How I Transformed My Goals From Crazy To Realistic
I want to be real here. Unrealistic expectations are not healthy.
Sure, it wires your brain to reach for the stars.
But in reality, even the tallest ladder on earth won’t get you there.
This month I decided to tweak my goal-setting flow.
I transformed my crazy goals into more realistic, achievable ones.
Here’s how I did it:
I turned my visions into bite-sized goals.
It starts with a vision in mind.
Mine was simple — To be the go-to guru for freelancers who want to build a rewarding career.
I knew I wouldn’t get there if I didn’t have a plan of action so I broke down my vision into smaller goals that I can accomplish every week. In fact, I broke it down even more to goals that I can crush everyday.
So if my vision is to earn $100,000 a year as a freelance writer, I’d set a smaller goal to make it less daunting. Something more bite-sized like earning $1,000 a month.
I check my goals against SMART
Before I confuse you, I’m not talking about a company, AI, or a goal-checker tool. Nope, none of that!
What I mean is ‘SMART’ as in:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-bound
Whenever I create a new bite-sized goal, I check it against these guidelines.
Is my goal specific enough for me to understand?
Can I set indicators that help me measure whether I’ve achieved it?
Can I actually achieve it?
Is my goal still relevant?
Can I achieve this goal by the end of the month?
If I check all 5, then I know damn well that I can achieve it.
I track my progress every Friday.
Because it will be a weekly thing for me now.
Before I enjoy my weekend, I check my weekly progress against the goals I’ve set for myself.
What did I achieve?
What goals need more time?
If it looks like some goals are just not happening, there’s only one solution for that:
Adjust the action plan.
Why so? Because this is feedback that some goals take more time to achieve.
My weekly performance is my feedback, and this feedback determines what goals are realistic versus those that are not.
Setting unrealistic expectations is not a healthy practice at all. Yes, it’s tempting to aim for the stars. No, the disappointment and self-doubt is not worth it.
By breaking down your vision into bite-sized goals, checking those goals against the SMART criteria, and tracking progress regularly, you can create a manageable system that works for you.
Remember that setting realistic goals is an ongoing process.
No one’s great at that at the beginning :)
