What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals. -Zig Ziglar
From the time when we’re little kids, everyone, from parents to teachers to, eventually, employers, lauds the benefits of setting goals. ”Setting goals helps you stay motivated, stay focused, determine the best way to move forward!” But did you know that most people who set goals (especially New Year's related goals) never actually follow through with those goals? Unlike in a career-type setting, following through and achieving your own goals is a lot tougher when there’s no one else guiding you and holding you accountable to those goals. Not to mention the fact that when life gets busy and hectic, long-term plans tend to get moved to the back burner of your attention, even at the expense of actually working toward them. But there are those few who do achieve their goals, and do so regularly - what makes them different from the rest of us?
Turns out, it’s probably not the people themselves who are different; instead, it’s the way they set goals that determines their success. So what can we learn from these goal-achievers?
SMART Goals
Chances are you’ve heard or seen something about SMART goals related to good business practices, but do you know what it means? And have you ever thought about how it might apply to your own life?
- S: Specific
- M: Measurable
- A: Achievable
- R: Realistic/Relevant
- T: Time-bound
While SMART goals might not always seem like the easiest way to think about your goals, the framework offers a perfect jumping off point for conceptualizing what you hope to achieve. Whether you’re thinking about learning a new language or getting a new job, if you can frame your goal as something Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic/Relevant, and Time-bound, you’re more likely to stay on track to achieving it.
Break Them Down
Maybe you have a dream, like quitting smoking, that you’d like to start working toward but every time you start, you get overwhelmed and give up. Sound familiar? Sometimes, goals aren’t achieved simply because the goal-setter made the goal too big, but luckily, there’s an easy fix. If you’re focusing on a big change that you want in the future, whether it’s quitting smoking, buying a house, or getting healthy, try breaking the overall goal into smaller, more realistic goals. Not only will it help to focus on the smaller tasks right in front of you, but it’ll give you a sense of accomplishment as you cross intermediate goals off your list. And it’s much easier to keep that momentum rolling once you’ve gotten started.
Avoid Multitasking
This advice might sound counterintuitive - isn’t multitasking exactly what we’ve been trained to do for years? Well, yes, but it turns out that our brains aren’t really wired to multitask. Actually, science seems to point to the fact that multitasking isn't really possible; you’re simply switching from one task to another rapidly, which decreases productivity and cognitive ability. So instead of multitasking, choose one goal and focus your energy there before moving on to another goal; trying to do two (or more) at once might be what’s keeping you from achieving any of them.
Challenge Yourself
...but not too much. You don’t grow without stepping outside of your comfort zone, and a goal that challenges you will force you to do just that. However, if you settle on a goal that’s too challenging (so challenging as to be unrealistic, or to make you feel more anxious than excited), you’re much more likely to set it aside, procrastinate, or just full-out give up. The key is to find a balance between something being too tough and too easy, and to keep it at that level. You’ll feel excited about working toward your goal and maybe a little nervous, but it should be a good nervous. Achieving your goal will feel all the more gratifying.
Stay Passionate
It’s important to keep your goals in mind as you make decisions in life, but it’s also possible to keep them so in mind that you get burned out and are no longer passionate about achieving them...and this burnout is one of the most powerful deterrents out there. Staying passionate about your goals - whether that’s creating a vision board or repeating a mantra anytime you feel discouraged - might just be the difference between giving up and coming out a star!
