Everyone, for the most part, has goals. What separates the ones who achieve their goals from those who don’t boils down, in many cases, to a matter of planning, implementation, and execution of a solid, tangible, step-by-step plan to achieve them.
If you have struggled with functioning at your best or reaching your objectives, you are not alone. The reason that you fail to perform at your peak is likely due to a combination of a lack of a roadmap, unattainable goals, a lack of follow-through and/or commitment,
With a few modifications to how you approach your goals, you can put yourself in the best position to succeed. Here is how to make your goals attainable.
Set Realistic Goals
One reason that many of us don’t reach our goals is that they are not realistic in the first place. Whatever your objective, from learning how to crochet to building lean muscle, progress is most sustainable when it comes slow and steady. Getting progressively better, more skilled, more confident, etc. is the name of the game.
As a general rule of thumb, you might want to consider the 5 “realistic goal rules of thumb” below when you are thinking about creating goals that you can meet:
- Is this goal specific?
- Does this goal have measurable results that you can use to analyze your success?
- Is this goal achievable? Is this really something that you can accomplish at this point in time, given your experience, skill level, etc.?
- Is there a time restriction on this goal? Are you setting a deadline for yourself to have completed the goal?
- Is this goal relevant to the overall, bigger goal that you hope to accomplish down the line?
If the answer to all give of those is “yes,” then you have an ideal goal on your hands. The next item on your agenda is to make it happen.
Once you have a clearer pathway for realizing your ultimate goal, putting your milestone goals to pass on the journey there into writing is an excellent way to make yourself accountable. Writing them down and placing them somewhere prominent, such as the refrigerator or the bathroom mirror, places them at center-stage and encourages you to stay committed to achieving them. All that is left then is to plug away until you cross the finish line.