How To Set Yourself Up To Accomplish Your Goals

The most popular time to set new goals is around the New Year by far. The New Year represents a fresh start, a new beginning, and it’s an exciting time in which people feel most optimistic and excited for the future. Unfortunately, the majority of people that set goals around this time fail to accomplish them by year’s end. A report found that about 80% of resolutions fail. The reality is we can’t rely on one time in the year to set big goals and then expect to accomplish them throughout the following year. Setting goals is easy, but setting yourself up for success to accomplish them is where the real work begins.

A DIFFERENT APPROACH

For the longest time, I used to set New Year’s resolutions like the majority of people. I would set them once a year towards the end of the year; then, I’d give up on them a couple of weeks or a month or two into the new year. I stopped making them at a certain point because I knew I wouldn’t keep them anyway. Then one day, I decided that no more. I was no longer giving up on myself and my goals. I was determined to find a solution to this problem. So, through learning and trying different strategies, I was able to find a more effective way to set goals and accomplish them. If you struggle to set goals and see them through, here are the four tips to help you set goals more effectively and finally achieve them.

STRONG REASONS

Before getting into the nitty-gritty of what you need to do to achieve a goal, it’s imperative that you first clarify why you want to achieve the goal. When most people set goals or resolutions, they are usually vague and without much context behind them. Setting vague goals without a deeper meaning behind them almost guarantees you will give up at the first sign of hardship. Be super specific on why your goal is important to you. Powerful reasons for wanting to accomplish a goal will push you to keep going when difficulty arises. A famous quote by Jim Rohn serves as a reminder of how a strong enough “why” can empower you to accomplish anything. “If the why is powerful, the how is easy.”

BREAK IT DOWN

One of the most common reasons people quit on their goals is because of overwhelm. When you are overwhelmed, this causes stress, confusion, frustration, and it’s the perfect recipe for quitting. The best way to reduce the overwhelm and stress of accomplishing big goals is to break them down into smaller action steps. Breaking down your goals will help you narrow your focus and make progress more consistently. When working towards a goal, ask, “what is one action step that I can take right now that will move me closer to my goal?”

SET DEADLINES

“Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value.” – Jim Rohn

Deadlines are crucial when setting goals. If I don’t set a deadline on my goals, I’m more likely to say, “I’ll get to it later,” which usually ends up being never. Setting artificial deadlines has dramatically impacted the amount of progress I’ve made on my goals. Sometimes I take this a step further and attach a painful consequence to missing my deadlines. In Atomic Habits by James Clear, he states, “If you want to prevent bad habits and eliminate unhealthy behaviors adding an instant cost to the action is a great way to reduce their odds.” When I started adding consequences to missing deadlines, I became way more productive. Setting deadlines with negative consequences may seem a bit drastic, but it’s incredibly effective in reducing procrastination. I also had someone to help keep me accountable and honest with my deadlines and consequences. Accountability is also an effective way to make consistent progress on your goals.

MAINTAIN YOUR MINDSET

Maintaining a healthy mindset is essential when setting big goals and working towards them. Our thoughts influence our actions, so it’s important to be mindful of our thoughts and the people that we let influence us. The state of your mind can make or break your ability to achieve your goals. When you set big goals and work towards them, constantly find ways to feed your mind with positive thoughts and stay inspired. Accomplishing something great is practically impossible with a negative mindset. Be mindful of the people you surround yourself with and the stories you tell yourself. Limiting beliefs keep us from reaching our potential. However, the more you become aware of the limiting stories, the quicker you can get rid of them and not let them stop you from achieving your goals and dreams.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Setting goals and accomplishing them is hard work. However, when you have systems and strategies in place, reaching your goals is much easier. One of the most important factors to change is awareness. If you are aware of all the reasons you may have failed to reach your goals in the past, then you can start finding solutions to achieve a different result. Finally, setting goals is not a one-and-done process. To be successful in almost anything, you need to be revisiting and making improvements constantly. Revisit your goals often and routinely and make adjustments when necessary. Regularly revisiting and revising your goals will help keep them at the front of your mind, which will increase the likelihood that you will keep making continuous progress on them.