What will you achieve?
“All your dreams can come true if you have the courage to pursue them.” - Walt Disney
What have you set your mind to achieving today, this month, or even year? When you have set a goal in the past, or more recent, what steps did you take to achieve your aim? My belief is that we often forget the success we have had, and lose sight of the things that helped lead us to accomplishing our goals.
Your goals should become larger and larger over time, because your ability to accomplish more becomes greater once you have done it before. Imagine for a moment that huge, seemingly unachievable goal that you have in mind right now. What would you need to achieve it if you wanted to do so in five years?
Maybe you came up with a list of 10 things, or maybe five. Regardless of the number, what is important to note is that you identified actions you could take, now you just have to take them.
Before you go, let me share with you three tips to achieve your goals.
Start with a vision. Knowing where you are headed or want to go is the beginning of any worthy journey. Your vision should be clear, inspiring, and specific to what matters to you.
Create goals, the baby steps to achieving your vision. You have likely heard of SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely) when it comes to goal setting, and the same applies here. I also want to add to consider breaking a year-long vision into quarterly goals. Thinking of your vision, how could you reduce it down into four parts to address over the year? Each quarter make one of those your focus. Consider the actions you need to take to accomplish that goal for the quarter. Do this repeatedly, and you will be that much closer to achieving your vision.
Enlist small, repeatable routines (habits). The baby steps to your goals are your routines, or habits. Believe it or not you follow a routine presently whether you are conscious of it right now. Example, what is often the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? The thing about your routines/habits is that they are either helping you move towards what you want, or they are moving you away. Knowing which is happening is important to curb any that are distracting you from achieving your vision. For one day, track your habits. Note what you do before and after key moments in the day starting with your alarm going off (if you set one), all the way to when you turn in for bed. Improving your routine to include more of the actions you need to take to achieve your vision the better.
Did you notice how the descriptions got a bit longer? The reason is because it is your daily routines that will make the largest impact on how and when you achieve your vision. Your positive routines are the foundation for your success. Then your goals, when broken into quarters, allow you to set attainable initiatives that you can see happening. Your small, repeatable routines plus quarterly goals will have you celebrating your yearly goals in no time!
You know that my role is to be one of your biggest and loudest cheerleaders for you achieving your ambitions. If you feel you are in a rut, in need of a partner to hold you accountable, that is what I am here to do. Click the Get Started button at the top of the page, and let’s chat to create a strategy that will work for you to set your clear and inspiring vision, and the routine to help you get there.
You’ve got this!
- ESL