3 Steps to Achieving Your Goals

Every year people set out at the end of the year to make New Year resolutions. Unfortunately, only a few people ever stick to their resolutions. People don’t have the commitment or accountability factor needed to maintain their resolutions. We all mean well, we have every intention of following through with the resolutions. A good example is the resolution to lose weight. It never fails, every January the gym is so crowded you can barely find room to exercise. Like clockwork, the gym attendance slacks off by the end of February if not before.

However, all is not lost. We just need to adjust our strategy. Forget about making resolutions. Set goals and become a goal-getter. One you set your achievable goals and start achieving them; you will be an expert goal-getter. Here are three simple steps to setting and achieving your goals:

1. Decide what you would like to accomplish.
Set your goals and do strategic visioning to see yourself accomplishing those goals. The goals should be aligned with your core values. You will be more successful at achieving your goals if they are aligned with your values. The goals should be specific and measurable. For example, you would like write a book. The specific is writing a book. The measurable would be seeing the book completed. You should know your end steps. What will you be doing, saying or hearing to know that you have achieved your goal?

The goals should be achievable. Meaning, you should not have an impractical, impossible dream. For example, having a goal of a million dollars falling into your lap. That is not achievable by any stretch of the imagination. You could start with small goals that are achievable to give yourself the track record of being able to achieve your goals. As time goes on your confidence increases and you keep striving higher until you reach your greatest goals.

The goals should be achievable in a specific time frame. You are not reaching for someday. Someday does not exist on the calendar, which means that you will never reach your goals. I am sure you have heard someone say, maybe one day I will be able to do that. Well, it will never happen unless that person put a time frame on it and work towards it.

2. Write it down.
The goals must be taken out of your head. They must be written down so that they become tangible. Also, you are giving the universe notice of your order. Writing also cements the goal in your subconscious mind. Having the goals on paper gives you a visual to refer to everyday to keep them fresh in your mind. The more you see them and visual them the more they become real to you. Before you know it you will be acting as if you already achieved those goals. Some people even advocate writing the goals down every day as part of your meditation. In addition to writing the words, you can also paste pictures of your goals on vision boards and in journals.

3. Do action steps.
This is the most important step. You must take action in order to achieve your goals. Think about it. If you are seeking employment, do you sit at home and wait for the job to come to you. I don’t think so. You send out your resume, you go on interviews and you do follow up calls. Well, working on achieving your goals is no different. Look at your goals and decide what actions must be taken in order to achieve these goals. Let’s go back to the example of writing a book. Some of the steps would be to 1) decide on the topic, 2) do research and 3) do an outline. You should be doing at least one action step towards your goals each and every day. Each step will take you closer to your goals until you have achieved them.

It also helps if you are accountable to someone. So partner with an accountability buddy so that you can keep each other on track. Your goals are more effective if written in this manner:

It is now March 31, 2008 and I at Barnes and Noble doing a book signing for my book titled, Golden Life Living for Dummies.

Take note that you are writing the goals in the present tense; that makes it more real to the subconscious mind and more believable. Note, that it is achievable; there is a specific goal and a specific time frame.

So, from this point onwards you will be an expert goal-getter and no more making of resolutions. One tip before I go. Please note that I said goal-getter as opposed to goal-setter. A goal-setter is a person who only sets goals and writes them down and does nothing to achieve them. A goal-getter, that’s you, set your goals, writes them down and does the action steps which results in achieving your goals.