Goal Getting Made Easy (Part 2/3)

The Simplest Goal Getting Blog You’ll Ever Read

This is the second part of a three part series for Goal Getting. If you have not read the first part, please read it before coming back here.

Otherwise, let’s jump straight into it.

1. Less is More

Simplify! Simplify in all aspects of life: goals, clothes, people, and so on.

Focus on the few goals that mean a lot to you, donate the hoards of extra clothes that have gone unworn for years, and spend time with your closest friends/family.

Limiting yourself may feel like compromising your freedom, but I would argue that by imposing limits, it leads to more freedom to think about the things that actually matter.

We frequently mention time and money as important finite resources that help us achieve our objectives. There is one more, though, and it’s equally significant.

A cluttered mental space that is spread too thin restricts us from concentrating on our main goals. By cutting out extraneous aspects of our lives, we conserve mental energy, leading to better decision making and avoiding burnout.

Spend a few days documenting everything you do to find places where you can simplify. At the end of each day, examine your list and see which tasks are essential and which ones do not contribute to your end goal.

You’ll discover that many of your activities are taking up valuable time and mental space without offering much value. It may be worth to automate these tasks or substitute them with new, stress-relieving behaviors.

Examples of making tasks more efficient:

2. The Power of Consistency

Achieving your goal is not about making grand, sweeping gestures. It is about the gradual accumulation of little everyday habits that are performed on a dull Wednesday.

These routines may seem insignificant in the moment, but they can have a huge impact over time. As you continuously focus on your habits, you will eventually reap the full rewards of your efforts because growth is not always linear.

Progress is built on habits, but they can be fragile if not nurtured with consistency. Image a lovely garden filled with vibrant flowers and lush plants. If it isn’t regularly watered, trimmed, and cared for, it will eventually wilt and lose its charm.

The same is true for habits. Without consistency, they will not blossom into the powerful tools that help you reach your goals.

Establishing a routine, where you allocate specific blocks of time for each task, is the easiest way to stay on track. Start small, get into a rhythm, and focus on making steady improvements.

Creating a supportive environment for your habits is a game-changer.

By reducing the amount of effort it takes to engage in positive habits, you increase your chances of sticking to your goals.

This works both ways. Increasing the effort required for negative habits makes them easier to break.

Do whatever you can to make it more likely for you to stick to beneficial habits while cutting out negative ones. With practice, self-discipline, and consistent effort, you’ll notice that sticking to your goal gets easier over time.

3. Set the Tone the Night Before

Let’s compare two people.

Jack wakes up, rushes to the coffee machine, adds the necessary ingredients, and turns it on. He then zooms to the bathroom to get ready, thinking for a few moments about what he will wear for the day.

By this time, the coffee is ready and he runs back to down his cup and packs a lunch. He then gathers all of his belongings and heads to work.

At the office, Jack writes down his goals for the day, thinking about where he left off yesterday. After pushing through a stressful morning and work day, he decides to skip the gym and rest.

Now, let’s talk about Jill. Jill wakes up and sees her clothes already set out on the chair. Getting ready at a moderate but efficient pace, she then goes to the kitchen and turns on the coffee machine with the ingredients already set up the night before.

Taking a few moments to relax, she then sips on her coffee before grabbing her packed lunch from the fridge. She grabs her already-filled backpack located near the front of the door and then heads off to work.

At work, Jill looks at her to-do list that she created the previous night and picks up from where she left off. After work, she grabs her fitness clothes from her backpack, hits the gym, and makes it home, satisfied with the great morning and day.

Let’s face it. Getting started in the morning is difficult.

From the moment you wake up, you’re faced with a barrage of decisions and tasks that can drain your mental energy before you’ve even had your morning coffee.

What if I told you that a simple change in your routine could make all the difference?

By taking a few minutes to prepare the night before like Jill, you can set yourself up for a productive and efficient morning, setting the tone for the rest of the day.

Create an evening routine. Take a few minutes to plan out your goals for the next day. However, it doesn’t stop there. Lay out your clothes for work, prep your coffee machine ahead of time, and pack your lunch for tomorrow.

By reducing the number of decisions you have to make in the morning, you’ll be able to start your day with minimal effort and maximum productivity.

Luck favors the prepared, so take the time to set yourself up for success.

4. Find the Right Tribe

Wanna know what’s crazy? In a particle accelerator, scientists can get these tiny particles moving at speeds that will make your head spin! And when they do, you better believe that there’s going to be some collisions.

The faster the particle is moving, the more energy it has and the greater the chance of a collision. And when these particles collide at the speed of light, it’s like a mini explosion!

Energy is released and new particles can even be created. It’s mind-blowing, right?

But you know what I think? I think the same thing applies to life. If you’re moving fast enough and putting in enough effort inside a specific domain, new opportunities will eventually come your way.

It’s like the universe is saying “Hey, you’re on the right track, here’s a little something extra for you.”

Immerse yourself in the field, meet people, and attend events. Initiate enough velocity and eventually you will collide into an opportunity.

If you want to be a writer, surround yourself with writers. If you want to be a basketball player, surround yourself with basketball players. If you want to be successful in a specific area, surround yourself with people in that area.

Sure, it’s easy to stick with your old friends and colleagues, but if you want to take it to the next level, you need to branch out and make new connections.

Attend as many events as you can and network. Go online and search for nearby meetups. Remember, it’s not just about collecting business cards, it’s about building genuine connections.

Be sure to share your goals with others and be open to learning from them. Offer your insights and knowledge as well, it’s a two-way street. And most importantly, keep an open mind and be ready to seize any opportunities that come your way.

Consistently putting yourself out there and striving for success will lead to valuable connections and potential opportunities in the future.

5. Document your Journey

Our lives are busy. Sometimes we get so caught up in the hustle and bustle that we may overlook important details.

Keeping track of progress and documenting our actions is crucial for several reasons. It gives us a bird’s eye view of ourselves and holds us accountable. Plus, it is a great way to celebrate all the milestones we hit along the way.

By reflecting on our actions daily and weekly, we can identify patterns, assess the effectiveness of our habits, and make any tweaks necessary to keep moving forward.

To make this process easier, build a daily and weekly reflection into your schedule. During the daily reflection, focus on what you did to get closer to your goal that day and check off any daily goals that you had. Ask yourself:

• What went well today?
• What went wrong today?
• Is there anything I can do to improve tomorrow?

The weekly reflection provides the opportunity to zoom out and track your progress over a longer period. Use this time to review your initial goal-setting document, visualize your end goal, and assess your current state. Ask yourself:

• What patterns have I noticed in my progress?
• Are my current habits helping me move toward my goal?
• What are the next steps I need to take?

The frequency of your reflections is up to you. Some people prefer weekly reflections, while others prefer bi-weekly or monthly. The important thing is to set aside a regular time block to reflect on and track your progress.

6. Navigate Change and Uncertainty

The Covid-19 pandemic has taught us all a valuable lesson: life can change in an instant.

That’s why it is critical to have a plan that’s flexible enough to adapt to the unexpected. This does not mean giving up on your goals. It means being open to reevaluating your strategies as needed.

What worked before may not work now. It is time to get creative and rethink your strategies.

When faced with unexpected circumstances, a simple two-step process can help guide your next steps:

1. Figure out what’s changed and how it’s impacted you.
2. Ask yourself what needs to be adjusted in response. This might mean revising your subgoals or habits or even redefining your overall goal

And remember, trial and error is part of the process. Stay consistent, track your progress, and make adjustments based on the results.

Life may not always go as planned, but that’s okay! Maybe you were training for a marathon and got injured. It might be time to focus on recovery and adjust your timeline.

Or maybe you got rejected by your dream company. It may be worth exploring second or third options before trying again.

Keep an open mind to new ideas and be willing to try new things. Use the uncertainty to your advantage. Some of the best ideas have been formed in unprecedented times.

7. Find Joy in the Process

Have you ever watched a movie and just skipped to the end to see the results? Of course not!

The journey — the ups and downs, the growth, and the overall experience is what makes the movie so worth watching. The same goes for life. Learn to fall in love with the process and find fulfillment in progress and growth.

When you go to the gym, relish the feeling of getting stronger. When you read books, embrace the opportunity to expand your knowledge. Focusing on the end goal without enjoying the journey is a never-ending cycle.

It is easy to imagine how this cycle could turn out toxic. So take a moment to appreciate the view on the way up the mountain, not just the top.

There are two types of stress: eustress and distress.

Eustress is the good stress that comes from challenging but rewarding experiences, while distress is negative stress that comes from negative experiences.

We want to aim for eustress, the kind of stress that keeps us motivated and excited, while avoiding distress. Find that sweet spot where things are fun, challenging, and stimulating, but not overwhelming.

And don’t forget to make time for enjoyable activities outside of work or goal-related tasks. Have a game-night with loved ones, watch a favorite movie, and explore new cuisines at restaurants with friends.

Enjoy life.

Part B Action Points

• Find areas in your life where you can simplify and cut out excess mental space
• Take a few days to document what you do and look for places to remove unnecessary actions or replace them with healthy practices
• Think of ways to optimize your environment for convenience, allowing you to follow through with positive habits while cutting out negative ones
• Create a checklist consisting of repeated habits that are relevant to your goal and reference it every night to make sure they have been completed
• Create an evening routine where you reflect on the current day and prepare for the next day, making sure that you have a list of daily goals ready for tomorrow and that you know the location of everything you need the following morning
• Go online and search up events/groups in your specific field and introduce yourself to people
• Create a scheduled weekly/bi-weekly/monthly meeting with yourself to document progress and assess effectiveness of current strategies
• Be prepared for unprecedented circumstances and follow the two step process to decide next steps
• Through trial and error, find that sweet spot that promotes eustress while cutting out distress

Congrats on finishing Part B!

Wow, if you have made it this far, great job. Just one more part left!

Part B focused on sticking to the plan and navigating the fun, challenging journey. Now, it is time to talk about the conclusion.

The end is in sight and if you’re ready, proceed to the final blog!