How to Set Goals and Crush Them Every Time

​From a young age I grew up in a house where goal setting was just an everyday occurrence.  As an adult, I now realize what a beneficial tool this has been throughout my own life.  Almost everything I want to accomplish or anything I want to achieve can be categorized as a goal. And goals are not the same as resolutions or wishes.  No, goals should be looked at as something that WILL be attained.  The first step to setting and achieving the goals you want is to change that small, yet powerful, mindset.

Looking at goals as something that you will have (and something you’re close to getting) can help push yourself forward.  When you talk to yourself like your in the process of achieving these goals, or better yet, that you HAVE achieved these goals, your brain hears this.  Our brains can work for us when we’re choosing the right language and positivity.  It propels us forward and keeps us on the fast track to achieving our dreams.

There are some other really important things to keep in mind when setting goals. Whether it’s goals for the day, the week or for this next year, you can make sure that you’re hitting your mark every time by following these ideas:

1. Be Specific

If you’re goal is to goal is to increase the amount of personal development books you read, then make it a very specific goal.  Instead of making your goal to just “read more”, make your goal to read one personal development book every month.  That’s specific.  When our brains hear something very specific, it goes from intangible to tangible.  We can picture this and see it coming pass.  
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If your goal is to be a better runner, then decide HOW you want to become a better runner.  Do you want to run farther, faster, longer?  Each of these can be a very specific things we set out to achieve.  If your goal is to improve your endurance and improve your running time, then you’re goal might be to run ten minutes longer by the end of the month.

Being as specific as possible might mean you need to really think about JUST what it is you want.  I often find if I ask myself a few questions about my goal, it helps me narrow down exactly what it is that I want.   For example, if I wanted to exercise more, I might have to ask myself if I wanted exercise more frequently, or if I wanted to be more toned, or if I wanted to be able to keep up with my kids more.  These are all questions that would help me decide what the ULTIMATE goal is and focus on that without getting distracted.

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2. Answer the "How?"

Answering the question of HOW you will get to this end goal is a key step in accomplishing it.  If you don’t know how you’ll get there, it really is just a dream.  It doesn’t have to be really elaborate, but just a simple solution to the question.
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An example might be that I want to be more organized at home.  I would check in with myself and say, “How am I going to do this?” Of course there are lots of ways you can do this, but the answers I come up with will help me create an action plan.  So for this example, it might be controlling papers that come into the house better.  Or, it might be decluttering.  Or it could be a combination of those two things along with making it a habit to clean up misplaced items daily.

Whatever your HOW answer is, it will help your brain figure out the next steps and move forward to accomplishing your goal.

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3. Five Steps or Less

​Five Steps or Less:  Some dreams are really big and they have to be broken down into a few steps. These really big dreams might be more long term and require several steps.  But for a more short term, attainable goal, it’s best to keep it to five steps or less.  This makes it easier for our brains to digest and accomplish.  

For example, if your goal is to pay off debt it might include a step of starting a budget, another step of reducing spending and yet another step of increasing your income coming in.  These are all small steps to break down your end goal. By breaking it down into these small, attainable steps, you not only sort it out for your brain, but you also keep momentum as you knock out “mini goals” on the way to the big one. 

It’s like a weight loss goal.  If you’re looking to drop a particular amount of weight, each pound you lose is likely to give you another push forward.  When you see yourself accomplishing parts of what you set out to do, it feels good!  You’re basically validating yourself and the hard work you’re doing.

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4. Being Realistic is Key

​Don’t make your goals so big they’re out of reach.  If your goal is to run a marathon by the end of summer and you’re not a runner at all, you may want to rethink that goal.  This isn’t meant to sound harsh or sound negative at all.  But we have to be realistic about our bodies, our schedule and our current circumstances.  This isn’t to say you shouldn’t set goals that are maybe a LITTLE too big.  If a goal is too small, you won’t be pushing yourself to get there.  If a goal is too big, you’ll likely be bummed when you don’t hit it and won’t continue setting more goals in this area.

The key is to make that goal JUST the right size. This might take a little planning and thinking on your part, but it’s completely doable. Just analyze your life and where you are currently.  Make sure you’re working forward and at the right pace.  Reverse engineering a goal is a great way to put in perspective the work involved to get there.  

If you’ve already gone through your steps to get to the goal, start by checking in on those.  Are they attainable?  If the steps need to be tweaked and changed slightly, you can change your end goal based on those.  It’s a really good way to double check and make sure you’re expectations are in line with your lifestyle and circumstances.

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5. Work it into Your Daily Routine or Schedule

​Work it into Your Daily Routine or Schedule:  This is a BIG one.  If you can’t work you steps to complete your goal into your daily routine or your schedule, it will never happen. Another thing you’ll want to work in is time to meditate, focus or write about the goal you’re trying to achieve.  

Writing it out in a journal is a great way to set your mind on the right track. Make time every morning or evening to write down  how you’re achieving this goal. I personally have a journal that I write out my goals in every. Single. Morning. It immediately tells my mind I’m accomplishing these things and I’m on the fast track to achieve what I’ve set out to do.

Also, make sure you’ve got time in your schedule and time in your every day to work on these goals. Goals get knocked out of the park when you’re working on the every day. When you take a day off it can be easy to let it fall to the wayside.  It doesn’t mean you have to be completely focused on it all day long, but at least keeping it in mind so you’re choices and lifestyle align with what you want is key.

I use a to-do list app every day where I have my steps for my goals listed out.  One big dream we have is to pay off our house.  That means every day I have a to do list item to check in on our budget app, look at where money is going and check on what’s coming in. It literally takes me five minutes of my morning routine, but I make sure I do it to stay on track.

You can even add a calendar appointment to your phone if you need help remembering it or staying committed.  This works especially well if your goal is fitness related.  Scheduling that time to work out or that time to meal prep can be key.  If it’s on a calendar, you’re more likely to do it.

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6. Is Your WHY Big Enough?

​This is going to be completely personal to each individual.  But, looking at your why is HUGE.  Most often I hear people say that their “Why” (or the reason they want to make this goal SO bad) is because of their kids.  They want their kids to see a healthy example, or they want to provide for their kids in a particular way.  Whatever the reason, just know that understanding why you want something can help you achieve your goals and stick with them.

Often if our “why” is a more surface reason, or a shallow reason, we won’t stick with it.  If you’re eating healthier to look more toned for the beach this summer, you might not stick with your habits come September.  If you’re wanting to get more organized for tax time, you may not stick with it after that.

When your reasoning for achieving these goals is bigger and a deeper level, you will not only stick with these goals, but you’ll probably make these habits and changes to your life permanent.  

You might have to dig deep with this one.  Is the reason you want to change your exercise habits to make life less cumbersome?  Is it so that you feel more comfortable in your own skin?  Is it to break a family cycle and stop it dead in its tracks?  Whatever it is really think about it and make sure it’s deep enough that you’ll stick with it for the long haul.

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7. Focus on One Goal at a Time

This is not to say you can’t achieve more than one thing at a time.  On the contrary, you can have multiple goals going at one time.  We all have multiple areas of our lives that we want to work on.  But if you have one really big goal in the area of your personal life, it may not be the best time to start tackling another HUGE goal in your work life.  

This doesn’t mean you can’t be moving forward in every aspect of your life, but really pushing to accomplish a particular goal is best done one or two at a time.  Sometimes these goals may actually align and compliment each other, and then I say go for both.   But if you try to change your whole life at once, sometimes the outcome is burnout.

If you're like me, once you start focusing on one area, you might notice other areas of your life are positively impacted.  Our lives are not made up of isolated sections and experiences.  Instead every area of our life is connected to another or all others in some way.  When you being working on an improvement in one area, likely you’ll see other areas of your life benefit and follow suit.

​But really planning out one goal at a time is the key.  Once you’ve got it planned out and you’ve got those steps as part of your daily habits and routines, you can move on to the next goal and start moving forward.  Stagger those goals a bit and make sure you’re not overwhelming yourself or taking on too much at once.