Setting goals is the best way to get where you want, what you want, and when you want it.
As a coach, my goal is to help you reach your goals; to finally get healthy, lose weight, or land that job. Whatever it is you want to achieve in your life, I can help. But you don’t need me to reach your goals, you can follow the roadmap below and start bringing your dreams to life, all on your own, though of course, I am happy to help you!
Imagine if you believed that you could do, be, create, anything you set your mind to.
All you had to do was set it up, follow through with the actions, and you could achieve it. Well, you can. It’s so simple, so powerful, yet so elusive to most.
We want things in our lives but we don’t always work to get them. We might want to lose weight, but just thinking, “I want to lose weight”, doesn’t make it so. We have to act. We have to take action. This is why we set goals when we want to achieve something.
Maybe you have tried to make a change before and just wasn’t able to get it done. I would bet you put your wish out into the Universe and sat back and hoped things would change. Maybe you did take some action. Maybe you skipped fast food for a week or checked out some classes.
Unfortunately, you probably lost interest or forgot all about it within a few days or weeks. Maybe it got a little tough and you decided you didn’t want to do it after all.
If you really want to get something done in your life, I can’t think of a better way to set yourself up for success than to follow the steps below.
Here’s the Step by Step Process
1. Choose a goal.
Simply choose something you want to accomplish, maybe you want to lose twenty pounds or clean out a drawer.
Be very specific about this. Ask yourself why a few times to really understand what you want.
For example, I thought my goal was, start a business, but I realized my actual goal needed to be, make a specific amount of money. Don’t set a goal to lose weight. Set a goal to lose 10 pounds.
Make it quantifiable so you will know when you’ve reached it. After you choose a goal ask yourself these questions, What does that look like? or What does that mean exactly? to make sure you have it specific enough.
2. Choose a deadline like 30 days or 90 days.
Decide realistically how long you want to take to get it done. If you don’t know, Google how long it takes to lose twenty pounds in a healthy way, for example.
If after completing all the steps you feel you must adjust your timing feel free. Just note that after you're finished setting it up, you really should stick to your deadlines. Many dreams die because people let them fizzle out by not making them the priority in their life.
3. List all the steps that will be required to reach the goal.
Literally look at the goal and start to create it on paper one step at a time. It might be easier for you to back it out, by thinking of the end goal and seeing the step closest to it and the one before that etc.
4. Break down each step into the smallest tasks you can, some steps won’t break down but many will.
For example if the step you're on is:
Choose a weight loss plan.
You might want to break it down further:
Spend 1 hour researching weight loss diets.
Schedule an appointment with my doctor to discuss plans.
Choose the plan.
Buy a book.
5. List all the obstacles that might get in the way.
Do you have any bad habits that will need to be addressed? Are you a perfectionist? Think about in the past when you set out to do something and you didn’t complete it. What stopped you? Did you find that you constantly let yourself down in order to help others, did you choose to watch a Netflix marathon instead of doing what you otherwise had planned?
Give this some real thought because these seemingly little things are the killer of dreams.
For me, Netflix was a problem. I spent hours in front of the tv instead of doing the things I had planned. I still love you Netflix.
6. Create ways to overcome each obstacle.
Look at your obstacles above and come up with a way to overcome them, one by one. Maybe your first task is to turn off the tv. Maybe you plan to drink a glass of water or chew a piece of gum when you are overcome with food cravings.
I tend to sit down to write and then check email or surf the web for the bulk of the time I’ve set aside for writing. I’ve literally done this while writing this article.
I could set myself up for success by closing all the browsers and email applications on my computer when I sit down to write.
7. Schedule all the tasks into your planner or calendar.
Take all the tiny tasks and schedule them into your calendar. This may take some time but make sure you don’t skip this step. Not only will you have a very specific roadmap to follow, but you will also know exactly when you will complete your goal.
Is it possible to get all the tasks done on time? Maybe you will need to adjust your deadline further out? Maybe you realize you can complete the goal even sooner. If that’s the case make sure you adjust your date closer, because we all know, if we have more time to get there we will take longer than we need to.
When you’re done with this step, your deadline should be set in stone.
8. Do each task as it comes due.
Here’s the kicker, you have to actually do what you put in your calendar. If you start shuffling things around and skipping something here and there you will begin to unravel all the set up you’ve done, and before you know it you’re watching Netflix or eating ice cream every night.
Seriously, this is critical. You have to do what you say you’re going to do.
9. Reach your goal and then do it again.
There you have it folks. What in the world are you going to do? What will you create? Better yet. Who will you become?
So exciting.
