We all read body language instinctively. Only 7% of our understanding actually comes from the words a person says. So body language plays a large part in our spoken communication process.

No less so in written communication.

Handwriting is a form of body language. We all form an impression of the writer instinctively, when we look at the written word. By studying handwriting in depth, the entire personality is revealed.

Below are some quick handwriting analysis tips on the subject of goal setting and goal achieving. Enjoy!

1. How high up the "ladder of success" do you set your goals?

Look at how you cross your small letter "t."

The higher the t-bar, the higher your goals.  As coaches, if we want ourselves or our clients to double our/their goals, we want the t-bar to be very high up or right at the top of the t-stem. Still attached, but balanced right on the top.

If your t-bar is floating in the air above the t-stem, you've overdone it, and are in a world of unrealistic dreams.

The lower the t-bar, the lower the goals.

If your t-bar does not cross the t-stem at all, you cannot estimate where you set your goals.

A variety of heights of t-bar crossings is normal. It indicates different levels of goals in different areas of our lives.

2. How much of a self starter are you?

For this you have to look carefully at the cross bar of your small t again. But this time where it is placed is not important, but how heavy it is.

Compare the t-bar to the rest of your writing.

If the t-bar is heavier than the other writing, then you are self motivated, a self starter. The same heaviness and you have average ability to get yourself going on something, whilst a t-bar lighter than the rest of your writing – you could do with someone to give you a push to get you going!!

3. When the going gets tough, I ............................ (fill in the blank)

If your motto could be "if at first you don't succeed, give up and try something else" then you probably make your lower extenders (the downstrokes, below the baseline on letters y, g, j) short or very weak.

If your lower extenders are an average length, with the same strength as the rest of your writing, then your determination to keep going will see you through in most cases - it is average.

But if your lower extenders are long, straight and strong then you should finish the above sentence as "When the going gets tough, the tough get going"

A curvy lower extended is a writer who may eventually arrive at the finishing post, but will probably take a detour along the way.

4. Do you put things off instead of getting on with them?

This trait of procrastination shows when the t-bar, on the lower case t, is totally to the left of the t-stem, not crossing it. In all my collection of famous people's writing, I have found not one with procrastination. Successful people do not procrastinate!

5. One trait that is always a winner is enthusiasm.

If your t-bar is long and sweeping, this is what it shows. The longer it is, the more enthusiasm is shown.

6. Another winning trait is optimism.

The optimist always looks on the bright side of things, on the "up-side." Correspondingly optimism is shown in writing by the t-bar going uphill towards the right of the page, or lines of writing doing likewise.

Tip: If you're feeling down one day, try writing several lines of writing going "uphill" - slanting upwards towards the right. Do your t-bars the same way. Just as smiling makes you feel happier, optimistic writing makes you feel more cheerful. Try it!!

To succeed your need to have optimism and to believe in yourself.

7. It's all very well to be busy, but is it productive activity?

The trait of confusion of interests indicates that there is much going on, so much that probably no one thing is getting the attention it needs. Usually the result is lots of activity for very little outcome. This is shown when lines of writing (when written on unlined paper) run into each other causing "confusion."

8. Are you organized?

This shows when the upper part of the small "f" is the same length as the lower part of that letter. If confusion and organization appear in the same writing, whichever appears most regularly, thus being the stronger, is the one that will show most in the person's behaviour.

9. Initiative.

Excellent trait. The ability to spot opportunity and move towards grasping it.

Shows where the small 't' at the end of a word, instead of having a separately drawn t-bar, or in fact any t-bar which crosses the t-stem, has just a stroke which swings out from the baseline towards the right. It can make the letter t resemble a "v." Initiative also shows in other strokes.

10. And lastly, self confidence.

If you set your goals high, you need self confidence to help you get there. A good sized personal pronoun "I," good sized capital letters, and a signature a little larger than the rest of the writing show self confidence. If any of these are overly large it indicates showmanship, which may or may not have substance behind it.