How Do You Achieve Your Goals?
Are you frustrated about reaching your goals? Whether it’s improving your health, career, finances, or emotional well-being, the way you work toward a goal can mean the difference between spinning your wheels or making real progress. Not surprisingly, goal-setting strategies can help. So before you start trying to climb Mount Everest, check out the following steps toward achieving your dreams.
1) Make a List
Obviously, it is easier to achieve your goals if you know what you want. The first step toward success is to set clear, concise goals that provide a blueprint. Then prioritize them so the most important go to the top. Finally, beware of going overboard if you’re feeling overly ambitious. Too many goals can distract and overwhelm you.
2) Begin Small
It is equally counterproductive to start out by focusing on your biggest goals, since this can lead to procrastination. For example, if you’re an opera singer and need to lose a large amount of weight for your health (and career), break this goal down into small, doable amounts with a timeline, such as losing two pounds a week. Besides being healthier, you’re more likely to see results and persevere.
3) Create a Plan
This step goes hand-in-hand with setting priorities, because you will need to be prepared to embark on your goal. If the endpoint is to perform a taxing dance role, then set the stage by developing sufficient strength, coordination, and stamina versus dancing yourself into shape. Otherwise, you may sabotage your results by taxing your body and developing burnout, or worse, injuries.
4) Stay Positive
Words have a powerful effect on your emotions and behavior. Rather than berating yourself, reframe your goals in a positive light. If you’re a Broadway gypsy who needs to get a job, you can change your negative self-talk from “I won’t miss that big audition,” which can ruin your motivation, to a surefire way to gear yourself up for the task by saying “I’m excited and ready to attend that audition.”
Perhaps the biggest challenge is to never underestimate your ability to put these simple strategies to use. They work and will make the process of setting and achieving your goals both pleasant and more likely to succeed. Get ready, set, and go!
