The new year has started, and it’s meant to be a turning point, isn’t it? You’re feeling unhealthy and lacking direction. You’re procrastinating, delaying business decisions. You made your resolutions, so why can’t you act on them? Your friend’s resolution, ‘not to make any resolutions’, feels like a better solution. Why set goals if they only make you feel bad – a failure, unable to stick to anything?
Why should you set goals?
Goals provide you with something to work towards. They give you purposeful direction and nudge you, or launch you full throttle, if you’re feeling brave - into deliberate action. You can overcome any anxiety you may have by ensuring your goals are a manageable size with realistic timeframes. You may want to break them down into daily, weekly, or monthly steps so you can chart your progress. This will help you to grow in confidence and certainty as you move towards your vision of a happier, healthier future.
3 top reasons for setting goals:
1. Goals provide clarity and intent.
2. Goals require you to be proactive and in control rather than reactive and chaotic.
3. Goal-setting is empowering. Consciously working towards change and achieving it in small steps will boost your self-esteem.
Consider embedding new habits and routines. Setting smaller daily goals will enable you to move towards your vision at a steady, consistent pace.
If a goal feels overwhelming or too distant, it can demotivate you, undermining your progress towards it. Companies that are successful have a universal aspirational vision that everyone is aware of. Teams and individuals within the company have concrete tactical goals to work on that build towards and fulfil this vision. If you take ownership of a specific individual goal, you can tick it off and move on to the next one, making steady progress towards your larger vision.
5 key questions to answer when setting clear sustainable goals:
1. Why? Have a clear visual picture of what you are trying to achieve. Print off an image that helps you to focus on your goal.
2. What? What are you trying to achieve? Define your purpose in specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-bound terms (be SMART).
3. Who? Do you need anyone else to support you, guide you or work with you to achieve your goal?
4. When? What is your timeframe? You will need to be consistent in your actions to reach your goal so you may need to break this down.
5. How? Consider the active steps you need to take to get to your goal and their order. Do you need to create new habits and routines to support your efforts?
Deliberate action in a particular direction is positive and creative and feels good! Achievement builds self-confidence and enables you to progress and aim for greater things, knowing that you can and will succeed.
If you meditate for 5 minutes a day, build that up to 10 minutes. Schedule time to work on the business rather than in it. Block out time to plan, act and recover.
Staircase your goals, start small and grow them as you go. Create and embed healthier habits slowly and surely – there’s no need to rush. Just like in Aesop’s fable about the hare and the tortoise, slow and steady wins the day!
7 Top Insights for Achieving your Goals:
1. Make an aspirational vision board.
2. List the specific benefits of your vision. How will it improve your life? For example, regular exercise will lift your mood, raise your self-esteem, boost your self-confidence, and improve your health.
3. Break your vision into bite-size chunks to relieve any anxiety. Goals must be tactical, practical, and realistic.
4. Consider what could get in the way of achieving your vision before you start and troubleshoot your obstacles to reduce the risk of an upset.
5. Use a habit tracker journal or app to monitor your progress and gain confidence.
6. Recommit to your goals daily.
7. Be present in the moment and focus on one step at a time.
Personal performance coach, Dominic Beecheno, Kaizen Coaching, says, ‘Try using affirmations. We have 30 – 70,000 thoughts a day, many of which are negative and disempowering. Words are powerful. They have energy. They are self-fulfilling. Repeat phrases like, “I am successful”, “I am proactive”. Write them down on cards and stick them up in your office to remind yourself. Positive self-talk will reprogram your subconscious mind, brighten your mood, and provide you with the determination you need to achieve your dreams.’
You will gain a great sense of dynamism and confidence by achieving your goals, so make sure you start with small steps and build yourself up from there. Give yourself a pat on the back when you reach a goal and allow that feeling of success to really sink in, ready for the next, potentially greater goal ahead.
Top recommendations for motivational reading (and viewing):
· Goals - Brian Tracy (ReadHowYouWant, 2012)
· Atomic Habits - James Clear (Penguin, 2018)
Do you find it hard to set and achieve goals? What gets in your way?
What did you find most helpful about the advice in this post?
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