How to Set Achievable Goals

vemuda.com - We all have dreams. Small or Big, they are very important in our lives. Making them come true means achieving the desired state of happiness and well-being that we want, and this is a great way to boost our self-esteem. In this post, I'll show you how to set and achieve a goal, how to be successful and not give up.

Having goals to achieve means having a purpose, and having a purpose allows us to live our life for a specific reason: That is - to fulfill that purpose.

Source: unsplash.com by Ronnie Overgoor

Living your life without purpose is like being  an automaton waiting for the battery to run out.

A lot of people just say - "I  would like to lose weight", "I would like to have more money", "I would like to have a better job", "I would like to have more friends", "I would like to learn French", and so on.

You see, these are not goals, they are desires. Although desires are essential to set goals consistent with your inclinations, they are not in themselves sufficient to achieve the ideal situation you want.

In other words: wanting a certain situation is a necessary but not sufficient condition to achieve it.

The real difference between desires and goals is that while the former is an abstract and generic idea, the latter is concrete and actionable. A lot of people have generic desires, without defining clear goals and this is one of the reasons why they cannot reach the desired situation.

First, consider what you want to achieve and then work towards it. 

The first rule for setting a goal is to always set SMART goals. A SMART GOAL is a goal that is, Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and has a Time limit.

Let’s have a look at this in more detail.

Specific

A goal must be meticulously specific. The more specific your goal, the clearer and more manageable it is.

Take for example a person who wants to run a successful blog. Starting a blog is simple: choose a platform, configure hosting, register your domain, design the website and publish the first article.

So why do millions of blogs fail or are abandoned? Because it starts with no specific goal in mind (or generally any goal).

If your goal is vague, how will you know how to make it happen? How will you know if you are making progress towards achieving it?

Here are some examples of vague and non-specific goals: 

• I want more freedom

• I want to make a million dollars 

• I want to get back in shape

• I want better relationships

Instead, ask yourself why. At this point, it is important to stop and reflect for a few moments on the reasons that drive you to want to achieve your goals. In doing so, you may also find that you want to review them.

For example, imagine that your dream is to learn to play the guitar. You start thinking about why you want it, discovering that what may motivate you is the belief that people who can play the guitar are popular in school.

Such a reason doesn't necessarily make you  determined, so it may be time to stop and find an easier way to achieve your real goal, which is to improve your social relationships.

Measurable

Many people use adjectives like "the best" or "the most ..." in setting their  goals and leave it that way. Goals need to be measurable so you can track your progress and evaluate your methods frequently. Use concrete numbers, stats whenever possible.

For example, instead of saying you want to start a successful blog, set your goal for the first month to publish a fixed number of posts with a minimum number of words and have X number of visitors per page, Y number of engagement (actions, comments, likes) and Z number of subscribers.

After the first month, you can then develop the metrics and progress to higher levels and better quality of engagement.

Achievable 

As unpleasant as it may be, not all dreams can come true. If your desire seems to cross the line of the possible, it may need to be changed.

Imagine that you have decided that you want to become the best basketball player in the world. This is a major challenge for anyone, but achievable for some.

If you were five feet tall, this goal would most likely be beyond your reach (no pun intended), which would expose you to a very high probability of failure and disappointment.

In any case, no one prevents you from having fun playing basketball with friends, but if your dream is to excel in a sporting activity, it is good that you choose a discipline in which height is not of much importance.

While you're strongly encouraged to aim high and set goals outside of your comfort zone, make sure your goals are achievable within the time frame you've allotted to yourself, considering the resources you can manage.

This allows you to avoid overloading yourself so that you can realistically divide the main goal into small but actionable steps.

If you set daily, weekly and monthly goals that regularly move the needle, you are more likely to maintain the level of motivation you had when you started and don't give up before your goal is completed.

Relevant

Goals need to align with your core values and priorities, and they need to be relevant to you, not society or your parents.

By choosing goals that are consistent with yourself, you can direct yourself towards who you want to be, where you want to be, and what you want to achieve, instead of going in different, sometimes contradictory, directions.

Having important goals will save you time and effort, so you are free to fully dedicate yourself to the things that truly matter to you.

For those of you who define yourself as  multi-enthusiasts or who have multiple goals that are not clearly related to each other.

I suggest focusing on one main goal at a time, preferably the most important and the one that will make you feel the most satisfied.

Limited in Time 

What distinguishes a simple dream from a SMART goal is a sense of urgency. Deadlines like 7 days, a month, or 90 days are extremely helpful in preventing procrastination.

Just remember Parkinson's law which states:

"The work expands to fill the time available for its completion." This means that it is best to estimate how long it will take to reach a goal and check regularly if you are stalling.

Write them in a notebook to make them tangible, then plan the steps you need to take to achieve your goal and erase them once done.

Now that you've set up SMART goals, where do you go from here? It is necessary to create an action plan to implement them.

Remember, setting the goal is not enough. You need a well-made plan to put it into action.

1. Write Your Goals

Your first step must be to determine what you want to achieve. Reflecting on what to do could be a more or less difficult step, but to achieve success it is essential to dedicate time to planning your desires.

Having your goals written on a piece  of paper helps clarify and reinforce your intentions. By combining this tangible aspect with the well-structured thoughts in your head, your goals become even more powerful.

It's even better if you put your written goals  wherever you can see them frequently. A constant reminder of what you are watching  makes it easier to stay focused and avoid distractions. Affirm your purpose and solidify your determination to pursue it.

2. Rank Your Goals

Many people have multiple goals. By  describing your goals in writing, you may have realized that you want to make more than just a wish come true. In this case, it will certainly be useful to try to classify them in order of importance.

Ranking your goals will help you focus on the ones you feel are most significant. For example, you may want to successfully take a master's course in astrophysics, learn to play classical guitar, read Tolstoy's complete opera, and run a marathon.

Trying to accomplish each of these things at the same time is probably very unrealistic. Deciding which goals you consider most important will help you make both short-term and long-term plans.

Part of this process is to evaluate your level  of commitment in relation to each goal. A hard-to-reach or long-term goal, combined with low commitment, will most likely remain unfinished.

3. Breakdown

Breaking down your goals means breaking them down into easy, simple, and manageable pieces that, if done consistently, will slowly but surely form your puzzle.

Think about how to create an environment or mindset that sets goals with the least amount of friction. Don't give yourself reasons or excuses for not working on your goals regularly. Small steps and micro-habits will ensure your momentum and avoid procrastination.

You can break up your goals based on

• Time frame (for example, setting weekly, monthly, and quarterly goals), 
• Frequency (for example, start with twice a week and move up to five times a week), 
• Progression (for example, start at level 1 and go up to level 10).

4. Keep "RESPONSIBLE"

You must always remember - these are your  goals, no one else can achieve them for you. It is up to you to stay focused and disciplined. If you think it can help, consider posting your goals on social media or sharing them with a responsible partner or group of people who will encourage and support you in your process.

You could also try to assign consequences in case you don't push your goal forward. Without exaggerating! For example, you could do the housework you don't like.

5. Reward

Having a reward system is helpful in at least two aspects:

• First, you realize that you did a good job (past). 
• Secondly, you prepare yourself to get more as you know you will get a reward later (in the future).

Rewards and self-esteem have such a close relationship that scientists have developed a theory according to which there is a virtuous circle whereby these two elements feed each other endlessly.

The more we manage to strengthen our self-esteem, in fact, the more we can think of giving ourselves prizes that we consider important; the more we are able to reward ourselves, the more we strengthen the image we have of ourselves, which is none other than our self-esteem.

Being able to generate and enter this virtuous circle is very important for one's professional and personal success. Living within this circle means, in other words, having developed a resilience such that some unexpected events can be absorbed without trauma because we are well aware of our abilities.

6. Develop Systems and Habits to Guarantee Success

Unless your goals and actions are in line and unless you execute them, try to review and improve them regularly, otherwise your wishes will remain unfulfilled.

For this reason, setting and achieving goals requires the implementation of systems and habits that work for you, rather than against you.

If, for example, your goal is to work out regularly in the morning, try putting your workout clothes aside next to the bed before bed.

You can also find a physical trainer to keep you accountable, keep track of your sessions by maintaining a habitual tracker or wake up earlier to find time for your workout.

7. Identify Possible Obstacles

Last but not least, think about the possible  impediments you may encounter along the way. Evaluating them in advance will give you the opportunity to plan potential solutions.

For example, you may find that the cost of a guitar lesson is higher than what you can currently afford, so you will need to find ways to raise money to support the lessons as well. 

Alternatively, you can consider resorting to the help of books and videos and embarking on a path as a self-taught person.

In Conclusion

Goals help you become the strongest version  of yourself because they help you stay focused and learn from experience. Goals help you slow down. And to make the right decisions, you need time. Being impatient to act often does not produce optimal results. Hope this post helped you. 

Finally, I would like to ask you - What is your biggest goal? Write it down in the comments and until next time, have a good one.