How to set goals … to achieve them
In movies, in stories, every new year - we hear about setting goals and it seems so simple. Choose a goal and then go for it. Just put in the work and commit and you will succeed. And in all honesty that is exactly what it should be - we should just be able to choose a goal and go for it… yet we all know that so many goals fall short. We start out strong and then our motivation starts to dwindle and we tell ourselves that our goal really didn’t matter too much or that life got in the way or something else.
“They keep us moving forward and reaching for more....”
Goals, in my opinion, are so important to life. They keep us moving forward and reaching for more, but I know from my experience that it is so easy to set a goal and then let go of it when it doesn’t happen overnight. But after a lot of trial and error and a fair amount of research, I have found that how I set up a goal and start it plays a huge part in wether I succeed or not.
Goals, or just your intentions, can be small or large. They can be simple tasks that we set up for ourselves to accomplish in a day or huge goals that we know will last all year. But no matter how big or small are goal/ intentions are they very first step to setting ourselves up for success is:
Know your Why
Knowing your why, the real reason why you want to accomplish your goal is beyond important. For example, a small goal might be to fold your laundry for today. This is a beyond small goal, but one that so many times I willingly set for myself only to let myself down by not following through. One of the key ways to start following through on your goals is to know why you want to complete the task in the first place …. and usually that is a little bit more deep than we like to go in everyday life.
My goal in trying to fold and put away my laundry doesn’t get done usually because my why is not strong. But I can make a strong why for this task with some thought. My why can’t just because i’m the adult. (Which I sometimes want to think) To really commit to getting it done I need to change my mindset and know that folding and putting away the laundry helps decrease the overwhelm in our house, it makes me happy to not see piles of clothes everywhere, it makes life easier when I can find what I am looking for.
Another, maybe more relatable goal would be to lose 10 pounds. So often I hear these goals of losing weight and when I ask what their why is, more often than not it is to look better or feel better. That is a great starting point for wanting to lose the weight, but I think that you have to dive a little bit deeper into why you want to look better. Is it to impress someone? Is it to be accepted or be more self confident? Do you want to feel better because you always feel tired and want more energy to go out and be more active?
Knowing your why is key, you see, to actually wanting to achieve your goal when things get hard. And that is where step number two comes in .
2. Set up reminders when you want to quit
I feel like it should be a know fact that when you set a goal, you will at some point want to quit. Life, things and whatever else will get hard and there will always be an excuse, even a truly great excuse. That is why setting up reminders as to why you started and why you want to actually accomplish your goal is so key. Setting up reminders could be as simple as setting alarms on your phone, post it notes on a mirror, writing in your journal or asking a friend to hold you accountable. Having reminders or someone to remind you that you wanted this for a reason will help you keep going when things start to slow down.
3. Set up mini check points within your goal
The last step to setting up your goal and following through with your intention, is to set different check points to check in with your goal. This is so much easier said than done- in both short and long term goals. But taking the time to have different check in times already set up when starting a goal will help keep you accountable along they way.
One of my favorite ways to stay accountable with myself is to do weekly lists. If you know me, I am all about accomplishing a to do list. Creating a check list each week helps me see what I want to accomplish and also gives me to opportunity to check in daily to see what I have left to do to complete my list each week.
In the example of wanting to lose 10 pounds, a good check in schedule might be to always step on the scale once per week to weigh in. It would also be saying at the beginning of each month, you might examine and review what has gone right and what you may have let slip.
By not having set times to check in and look at where you are and how much longer you have till you accomplish your goal, you are setting yourself up to just give up in the end. Having small check in times, helps keep the motivation up and also gives you mini mile markers to look forward too as you keep focused on your end goal.
These are my keys to setting goals that you can achieve. I so hope they helped - because I know that if you find your why, set up reminders when things get hard and give yourself mini checkpoints… you can achieve whatever goals you set for yourself.
Please reach out if you have any questions. I love hearing from you!
Catlin
