How To Set Goals That You're Actually Going To Achieve

If you've ever set a goal in January only to fizzle out by February or March, you know that achieving goals is harder than it sounds. In fact, 80% of people fail to keep their new year's resolutions. 

But don't throw in the towel just yet. In this article, you will learn how to set goals that work. You'll understand the difference between the way you set goals in the past and the better way to do it moving forward.

Read on! 

Take a Good Long Look at Your Life

The best way to succeed in reaching your goals is to start by taking stock.

You need to evaluate where you are in life. Look at each area in your life: relationships, finances, career, health, wellness, creativity, and so on.

Be completely honest with yourself. It might help to do an assessment or write down how satisfied you are in each area on a scale of 1 to 10.

Then look over your findings. What areas need improvements? What parts of your life are you unsatisfied with?

Answering these questions will help you start from where you really are. Then, you are more like to make goals that are attainable and realistic because you aren't under delusions that will cause you to fail.

Once you have goals in place, you will be on your way to moving towards a life you love in every aspect. 

Imagine the Best Case Scenario 

Taking stock of your life can be shocking and discouraging. But don't worry. The next thing you will do is imagine an overarching vision for how you want your life to be.

Setting goals without having a clear idea of what you want your life to look like afterward makes you less likely to succeed. By cementing that vision in your mind, you know exactly what you're working towards.

Let's look at some examples. Some people set goals like go to the gym three times a week or lose 40 pounds. But that doesn't motivate you because you don't have a vision for what life will be like once you reach that goal.

Instead, imagine a life where you run a 10K race every 6 months and go for long hikes with your dog each week. Imagine that each Saturday you join other rowing enthusiasts on the lake and practice for a rowing competition.

That vision can do a lot to carry you as you force yourself to the gym three times a week. 

Consider the key areas of your life—health, relationships, finance, career, personal/ spiritual development. Then write down your vision for each category.

Put everything down! This is the time to dream big! 

Set SMART Goals

You've probably heard of SMART goals before. This acronym stands for “specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-based.”

Non-smart goals are little more than wishes. "I want to lose 15 pounds or I want to earn six figures" don't tell you how you will do it or when.

Instead, a smart goal would be, I want to lose one pound a week by eating clean and exercising every day so that I can lose 15 pounds by Christmas.

A big part of how to set goals and achieve them is to break large goals into smaller pieces. When you do this, the goal is still clear yet it is also within reach. 

One pound a week feels much more manageable than 15.

Also, achieving the smaller (in this case weekly) goals gives you a confidence boost. Then you feel motivated to push forward to the next step.

If your goal is large, see if you can break it down to quarterly goals. Let's say that you want to get a better job that pays X amount by next year. 

Break that goal into quarterly items you can do. On that list might be updating your resume, taking training courses to refresh your skillset. 

Then the second quarter might include interview prep skills and practice interviews. The third and fourth quarter might include applying to jobs and expanding your network.

Once you have your quarterly goals mapped out. Break those down into weekly goals. If you want to apply to 50 jobs a quarter, you can break that down to 12 a week.

Set Goals in Writing

This is crucial when you want to learn how to set goals.

Just the act of writing down a goal makes it real and tangible. It also matters how you write it. 

Avoid phrases like "I will try to..." Instead, choose powerful action words like "I will..."

Put that written goal where you can see it multiple times a day. Perhaps on your bathroom mirror, or on your computer screen, or on the fridge. 

Plan Your Behavior 

Research shows that you are two or three times more likely to stick to a goal if you have a specific plan for when, where, and how you will do the behavior you want.

This ties in closely to setting SMART goals. In one study, researchers asked people to fill in this sentence: “During the next week, I will partake in at least 20 minutes of vigorous exercise on [DAY] at [TIME OF DAY] at/in [PLACE].”

What they found is that those who completed that sentence were up to three times more likely to do the exercise compared to those who set a goal but didn't make specific plans.

In psychology, these plans are called  “implementation intentions.” They outline when, where, and how you intend to implement a certain action.

You can use this technique for everything you want to change in your life. From improving your grades to being able to quit smoking.

Habit Stacking 

Another way to learn how to set goals in life is to pair your new habit with something you already do. This is called habit stacking. All you have to do is decide that you will do your new habit before or after an existing daily habit.

For example: After I pour my morning cup of coffee, I will meditate for five minutes using my meditation app.

If you are on the hunt for a better job, your habit stacking might look like this. After I come back from my lunch break, I will send out one email to someone in my network.

This is really an easy way to get into the routine of your chosen goal. If you are someone who easily forgets things, this is a great tool for you.

Also, if you are a creature of habit, you will find this technique makes it easy to start changing the way you live your life.

Habits are the little know secret for success. Fine-tune yours and watch your life change.

Align Your Goals With Your Values

This step often naturally happens after you write down your vision for each area of your life. Yet, it's worth explaining it fully.

If you set a goal that doesn't align with your core values, it will be an uphill battle each step of the way. Some people can push past that resistance and accomplish it, but many of us can't.

Also, you may not realize that this is the reason why you find it almost impossible.

Ask yourself if your goals fit into the values that you hold close. Goals that you set because you think you should won't motivate you.

It is vital that your goals line up with who you are and especially who you want to be. Perhaps you want to be a great leader because of the powerful effect leaders have had on your life. 

Remember, goal setting is so personal. Goals aren't just something that can be borrowed or passed around from friends and family members.

You have to set goals that work for you.  

Make Sure You Have a Floor

Most people when setting goals are very clear about what they want to accomplish.

But what about when you have a terrible cold or a migraine? What about the days when your kids are acting out and so you have a bad sleep? What happens when you are on a family road trip or on a business trip?

Real life happens. It's not always easy to reach the goal when life gets in the way.

But instead of feeling like a failure or giving up, there is a perfect solution.

When you set a goal, consider that your ceiling.

For example, go for a 5-mile run every day. Great, that's your ceiling. Now you need a floor. 

The floor is the bare minimum that you could do even if everything conspires against you such as in the examples above.

If your kids are sick and you are on vacation and you have a headache - what is possible and doable on that day? Probably you can't run 5 miles that day.

But can you speed walk around your block? Or can you lace up your running shoes and at least jog to the mailbox and back?

The floor will be different for everyone. But it is what you know you can do no matter what.

Then, try to get those 5 miles whenever possible. But on days when it just isn't possible, you do your floor. 

Having a floor means you didn't fail and you are still working towards your end goal.

How to Set Goals That Work 

There you have it! A detailed guide on how to set goals that work.

We hope that this article has given you the confidence to know that it is possible to achieve your goals. It is possible to change your life.

Now you know how.

Are you ready to explore what possibilities are out there for you? Book a discovery call with Michael Morrison today.