How to Achieve Your Goals
Setting goals and achieving them are two different things.
One is significantly easier to do than the other.
Are you the type of person that sets New Year’s resolutions every year but never accomplishes them? Maybe you’re the type that says I’ll start eating healthy? On Monday. Like next Monday.
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Crush your goals to be a “better” you. Don’t wait until the new year to reach your goals.
Here are 11 tips to successfully achieve your goals.
#1 BE SPECIFIC
Get a piece of paper and start writing down the goals you want to accomplish.
Here are some good ones to make life better (in my opinion).
-Get fit.
-Save money.
-Learn a new skill.
-Travel more.
-Meet someone new.
Now take those goals and make them specific.
-Be able to run a 5k race in under 25 minutes.
-Save $20,000 in 12 months.
-Take a hip hop dance class.
-Plan a trip to Bora Bora.
-Join a book club to make friends.
#2 START EARLY
There’s no better time than the present.
The most popular goal for New Year’s for people is to lose weight. If that is your goal you should start now by cutting out the “bad” foods you eat one at a time, then incorporate exercise. This way if you want to lose 15 pounds in 6 months you’re already setting yourself up to succeed.
#3 AIM BIG, START SMALL
Here’s a great tip to successfully achieve your goals.
Ever hear the saying “Shoot for the stars because even if you miss at least you’ll hit the moon“?
Maybe you want to get out of debt. That’s a big goal that can be done.
Start by paying off one debt at a time. By the end of the year you might have 3 debts paid off. Then start paying a higher balance on your other debts until you are financially free.
#4 MAKE YOUR GOAL VISIBLE
Write down your goal and put it somewhere visible like your fridge.
Use an inspiration board for motivational sayings, posting photos, or showing progress updates.
#5 TRACK YOUR PERFORMANCE
Another tip to successfully achieve your goals is boosting your ambition by seeing progress no matter how little.
My husband’s goal this year was to lose 30 pounds. To keep him motivated I took some before and after pictures, monitored his weight, and his clothes getting looser and looser. I also tried my best not to make chocolate cake, banana pudding, and the like.
Chart your progress using a bullet journal or simple thermometer chart like the one below that can keep track of anything you want from dollars to pounds.
#6 SET A DATE
Give yourself a timeframe to accomplish your goal. By doing so it gives a sense of urgency.
As the date approaches you should hustle even harder.
Give yourself a timeframe that you’re comfortable with, but also makes you push.
I wanted to be able to run a 5k on the treadmill in under 30 minutes and accomplished that goal in a month by setting a timeframe that was right for me.
#7 TELL PEOPLE
Get inspiration and motivation from your friends.
If you are doing a money saving challenge see which of your friends want to do it along with you.
Making your goals public can make you feel more accountable, but don’t let it put too much pressure on yourself.
#8 MOTIVATE WITH REWARDS
If you’re trying to lose weight or cut out sweets having a cheat day once a week or once a month can be a good motivator.
When we were doing everything we could to get out of debt, we stopped buying things and eating out. We would treat ourselves once a month to something fun or a restaurant. We used quite a few Groupons during that time.
#9 CREATE A WINNING STRATEGY
Think of each of your goals like a race. Are you going to sprint the whole way or pace yourself?
Whichever strategy you prefer you need to come up with a game plan to ensure you’ll achieve your goals instead of half a**ing it to the finish line.
My husband was never fat (I hate that word), but he wanted to lose weight. He tried multiple times to lose the extra pounds he put on after becoming a dad and from working the overnight shift. Each time he lost the weight quickly, but gained it back even faster.
One day he decided to join a gym offering a “free” 10 week challenge. He put money down and if he went to their gym a least 3 times a week for the 10 weeks he would get his money back.
My husband had a goal he wanted to accomplish, to get healthy and lose around 30 pounds. He also knew he couldn’t achieve that goal on his own.
Once he started going he created a routine for himself, better eating habits, and started seeing the pounds fall off.
If you’ve failed at accomplishing your goal before think about what went wrong and how you can improve your strategy the next time around. Maybe you need better resources or group support.
If I wanted to start eating healthier I’d wait until after Thanksgiving to avoid the added temptations (because I’m weak!!).
Some people enjoy that added challenge. I say go for it!
#10 COMMIT
Get in the right mindset.
I know I keep turning to the weight loss goal, but it’s such a great example.
If my goal was to lose weight or get fit I would buy the prettiest dress in a size that I wanted to fit in and have it hanging in my room as a daily reminder to keep pushing.
Ignore past failures and all negative energy. Remind yourself why it’s important to accomplish this goal.
I wanted to pay off our credit debt because I wanted to have that weight lifted off my husband and myself. I want to be debt free so we can save for our kids’ futures faster and go on vacations without worrying about money.
#11 PERSISTENCE
If you fall off the wagon get up. This is a race that doesn’t end until you achieve your goal.
When we were working to get out of debt my husband made some purchases that weren’t the smartest. We argued and came to a compromise. I’m a saver and he’s a spender so it took time.
I am confident you will achieve your goals and hope these tips make it easier for you to do that. Create a plan, share with people who can join the challenge or support you on your journey, and keep going even when it gets hard.
My blogging goal is to create a more defined weekly schedule and steadily earn $500 a month within 4 months. I plan to do this by joining more affiliate programs, posting even more new content each week, and networking with other bloggers within my niche (scary!).
Now that I told you one of my goals what goals are you going to crush next? And if you have any more tips to successfully achieve your goals share in the comments below!
Great list! I need to make sure I am completing my goals! Lol. Sometimes with life as busy as it is these days I feel they can get pushed aside very easily… which defeats the purpose!
I love the being specific and setting a date. That’s what makes goals doable for me. I also have to be realistic. I need to make sure that I create sensible goals that leave me with a sense of accomplishment when I attain them. Great list!! I can’t believe it’s almost time for resolutions again! LOL.
I know right! My New Year’s resolution last year was to work on my blog and make $500 a month by the end of the year. Not sure if I’ll make it, but my income has gone up.
This is a great list and great suggestions! I love the tip of being specific. Pinning this for future reference as it gets closer to the New Year!!
thanks!!
Goal setting is so important! Thank you for the tips!
You’re welcome!
Absolutely fantastic post…and I really needed it this morning! It definitely motivated me to stay positive and focused on my goals and keep plugging away! Thank you! 🙂 🙂 🙂
You’re very welcome and best of luck. I think we all need to know we will get there at some point and not be too upset if we don’t get there sooner rather than later.
“Tell people” I think is a huge one. I think it would help me because I hate failing in front of people. Thanks!
You’re welcome!
These are great tips! Being a new blogger, I’ve seen myself make more goals than ever.
Yes I know that feeling. It was really hard to figure out where to focus most of my time. Still working on it, but Pinterest, creating new pins and more content are at the top for me.
Great tips! I think starting early is key – if you can get some momentum going early on it makes it easier later.
hey Monica, lots of great tips! My personal favorite is having our goals visible, I tore off 2 sections of butcher paper and taped them on our kitchen wall. Great place to look at them on a daily basis. Thanks 🙂
Thank you! I have too many post it notes everywhere and am now trying to focus on one goal at a time. The fridge is covered in kid’s drawings so I might do the same lol
Great list. We are goal setters – both big and small – we love feeling like we’ve reached a goal that is why it is so important to set achievable ones.
Thank you! And I agree, it’s not just about big goals. Sometimes the small ones are the best ones.
Great advice for specific attainable goals with accountability.
Great list and I love your blogging goal! Mine’s similar. I don’t have a specific financial goal, but I am trying to stick to a more posting routine while creating other types of content, too.
That’s great! I know it can get crazy around the holidays but I’m trying my best to be consistent.
A lot of great goals and advice
Love this and I’d never heard that quote with the blurbs about the moon. I stuck that on a sticky on my computer.
Yea! it’s one of my favorites.
I love this! I am never one for resolutions because I don’t have patience. 🙂 I just get started when I get the idea! My current goal is to eat healthier and we have been doing it. I started telling friends and it turns out that we have all been trying to get healthier. So now we motivate each other and it helps a lot!
That’s great. I try not to bake as much when we are trying to eat healthy, but it’s hard as we get closer to the holidays.
These are great tips! It is so important to be specific and Track your progress. Without it, you don’t know where you are!
I have to write things down. It helps me keep myself accountable, and allows me to review my progress. But there are some goals I definitely need to hustle on.
I write a lot of things down but on sticky notes. I need to get more organized, but working on it!
Yes! I love this post so much! I have so many goals and these tips are going to help me make them happen in 2019. Thanks for sharing. I’m going to get this queued up on my Pinterest too!
Thanks!! You’ll do great, stay focused and finding the right motivator helps too 🙂
Great advice and goal! My goal is to post at least 2 blog posts a week.
That’s great. Make sure you spend even more time promoting those posts once you’re done too!
Great tips! So important to write down your goals. I like having an inspiration board as well. Helps to visualize. Nice article!
An excellent post thank You. I found it to be motivational with sound advice. I am presently using index cards to write down ideas that I can use re finances. I also bought a type of chalk board (for 3 dollars lol), I made a 31 day calendar on it. I am using it for my budget (the first one I have ever had, in 56 years…). I wrote out how much every expense is a day before it is due ie food, gas, insurance, electricity, etc.). I am planning up on saving some money to eliminate one by one the monthly costs meaning for instance paying off my condo insurance and then Netflix monthly bill, etc. Then saving enough (perhaps in individual jars) to pay only once a year. Thinking about how much monthly stress from bills would be reduced. I am taking pictures of what I am doing or going to do as I go along. With the pictures and index card info (which will also include info from the financial books I have started to read) I will one day start a blog. I think my goal (not specific yet) will be in one years time re starting the blog or perhaps I will start it so people can follow along. Thank You again, looking forward to using the coloring tool, such a great idea. Will be following You. Bye for now, Barb
That’s great Barb! I love your chalk board/index card idea. I think having those bills and numbers in your face can be a huge motivator and reminder of what you’re working towards. I think you should definitely document your progress. I think it would be very useful for people looking for different ways to work their ways out of debt. We were never big on budgeting so a visual aid is very helpful. Good luck and can’t wait to hear about your progress 🙂