How To Set Any Goal And Actually Achieve It!

Have you been setting goals each January will little success? Do you get to February and give up or lose momentum? I know the feeling. This is why I developed this method for making sure I achieve every goal I set. It get's me thinking about all the specifics and exactly what my course of action is going to be.

These steps will help you achieve any goal you set your mind to. Let's get into it!

1. What’s the goal?

So, first you have to identify what your goal is. Some examples are: I want to read a book every month this year, I want to lose 10kg, I want to be able to run 5km etc.

2. Goal specifics:

The next step is being more specific with that goal. So, in relation to reading a book every month you could say: 5 chapters a week and half of the books have to be non-fiction etc.

3. Steps to take to achieve this:

Next is: What are the steps you have to take to achieve this? If its weight loss related, you could say ‘I have to work out 4 times a week’. ‘I will meal prep my meals 6 days a week and on the 7th day I will be a bit more flexible’. ‘I will set an alarm and do my workouts in the morning’. It could be buying some equipment, getting a gym membership or a trainer.

4. Things that will help me achieve this goal:

So, now think about what will help you achieve this. It could be scheduling time to work on it every day or once a week, doing research on different topics, getting feedback, being more consistent with your deadlines etc. What is going to help you be more efficient and more likely to accomplish your goal?

5. What I should learn more about?

This is also an extra little bit I like to include. Maybe it’s that you need to research healthier recipes or workouts, different genres of books, running tracks, editing software anything. You can easily focus on things that you know will help you in achieving this goal.

6. Who can help?

Next is identifying who can help. This helps if you often need some accountability. Whether it’s your partner for motivation and reassurance, or a friend who knows a lot about fitness and nutrition or it's your family that can give you great book recommendations if you are struggling to find the next book, or if you need a workout buddy maybe you can ask your siblings to join you.

7. Setbacks that may come up:

After that you need to determine what could set you back, what could get in your way of achieving this goal? Things like a schedule that’s too busy, being stressed, lazy, tired, additional commitments, spending too much time on your phone, weather… Anything. Being aware of this means that you can prepare and develop ways in which you can get around it.

8. What’s your motivation?

Why is it you want this? Is it because you are trying to promote your business? Educate people? Obtain a second income stream for yourself so you can save up to buy a car? It could be to increase your confidence or have more happiness and better moods. Maybe you want to be able to keep up with you kids or eventually be strong enough to do a chin up.

9. Desired outcome:

What exactly do you want in the end? What would be your perfect ending?

10. Why do you want to achieve this?

You then want to identify why you want to achieve that goal. Is it because you want to feel more confident? You want to increase your knowledge? You want to feel less stressed? You want to be able to keep up with your kids? Identifying your ‘why’ can be really helpful in dissecting your goal and finding out your reasons for wanting it. It can also prove to be a big motivator for you.

11. How will achieving this make me feel?

How will you feel when this is over? Elated? Confident? Proud of yourself? This can also be a massive motivator. Those feelings can really drive you through this journey.

12. Deadline:

You need to pick a deadline for your goal. This ensures you stay on track and don’t just let the weeks or months slip by. It can also help you to evaluate your progress. Maybe you’re a bit behind or maybe your ahead of your schedule. You can for example put in a 3,6 or 9 month check in. Your goals need to be measurable.

Go and make your goals come true following this method!

Kick 2021 in the butt!