How to Achieve Your Dreams: Goal Setting Tips
If you’re overwhelmed and unsure how to achieve your dreams, this article is for you! We’ll discuss tips to help you break down your goals into achievable steps. We’ll explore the importance of setting realistic goals and breaking them into mini-goals to keep your focus on the long term. We’ll also review strategies to keep yourself motivated and on track and help you develop strategies to deal with setbacks. With these goal-setting tips, you can make your dreams a reality!
Everyone has specific goals they want to reach. It might be weight loss, finances in your personal life, or specific business growth goals in your career. But, regardless of what milestones you want to achieve, you won’t get there if all you have is the result in mind.
Setting goals is just one part of the equation. Knowing how to get there is the piece of the puzzle that so many people leave out, which leads them to flounder, procrastinate and veer off course until one day, they realize they’re completely off base and have wasted a lot of time and effort.
You can take four easy steps to ensure your goals are met. It’s a process that lets you map out where you want to be and take steps to get there quickly.
Step 1 – Know Your End Result
You must see how you’d like your journey to end to know what steps you need to take. This is your outcome or result. Then, you have to be able to define what you want that result to be concrete.
This is the bottom line of everything that you’re attempting to do. Many people aim for something without knowing what they want the result. The problem with not knowing your end goal is that you won’t realize it once you’ve reached it – if you even reach it at all.
Let’s say that you take up running for exercise. Your result could be to lose weight or get in better shape. Now let’s say that you set a more specific goal to take up running because you want to run in a marathon that’s happening in the future.
Your result changed from a generic goal of losing weight and getting in better shape to the development of competing in the marathon, which has a specific length and is on a particular timetable.
Only you will be able to determine your end goal. It might be to finish college, grow your business by $50,000 in the coming year, lose 25 pounds, and so on. Have a significant, verifiable goal to reach.
Knowing the result is imperative for whatever you want in life. You need to know this to be able to work your process. This might mean you determine different results for other areas of your life.
It’s okay to have one for the personal side of your life, for relationships and things like that, while having another for your professional goals. So don’t just say, “I want to be happier.”
What would make you happier, specifically? Visualize that end goal that you want. For now, don’t worry about timing. You’ll work on that as you develop your specific plan-setting strategy.
Step 2 – Craft Mini Goals
Goals are something that can be used to improve your life. Having goals lets you check to see if you’re on track for how you want your life to turn out. Goals are helpful tools that can keep you headed in the right direction when you need to make a decision that involves changing some aspect of your life.
Encouragement is a by-product of having goals. Whenever you have a setback, plans can encourage you to keep going. By seeing how far you’ve come, you realize you’ve already made some strides.
Most success-minded people will focus on short-term goals over long-term goals because these are easier to make come true. However, living in a results-oriented world causes people to lean toward short-term goals more often.
Dreamers who take minimal action often focus on long-term goals, forgetting they need a specific path to get them there. As a result, they stay paralyzed, feeling the long-term goal is too far out of reach.
short-term goals
Short-term goals mean that these are things you do in the present or near future – within a week or a month. An example of a short-term goal might be setting up an email autoresponder system within the next 14 days so that you’re ready to build a list.
long-term goals
A long-term goal is usually something that you can’t reach as fast as a short-term goal. So after making it, you plan to get a long-term goal within a few months, a year, or longer.
Long-term goals will be realized over time as your shorter milestones are achieved. For instance, your long-term goal might be to have a list of 100,000 subscribers.
So your short-term goals might be:
* Set up an email autoresponder system within 14 days
* Create a 10-day follow-up series for the autoresponders within 30 days
* Achieve a list of my first 1,000 subscribers using social media within six weeks
* Grow my list to 2,000 subscribers within two months using a giveaway event
…and so on.
Visual Aids
Each time you can look at your list and cross off an item you achieved, it helps you build momentum toward reaching your ultimate goal. But, whatever your goals are, you shouldn’t let them sit there as anything more than an internal dream that you have.
It would be best to have them around visually to help remind you of what you desire out of life. It would be best to see your goals so you’re reminded to act.
You can create a vision board with pictures that will help keep you motivated. Or you can write them down in a notebook and list why you want that goal.
Studies have shown that goals that are visualized or written down are reached more often than goals that are not. In addition, it spurs you into doing all the small steps needed to send you up the ladder of success.
Reaching any goal will require you to understand what you already possess to help you meet that goal. However, it also takes you to know what you lack in reaching that goal to level up your skills to achieve it.
If you wanted to run a marathon and were in reasonably good shape, you would understand that your physical condition was something you already had. But if you were out of the body, you would know you couldn’t run a marathon until you got into shape.
You would understand that you lacked physical conditioning. Defining that would help you set mini goals of getting fit, which would feed into your more extensive plan for the marathon accomplishment.
The Power of Mini-Goals
You can also create mini-goals for as many sub-levels as possible. For example, physical conditioning is a mini goal to competing in the marathon. But what are some mini goals for physical conditioning?
* Being able to go the distance of the marathon in a day
* Being able to run instead of walk the entire time
* Being able to achieve a 15-minute mile
Creating mini-goals helps you focus your energy on the bigger goal. However, focusing on the bigger goal can overwhelm you and cause you to talk yourself out of trying.
Making mini-goals takes the overall plan and reduces it in size so that it’s manageable and doable. In addition, you won’t allow yourself to have excuses for why it can’t be achieved.
Each mini-goal that you set needs to be specific, too. This means that you divide these up into tasks. For example, you would need to use a calendar to select a date for reaching each reading that falls under your mini-goal heading.
You then break down the date by the time you must work on the goal. Then, when you have plans with a conclusion date, it helps you stay on track to reach the bigger picture.
Even mini-goals with a conclusion date of “whenever” rarely get finished. So you need to know when to start that mini-goal and when to complete it.
Give each task under the goal a deadline. For example, a mini plan of walking a 15-minute mile within 15 weeks might require you (if you’re starting from a 30-minute mile) to shave one minute off your time each week.
That’s a doable mini-goal, and the timeline is specific enough for you to have clarity in reaching it. Everything that you do under a mini plan should be something that matters. The more detailed it is, the better it will keep you on track.
Mini goals need to be created in such a way that you’ll be able to see progress. For example, if your goal is to start your own business, then one of your mini goals might be to write a business plan.
Next, you would write down when you need that plan finished. Another mini goal could be having a mentor review the project and give you tips on polishing it further.
Each step you take should have a purpose that propels you toward the result of your bigger goal. If you can remove the mini-goal without impacting the overall plan, then the odds are high that it may not be needed.
You need to have an order of importance before setting mini-goals. Then, after listing the mini-goal, write down what you gain from reaching that goal. Finally, write down what you have to do to make it happen.
List the deadline that it needs to happen by. Make notes under the mini-goal that tell you what you must learn to reach that goal. For example, is there a class you need to take? A book you have to read or a seminar you must attend?
All of those should be listed under the mini-goal. Finally, ensure you understand if completing the mini-goal can be done alone or if you need someone else’s help.
It would be best to list all possible roadblocks that could happen while trying to reach each mini-goal. Then, after recording the roadblocks, write down all the ways around them.
What this does is help you be prepared for whenever a setback crops up. But, of course, they will – and it’s always best to have your offensive strategy in place before you need it.
Step 3 – Brainstorm Action Steps
Before taking action, you want to brainstorm ways to achieve your mini goals. You want options, not a single path that you think will work. It allows you to think outside the box.
Some people refer to brainstorming as creatively solving a problem before it happens or while it’s ongoing. However, most people devise two or four ways to reach their goals without brainstorming.
When you start brainstorming from a research perspective, you often find better ways to do things, shortcuts, and money savers. So don’t be afraid to network with others and ask for their best practices.
Brainstorming action steps is easy to do. First, you need a notebook or a writing program on your computer. Then, you start by thinking about the steps you must take and write down whatever thoughts pop into your mind.
You may see how some are connected and overlap as you write down your thoughts. This will help you prioritize or even group specific action steps.
When you brainstorm, you’re free thinking, which can often let your mind pinpoint a better way to do something. Some people find it helpful to brainstorm on their own, while others can’t seem to move their minds away from a particular focus to come up with action steps.
If this happens, it can be helpful to brainstorm with someone else who understands the result that you want. Brainstorming with someone else is as simple as having a conversation.
You tell them what you want to accomplish and say that you’re trying to come up with action steps that you need to take. Many times having someone else to bounce ideas off of can yield new ways to get things done that you may not have thought of on your own.
Brainstorming can also be helpful when seeking a solution for an action step. Some action steps require more effort than others do. As a result, you may need to do more or find additional help.
If you don’t have someone to connect with as a personal contact or even an online forum friend, you can start researching the best way to achieve specific goals online.
Be very specific when you search. For example, if you needed the mini goals to build a list, you might type “steps to build a list” and see what came up. You might discover a blog post or infographic that details these steps:
* Define your target audience
* Create a viable opt-in offer
* Sign up with an email system
* Set up the list of responders
* Create a squeeze page
* Promote your opt-in offer
Maybe you didn’t have one of those listed in your mini-goals, but now that you’ve seen it online, you can add it. It’s easy to forget all of the small steps involved in achieving a larger goal, and you don’t want to forget something important along the way or feel caught off guard if you realize it in mid-stream and have to reorganize your goals on the fly.
It shouldn’t require much time to brainstorm – or research. If you’re visiting other sites, pop in quickly, scan the resource to see if you already have those steps on your list, and jot down anything missing.
Step 4 – Implement Changes
Once you’ve finished, it’s time to take action. You’ll be putting into place the ideas generated from your brainstorming session. When you begin to implement change, you must understand that feeling a sense of unease is normal.
Most people are resistant to change. Just know it’s normal; don’t let it throw you off course.
Create motivation as you start making changes. You have to be your own biggest fan when it comes to what you’re doing. Celebrate all of your small milestones. It doesn’t have to be expensive or huge – recognize your efforts and honor your accomplishments.
The fact that you’re working toward a goal and doing things to get you to the finish line should be respected and admired. But, unfortunately, sometimes, there’s nobody there but you to toast your success.
Stay Focused
Keep your vision. You don’t want to lose sight of your goal when implementing change. Understand the value of the changes that you’re making. In other words, realize what will happen if these changes don’t occur.
As you implement change, make sure that you monitor what happens as you make the change. You want to be alert to avoid negative situations or obstacles from implementing your action steps.
There will be some obstacles that you can’t foresee and that you can’t head off. For those, you’ll want to try to get to the root of the problem quickly. In addition, understanding why there’s difficulty implementing a change can help you know how to get back on track.
You also want to remember that you’ll see some slight benefits while implementing change. However, seeing the result of some other changes may take a little time.
As you implement these changes, ensure that you’re continually revising your goals because as these changes occur, your goals will also change. It’s okay to fix goals along the way, too.
Sometimes, when you’re on the path to something more significant and educating yourself, you discover fantastic new ways of doing things! This might mean changing a mini goal or altering your essential plan completely!
One thing you shouldn’t do, though, is allow yourself to get distracted by too many sound possibilities to the point that you’re forever chasing a shiny new object and never following through on the action steps you’ve mapped out to reach one milestone in your personal or professional life.
In conclusion, goal setting is an invaluable tool for achieving success. With the right tips and techniques, you can create a successful plan to help you reach your goals. By organizing and implementing change, you can focus on achieving your milestones and celebrating your successes. With hard work and dedication, anything is possible!
