10 Tips For Better Goal Setting
When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, the majority go up in flames by the end of the year, and about a quarter of them last no longer than a week. But goal-setting shouldn’t be saved for a new year, it can be part of your regular routine.
If you have personal goals or business goals, you need to think about how you go about achieving them. The process starts with identifying your goals and planning how you will achieve those goals. But FIRST…
1. Worthwhile Goals
This should go without saying – you have to set worthwhile goals.
If it isn’t something you believe in or truly want, then it’s not worth your while and not only struggle to achieve it, betray your own soul.
A goal should be something that moves you forward and spark positive change. If your goal isn’t motivating or transformational, then it isn’t worth your time.
2. An Achievable Stretch
A goal should be achievable, it’s one of the most important factors in goal setting. If you set your sights too high, you will only experience frustration and eventually, you will abandon that goal before you even get near it. However, your goals should stretch you. Even if just a little. So, the key is achievable stretches. You need a goal that engages you, otherwise, you will abandon it, likely due to boredom.
3. Be Specific
If you set a vague goal, it’s going to be a recipe for disaster (aaaaand probably failure). If you set a goal of losing 25 pounds or paying off debt, those are nice goals, but they don’t provide you with any guidance on how to achieve them.
It is much easier to accomplish goals that provide you with specific, detailed plans.
For example, if you want to lose weight – you can break that down into smaller goals about eating more vegetables daily, and exercising regularly, by reducing your junk food intake etc. When you are specific about the how and the why you give yourself a better chance at success.
Make these specifics fun, or easy and you’re well on your way to lifelong habits that KEEP what you want after you get it.
I’m good at this, let me customize something specific for you.
4. Commitment
You can’t achieve a goal if you aren’t committed to it. That’s why writing/typing out your plan is so important. Making a record of your goal and plan is part of your commitment to achieving that goal. You need a clear action plan that highlights what your goal is and the steps you need to take to achieve them.
Remember, it isn’t likely going to happen overnight. It will likely take consistency and commitment. You’ll need a reminder, likely, too. This is one reason why monthly ongoing support is great. You can use the reminder tools in the Cosmic Self Care members area for this as well.
5. Go Public
This is a challenging (possibly humiliating) tip because it means going public with your goal. It can be an incredibly effective technique for a lot of people. But everybody’s different. Maybe you announce your goal on social media or simply confide in a few of your closest friends or announce to the team.
Knowing that others know about your commitment can be a great motivator. AND It also means someone is there to hold you accountable.
6. Prioritize
Not every goal has to be a massive months-long project. But they do require some form of work, probably consistency, and commitment. Every goal you set will be demanding in some respects. Please Do not sabotage yourself – set one goal and anchor it or complete it before you moving on to the next 20 things. If you must set multiple goals, keep it to three at maximum. Unless you have a neuralink.
Remember, goals feed into your values and beliefs so chances are many of your goals are linked or at least related. So when you accomplish one it may contribute to achieving the next.
You don’t have to do it all at once.
Prioritize for your energy and bandwidth too. Pace comes into play here. Again, everyone is different and there’s strategies that work for each personality type and situation. Astrology is very helpful here.
7. Tangible
Take steps to make your goal real to you. You can do this with imagination, visualization or even a vision/Pinterest board. It’s about picturing your life as it will be once you achieve your goal. What could your life look like when you achieve what you want? Making it feel more tangible helps motivate you to succeed.
Visual input is so helpful with this.
8. Deadlines
Part of committing to goals is creating an endpoint at which you should have achieved what you set out to achieve. Make it a bit harsh, especially if you’re a procrastinator. The deadline is also key to shaping your plan of action. Using the debt example, if you plan to get yourself fully out of debt in two years, your approach will be far different than if you gave yourself five years to clear it. make sense?
9. Evaluate
Goal-setting is a process and, on your path, to achieving it, you need to take time out and evaluate your progress. You shouldn’t settle for good or bad as a designation, you need to think about the steps you have taken, what you have done well, what you could have done better, and what you will do going forward.
Whether you have reached your goal or not, you will have learned something on your journey. You can apply those lessons to how you achieve your goal and how you set goals in the future.
This is why I love the new and full moon as temporal time markers. At these times I renew my faith in my goals if they’re still aligned or change course if they’re not.
10. Rewards
Goals driven by intrinsic motivations are generally more successful, but that doesn’t mean you can’t provide yourself with external meaningful rewards for achieving milestones on the road to achieving your bigger goal. It’s another great way to maintain motivation.
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