6 Golden Rules to Make Progress Towards Achieving
Goals
Setting goals is the easy part. Achieving those goals is a whole
different ball game and that is why so many people fail to accomplish their
goals. This can lead to people never setting goals again because their
confidence has been battered by their past experience.
But it does not have to be that way.
If you follow these golden rules, you will have a much greater
chance of achieving goals you set out:
1. Don’t Set Too
Many Goals
When we sit down to think about what we want to achieve, we
often begin a list and start writing down all the things we want. And that is a
great way to get yourself started.
The problem is we often end up with a long list of things we
want to achieve, and it becomes very difficult to decide which ones are
important and which ones are less important.
Instead, once you have written your list, set yourself some
parameters. For example, I only allow myself five goals per year. This means I
can give each goal total focus for two months.
Most goals, when you break them down, involve changing or
developing a habit. For example, if you want to save $20,000 next year, you
will need to change your spending habits. Spend less, save more.
But if you are in the habit of going out shopping every weekend
or spend an inordinate amount of time on Amazon searching for the latest
digital toy, you are going to have to stop doing that. Instead, you are going
to have to familiarize yourself with your savings account. Then develop the
habit of sending money to your savings account rather than Amazon’s account.
By allowing yourself two months to change the habit that needs
changing, you are in with a much better chance than if you try to change
several habits at once.
Once your habit changes and
it becomes natural for you, it’s time to move on to your next goal.
2. Find the
Connections
When you have chosen your five goals, look for connections.
Often when we set ourselves goals, there will be a natural connection between
your goals.
Losing weight and getting fit is a good example, There are two
goals there. Lose weight and get fit. The two naturally fit together so you can
plan around that.
Earlier this year, I decided to join Robin Sharma’s 5 AM Club. I
had read so much about the benefits of waking up early and thought it would be a
good thing to try.
I was not a morning person, and the thought of waking up at 5 AM
scared me a little. I realized that this was going to be a very challenging
goal. So at the beginning of June, I decided to begin. I gave myself two months
to test it out and see if there were any benefits for me.
As I looked at my goals list, I also saw I had “to become fluent
in Korean”. So I saw an opportunity to achieve both goals. Then I had a reason
to wake up early, I could use the hour between 5 AM and 6 AM to study Korean.
Well, the first week was hell. I felt tired in the afternoons
and just wanted to curl up on the sofa and sleep. But I persisted. I knew it
would not take long for my body to readjust to the new time frame.
By the end of the first week though, it was much easier. By the
end of the second week, I was beginning to look forward to that quiet hour of
study. And now, I don’t even think about it and it has become my favourite part
of the day.
Not only do I now wake up at 5 AM, I am also doing quite well with
my Korean studying too.
On my list of goals, I had “start meditating” too. I realized I
could add that to my morning routine. So now, I study Korean from 5 AM to 5:45
AM and I then do fifteen minutes of meditation. I have linked three goals I set
for the year together and after five months practising this, these goals have
become deeply ingrained habits.
3. Set Weekly
Objectives
In my experience, the hardest part about achieving goals is
staying focused on them. After we have planned out what we want to achieve,
become motivated and determined, we then come face to face with the daily
crises and problems that get thrown up at us. When that happens, it can be hard
to stay focused on our goals.
To overcome this, spend some time each week and set one or two
objectives that will take you closer towards achieving your goal.
For example, if your goal is to get fit and lose weight, each
week set the number of times you will exercise and how much weight you want to
lose. If your goal is to save $20,000 in the next year, set the objective to
save $385 that week (or not spend $385 that week).
Breaking your goals down into bite-size objectives like this
helps to keep you focused on the process. In the end, it’s the process that
will take you closer to achieving your goals each week.
4. Write Your Goals
Down
As David Allen, author of Getting Things Done, says,
“Your brain is a terrible office.”
That means your brain is terrible at remembering
things. Get your goals written down.
Writing down your goals gives you a reminder. But the key to
writing down your goals is:
Write them down in a place you will see them regularly.
It’s no good writing out your goals on a piece of paper only for
that piece of paper to disappear under a mountain of other bits of paper after
a few days. Instead, if you keep a journal or
diary, write out your goals in your journal. If you use a digital notes app,
write your goals in there and pin them to the top of your notes list.
I keep a written journal on my desk at all times. I record what
I do each day, what my objectives for the day are and what I will be focused on
for the day.
At the front of my journal, I write out my goals for the year.
Each year, I go through three or four journals and so I write out my goals
three or four times each year.
Every time I write out my five goals for the year, it reinforces
my commitment to my goals and creates a great way to hold myself accountable to
my goals.
5. Review Your
Goals Weekly, Not Daily
When you read through your goals every day, you soon become numb
to them. You begin to just go through the motion of reading through a list and
that list soon stops having any meaningful impact.
Instead, take some time out on a Sunday for reflection. Reflect
on what you have accomplished that week and how you are doing on your goals.
Analyze where you are weak, where you gave in to temptation and where you
failed. Then, create a plan to make sure the same thing does not happen the
following week and set yourself one or two objectives to accomplish.
This way, your goals remain meaningful to you. You are setting
yourself achievable mini-goals each week that will take you closer towards
achieving your overall goals.
I make reviewing my goals and objectives a part of my weekly
review. It does not take long—usually ten minutes—but that time is what keeps me
focused on what I want to accomplish. It reinforces what I am trying to achieve
and why.
6. Have a Strong
“Why”
A goal without a purpose is a weak goal. You need to know why
you want to accomplish the goal.
Now your “why” is personal and often can be quite embarrassing
if you explained it to another person. The important thing is the reason why
you want to achieve your goal needs to be YOUR reason, and not because someone
else says it’s a good idea.
If you are a smoker and you visit the doctor for a checkup, and
your doctor says you should give up smoking for your long-term health, whilst
true, that is not your “why”. You may enjoy smoking and not care about the
long-term consequences, in which case that “why” is weak.
The same applies to losing weight. You might be perfectly happy
with your weight as it is. If someone comes along and says you should lose
weight, that is not your “why”.
Your “why” needs to be personal and needs to have some kind of
emotional connection to what you want. “I want to lose weight so I look
fantastic at the beach” is a good personal “why”. I’ve found the more
embarrassing it is to tell someone your “why”, the stronger the “why” is.
The Bottom Line
Goals are important in life because they give you a sense of
purpose; and a sense of purpose gives you a reason to wake up in the morning
with energy and enthusiasm.
Purpose gets you through difficult days and contributes to your
overall happiness and wellbeing.
Take these six golden rules to setting goals and you will soon
find yourself achieve far more than you could ever have dreamed of. Good luck!
Carl Pullein
https://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/6-simple-steps-to-make-progress-towards-achieving-a-goal.html
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