How to set goals that you can ACTUALLY achieve
Table of Contents
Setting The Scene
Before heading into any goal setting session, you’ll want to set the scene and do some reflection! What is it that you would like to accomplish?
Allow your mind time to run through all of the big picture possibilities before ruling anything out.
You don’t need to have all of the answers or all of the specifics on how you will achieve these goals, just begin by gathering your thoughts.
Make sure your goals are S.M.A.R.T.
This is where you’ll want to start narrowing things down. You’ll want to assess your list of goals and make sure that they fit a few parameters. If they hit all five of the following measures, then you’ll know it is time to hit the ground running, and start the required work!
Specific
You’ll want to start by making sure that your goals are specific. If you’re unclear about your goals, then are you really clear or serious about achieving your intended results?
The point is that over time, you won’t know what it is that you’ve really accomplished if you don’t know what it is that you’re working towards.
Start big and then ask yourself the relevant questions!
Say, for example, you want to be a more frugal spender and decide that you want to save $1000. Sounds cool…but what is the reason?
Are you saving just to save? With an unclear purpose behind your actions, you’re more likely to dip into that pool of money unnecessarily. Without being clear on your why you may act in certain ways that take you off of your intended path.
In a situation like this, it is helpful to do a bit of reflection! some things that you can ask yourself:
- What am I saving towards?
- Why do I need to commit to this goal?
- How often should I contribute to my savings account
- What is an appropriate contribution amount that I can commit to?
- When should I aim to hit this goal?
This is just one example but simply taking 10 minutes to create and answer this short list of questions that you create for yourself can make a WORLD of a difference!
You’re no longer playing a guessing game but instead giving yourself actual facts and figures to work with. The structure of creating specific goals works for just about anything that you would like to accomplish in life- so make sure to incorporate it ASAP!
Measurable
A good goal is one that is MEASURABLE
You should be able to track your progress towards your goal at anytime!
It may be helpful to have regular check in sessions with yourself as well to see where you are in the current moment compared to where you were when you started.
Make things easier and schedule one at the beginning or end of the month so that you don’t forget!
Let’s follow the previous saving example
This can look like you taking time at the end of the month to go through your credit card and savings account statements!
For example, at the end of the month, check to see if you hit all of the periodic savings goals that you set for yourself.
If you did, great? Are there areas where can you improve?
You might then decide to take the next step and analyze your transactions to make sure that you aren’t overspending unnecessarily.
Now that you’ve taken the time to analyze the facts, you can see what actions you can take to accelerate your progress and project the difference these choices will make!
Measurement and analysis is one of the keys to success!
Attainable/Actionable
As I suggested in the specificity section, you want to make sure that your goals are also attainable and things that you can take action towards accomplishing regularly or else they run the risk of just being ideas.
A good goal is something that you can accomplish within a timeframe that you set for yourself given the resources and tools that you have access to.
Ignoring this part can easily lead to overwhelm and anxiety!
It’s essential to make sure that you can actually create room in your life to work on this and stay consistent!
Recognize that small actions eventually add up! whether you show up once. a week or once a day, you are still making changes to the larger picture! and creating micro-goals that you can tick off ever so often will help you to create a steady level of motivation and consistency
Relevant
How much does this goal actually matter to YOU
Is this something that you want to accomplish or that someone else wants you to accomplish
If you don’t want to make these changes in your own life it is highly unlikely that you will continue to show up for them and actually get them done.
A big part of setting goals and staying the course is visualizing the future version of yourself that has accomplished them and showing up as that person.
If you cannot create this image in your mind, the goal likely is not relevant enough to you – this is ok but it’s just a major sign that you should reevaluate what it is that you’re working on
If you have a bunch of ideas floating around in your mind, RELEVANCE is going to help you create a sense of order
Focus on the ones that make the most sense for you at this moment and save the others for a future moment once you’ve made the relevant accomplishment.
Timely
At what point in your life will accomplishing this goal have an impact?
Think about school assignments: are you more likely to work on the project due tomorrow or next month?
Giving yourself a deadline that is closer to the near future helps you to become more clear about what it is that you need to do and when.
This is what makes setting micro-goals so essential.
Give yourself a weekly or monthly target to reach rather than ignoring deadlines – though they can be stressful, they can also be liberating!
Creating a timeline will help you to ensure that you are making the progress you intended to rather than wasting time being inactive
Things to consider
Goal-setting is HARD. There will be moments where you don’t want to take the actions necessary to reach your goals but understand that this is normal!
If I could emphasize one thing, it’s that you have to become the person who achieves certain actions in order to get anything done.
Believe that you are a person who does certain things in order for those actions to make sense for you in your daily life.
