Setting goals is an essential element of progress. Without them we don’t know how we want to spend our energy or where we want to go. This post will discuss 7 steps you can take to achieve your goals. Those are know your reasons, identify fears & obstacles, set up your environment, have good habits, set subgoals, reward yourself and always reevaluate. Let’s dive!
Always remember why you set a specific goal in the first place. If there are many reasons, find a statement that would incapsulate them in one sentence. Repeat this statement to yourself when times get tough. Use affirmations to remind yourself that you are capable. Use visualization exercises to imagine yourself having already accomplished the goal. Savor the details of how great it is going to be. To get more information on Visualization & Affirmations, read Autosuggestion: What It Is & 4 Steps on How to Start Using It. Whatever method you chose to employ, always know and remember why you started.
Sometimes we don’t take actions on our desires because we have deep seated fears or we are worried about the obstacles that we might find. Sometimes, fears can be good because they keep us from harm’s way. Other times, we may not even be aware of these fears. Worse, we know of them and we allow ourselves to be paralyzed. If you are having trouble getting started, write down each fear or concern or obstacle that’s keeping you from moving forward. Look at the paper that you have written and for each entry ask yourself “Is this a real concern or just my imagination?” “Is there a way around the issue in question?” “Are there overwhelming benefits that override?” Through asking yourself these questions or others like them, you’ll find a way to move past your fears. To get more information for overcoming Limiting Beliefs, read Limiting Beliefs: Where They Come From & How to Overcome Them.
Setting up a positive environment is one of the steps to help achieve your goals. After discovering the possible fears, worries and obstacles that may stand in the way of accomplishing your goals, create an environment that will enable you in your journey. If you are concerned about how those closest to you will react, tell them about your goal and ask for their support. If they are unable, put yourself in a group that will help you achieve. For the best chance of success, control your environment.
Humans are habitual creatures. In fact, it has been said that 45% of our waking life is spent performing habits that are on auto-pilot. That means that habits play a major force in the direction that our lives go. The only way to achieve your goals is to adopt the habits that will bring you closer to accomplishment. To learn more about habit forming techniques, read 9 Tips on How to Make Your New Habits Stick. Either way, be aware of the habits that you want to keep, add or remove. Then, make the efforts to perform the necessary changes.
Having subgoals is a key step to achieve your goals. Many times people have lofty ideas about what can be accomplished in a short amount of time. Everyone wants to be an overnight success. This mindset will only leave you frustrated until you decide to quit. A more effective way is to find & focus on the smaller goals inside the huge goals. The goals within the goals. Through concentrating on the more manageable steps, you can feel a sense of accomplishment and build momentum. These positive returns on your work will be a force which feeds itself and propels you forward. Celebrate the small victories that lead to the major accomplishments.
Keep yourself motivated with positive reinforcement. For example, if you are trying to lose weight and you’ve been working hard and are successful. Give yourself a little treat or even a cheat meal. Just don’t allow a cheat meal to become a cheat week. If you put the work in, you can “Have your cake and eat it too.”
Keep track of your progress and make the needed changes to stay on course. If you are not getting the results you have been after, look at your records and think of different ways to do it. If needed, test until you find the way that works best for you. There’s always a way. Remember, one only fails when it quits.
Goals are great because they allow us an opportunity to focus our efforts in a single direction. To strive to be more tomorrow than what we are today. Use these steps to achieve your goals. There’s an expression, you’ve probably heard it before. “Success is a journey not a destination.” With that said, set your goals high & take the first step!