Goal setting has been proven to be one of the best ways to keep yourself on track and achieve your objectives. From small, daily goals to long-term career aspirations, goal setting will help you stay focused and meet your desired outcomes much faster than if you didn’t set any goals at all. Here are six tips and tricks to make sure your goal setting plan stays on track and helps you reach the outcomes you want in life and work this year!
- Visualize your goals
Research shows that people are far more likely to achieve their goals if they visualize them. Visualizing your goals is simply picturing yourself achieving them, so try it! Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, then picture yourself achieving your goal. After that, write down everything you saw in your head, which will serve as an anchor for future visualization. I recommend you do at least 5 of these before going to bed each night. Not only will it help you achieve your goal faster, but it’ll also help with sleep since you’ll train yourself not to think about work while laying in bed!
You can even envision how your life will be different once you’ve achieved your goal by focusing on how things would look or feel different compared to now. For example, I am happy because I am making $50k per year. There’s really no limit to what you can dream up. In addition to that, studies show that our goals are 28% more likely to succeed when we define what success looks like at first instead of just relying on motivation. So grab a piece of paper or open up Word and start defining how success looks like to you. What will your life look like once you’ve achieved your goal? How much happier will you be? How much money might you make? What benefits would there be? Getting specific is important here since it helps make goals more actionable later on. Be as vivid as possible with how things should feel/look/sound!
2. Set measurable objectives
All these objectives should add up to a personalized action plan , which you can refer back to when starting out seems overwhelming. But don’t worry—it won’t seem overwhelming for long once you get started! Picking short-term goals also makes sure you take all steps necessary towards success. In addition, reaching even small goals early on keeps momentum going, while doing too much too soon could lead to discouragement and burnout. We will talk about start small tricks in our tip 4. Successful goal setting means staying focused and prioritizing while still being flexible enough to adjust your plans when needed.
3. Write Down What Actions to Take
If you are set on changing your life for good, there’s no other way around it—you have to take action. And if you’re really serious about making that change, then it’s imperative that you write down what actions you will take towards reaching your goals. This simple step will make sure that nothing gets forgotten, overlooked or left behind. Write them down. Write them all down. Don’t hold back. Put every single idea, every brainstorm into words. Don’t worry too much about how ridiculous or pointless it might sound at first. It doesn’t matter how big your goal is at first—just get everything out of your head and onto paper so you can see how far off from achieving it you actually are…and get going! There will be plenty of time to edit, tweak and fine-tune once everything is written down in front of you. No more excuses. No more uncertainty. No more wondering where to start next. You know exactly what needs to happen, when it needs to happen by and who’s responsible for doing it. This is not something you should leave until tomorrow…or even an hour from now.
Now is exactly when your plan needs to come together—with lots of elbow grease, hard work and lots of patience along the way. Get started today. Achieving your goals starts with identifying them correctly, which means setting measurable objectives that help you gauge whether or not they’ve been met. So ask yourself: What do I want? Why do I want it? How will I know when I’ve achieved my goal? What am I willing to give up/do/sacrifice in order to achieve my goal? These questions will put your mind squarely on track—and keep it there until you reach your destination.
4. Start Small
It’s easy to fall into self-defeating patterns when it comes to setting goals, especially if you feel embarrassed or think people will laugh at your small ambitions. So it can be helpful to share your goals with others—ideally, people who are close enough to you that they’ll give you honest feedback. After all, how can you expect other people to believe in your dreams unless you believe in them yourself? And it doesn’t hurt to have another pair of eyes help you uncover blind spots or brainstorm ways to hit your targets. Sharing your goals also gives you accountability—once they’re out there, there’s no point in taking them back! But remember: If someone questions your goals for being too ambitious or unrealistic, don’t let their doubts shake your confidence! The fact is that many personal objectives are always going to look big on paper but much smaller once completed.
5. Get Feedback From Others
It’s easy to fall into self-defeating patterns when it comes to setting goals, especially if you feel embarrassed or think people will laugh at your small ambitions. So it can be helpful to share your goals with others—ideally, people who are close enough to you that they’ll give you honest feedback. After all, how can you expect other people to believe in your dreams unless you believe in them yourself? And it doesn’t hurt to have another pair of eyes help you uncover blind spots or brainstorm ways to hit your targets. Sharing your goals also gives you accountability—once they’re out there, there’s no point in taking them back! But remember: If someone questions your goals for being too ambitious or unrealistic, don’t let their doubts shake your confidence! The fact is that many personal objectives are always going to look big on paper but much smaller once completed.
6. Build Habits That Will Help You Achieve Your Goals
If you’re looking for goal setting inspiration, look no further than your habits. Habits are one of your most valuable assets in achieving your goals. Start by writing down 3-5 daily habits that you already engage in that contribute to reaching your goal. Then choose 1-2 additional ones that you could start engaging in if they would help you reach your goal even faster. Write them out on sticky notes or index cards so you can post them next to your desk or on your bathroom mirror where they will be visible throughout each day. You may also want to create a checklist each night where you plan out how you are going to accomplish these habits during that day ahead.
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