Setting Goals and The Key To Actually Achieving Them
Disclosure: This article may contain affiliate links. When you click these links, I may get a small commission. It won’t cost you anything, but it helps me to run this site. I only promote products and services that I think are great and trustworthy.
I think we all understand the importance of setting goals. It provides us with a better focus on aligning ourselves with our dream life. Nothing is more inspiring than thinking of how happy and successful we want to be one day. But, why are we never getting where we want to be? Why are we always stuck between thinking about it and doing it?
"Time is not refundable, use it with intention"
You've all heard the "life is short" phrase. We have X amount of time, so use that time with purpose. Always do things that you enjoy, things that lead you to your goals, and things that make you a happier person. Don't live your life thinking you'll always have time later.
Looking for some motivation and discussion about procrastinating and why we do it? Watch the Ted Talk by Tim Urban, called "Inside the mind of a master procrastinator". It's only a few minutes long and is extremely eye-opening.
I love setting goals. Goal setting helps you figure out what you want and also helps you plan HOW to get there. One of my biggest problems with goal setting was that I was never getting to where I wanted to be, and I had no idea why.
Over the past few months, I've done lots of research and learned from my mistakes. Here are my all-time favorite tips that helped get me on track.
Before I get into my favorite goal-setting practices, it's important to discuss mindset. To achieve anything in your life, you need to have the right mindset. I suggest reading my post "How Improving Your Mindset Can Change Your Entire Life." Then come back here to learn about proper goal-setting.
Setting Goals And The Key To Actually Achieving Them.
#1 Figure out what you want.
"People with goals succeed because they know where they are going" - Earl Nightingale
The most obvious and important step is to figure out what your dreams and goals are. After reading a book provided on the apple books app, "Goal Setting To Live your Dreams" by Bola Sokunbi, I came across something that I never considered before.
After reading this short novel, I learned how to set goals PROPERLY. Yes, that's right, the reason you may have not been achieving your goals is probably that you aren't setting your goals efficiently. One of the very first things Bola discusses is making your goals specific. The more specific your goals are, the easier it is to figure out what you truly want.
Set SMART goals by being specific, making sure they are measurable, achievable, realistic, and give yourself a time deadline. Be specific to achieve EXACTLY what you want.
Do you want more money in the bank? Awesome. How much do you want? In what time frame? How are you going to spend it? Where are you going to put it? Maybe you want to buy a house? Where do you want the house located? What style of house do you like? What does the Neighbourhood look like? Will there be a backyard?
#2 Plan and break it down.
Ok great! You figured out what you want! Now it's time to figure out how you're going to get there. Remember, we have to understand the "how" behind our goals! The BEST way to plan for your goals is by actually working backward. Sounds weird right? Take a yearly goal, for example. You break down your yearly goal of becoming a successful blogger into 12 mini-goals, aka your monthly goals. Within that 12 mini-goals, you create an action list that you need to complete to achieve your monthly goal.
Breaking down goals will ensure that you're consistently taking steps toward achieving the life you desire and is a lot easier than winging it and hoping it'll work out. Planning is crucial!
"Deciding in advance when and where you're going to take specific actions to reach your goal can actually double or triple your chances for success" - Dr. Heidi Grant Halvorson
#3 The why.
This refers back to the original point of figuring out what your goals are. Ensuring you have strong reasoning behind achieving your goals IS SO IMPORTANT. This "why" is your motivation and your reminder.
Why do I need to complete my to-do list today? So that you can achieve your weekly goals. Why do you need to achieve your weekly goals? So that you can complete your monthly goal. But why is this monthly goal so important? So that you're a step closer to your DREAM.
There are so many ways you can always keep that "why" in mind like creating a vision board, saying positive affirmations out loud every day, or even writing your goals down every morning.
Sometimes we will need a little push to get to where we want to be. A great method of self-motivation, discovered by Mel Robbins, is called the 5-second rule. Mel Robbins explains how you can change your life in just 5 seconds! There endless ways to help motivate yourself, you just need to find the one that works best for you. In my blog post "10 Ways To Boost Motivation and Get Things Done", I share some easy ways to gain that motivation to continue with your daily tasks and goals.
#4 Prioritize.
One of the main reasons I was NEVER successful in achieving my goals was because of over-motivation (I blame caffeine). There are many times we will feel extremely motivated and want to make these great big changes to our lives.
When I began bullet journaling, one of my favorite pages was my habit tracker. I'd list out 5-10 habits that I'd like to work on during that month and every time I completed it for that day, I'd highlight it. Using checklists was my favorite way to get things done and I thought it was a great motivation for me. But, my results didn't show that. Nothing became a habit for me, I eventually stopped working on my habits and I had no idea how to make my habits actually stick.
What I realized was that I was trying to do too much at one time. This works the same with setting goals. We already live busy lives. Going to work, having a social life, visiting our families, taking care of our pets, and most importantly taking care of ourselves. Give yourself a break, we only have so much willpower and energy that we are provided with! Take your time and focus on a few goals at a time. This is why being realistic with your goal and determining a proper time frame is important.
#5 Keep reminders.
I strongly believe that writing out your goals and even your to-do lists are extremely important. My favorite way to keep reminders is by using a planner. My current planner is purchased from Marshalls and is by Fringe Studio. Whether it's a planner or writing out mini notes on post-its or even using your phone to set yourself notes, that constant reminder does make a difference.
There are so many distractions during the day, to ensure you have everything figured out, keep a record of it. Life can get quite busy, and I can't remember how many times my planner made my life feel more organized. As mentioned earlier, vision boards and positive affirmations are also great reminders to help give you that boost you need.
#6 Reorganize your environment.
Every day we face so many options. What some people don't consider, is how our environment can trigger certain thoughts and behaviors, easily influencing the choices that we make throughout the day. Rearranging and organizing your environment can help to make your goals easier to complete. A great concept to consider is the activation energy.
The best way I can explain activation energy is by saying it's the energy needed to perform a specific task. The higher the activation energy is, the more effort that task requires. Thus, the harder it is to do something (the higher the activation energy), chances are you'll end up doing something far easier (lower activation energy).
For instance, if your book is on the bookshelf but the T.V remote is beside you on the side-table you are more likely to start watching T.V. Try placing a book by your couch and place your remote further away or take out the batteries of your remote and see the results.
Our brains are so good at convincing us to take the route that requires less effort, so let's change our environments and make it easier to complete all of our habits, checklists, and get working towards our dream life!
#7 Do assessments.
Personal assessments allow us to see where we are succeeding, and also allows us to identify areas we need to work on or are currently lacking in. I know, no one likes to see their failures. However, failures are an important part of the learning process and help us grow to become better.
Always remember that you should never feel ashamed or embarrassed about your failures. It's natural to feel scared or hit a stump while trying to reach for the stars, but trying and misfiring is 100% better than never attempting anything at all.
After getting the opportunity to learn about proper goal-setting, I can easily say I feel more motivated, productive, and that I'm on the right track!
