go! Visualize it, this way: you are getting ready to go to a big party. It's going to be a wonderful affair, exciting, with lots doing! You are all primed for it, and you can hardly wait for tomorrow! With this attitude, take the polished one-week budget to bed with you. Your subconscious will then be as well prepared for the big day, just as your conscious being is. The next morning, nothing will stop you from putting this first-class budget into action!

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