#Goals — How will they help me?

2019 Goal Board — It’s impossible for me to forget what I want to accomplish when I see this multiple times a day!

Richard Branson, Michael Jordan, Tony Robbins — familiar names, right? Although they have helped shape different worlds, what do they share in common? They are all fervent goal setters!

99.9% of leaders that we look up to, see on TV, and read about, did not get there by luck. One of the most common questions they are asked is “How did you get to where you are?” Common answers and themes from this question? Habits. Mindset. Goals.

The glue that holds it all together? Discipline. We’ll save that topic for another time, though.

Habits

In his book, Atomic Habits, James Clear talks about the importance of building a system versus strictly chasing goals. At first, I was a little perturbed because it appeared that he was bashing goal setting while I was thinking “I’ve been preaching #goals and why they are important for 9 years now!”

Digging a little deeper into his book, he’s absolutely right that in order to accomplish your goals, you need to build a system of habits that are maintained well beyond the point of strictly accomplishing your goal(s). He says that “goals are about the results you want to achieve. Systems are about the processes that lead to those results.”

If you’re a runner, your goal may be to win a race. Your system is how you train, manage your nutrition, and keep your body healthy.

If you’re a business owner, your goal may be to add 50 new clients by the end of the year. Your system is how you market your brand and increase your exposure.

While I will still always preach goal setting as a best practice, I now preach habit formation with it as well. Looking back at how I’ve accomplished my goals over the years, I never really considered the fact that I had been building strong habits along the way!

Keep the goal front and center, but focus on the habit!

Mindset

“I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.” -William Ernest Henley

Did you know that experts estimate that roughly 50,000–80,000 thoughts circulate through our minds every day? That’s anywhere from 2,100–3,300 per hour!

Your mindset is the most critical element that comes into play when chasing your goals.

While our minds are racing, it’s imperative to be positive and forward thinking. Sometimes, this is much easier said than done as unexpected events occur, difficult times linger, and the noise around you enters your mind.

A few tips on remaining positive and always thinking ahead:

1. Start your day off with daily gratitude and think about a few things you are thankful for. Spending 1 minute, literally 1 minute, on this can help make your day and keep you on the path towards accomplishing your goals.

2. Review your goals list. (This means have it written down! Keep reading 😄) Going over your goals list ensures that you are thinking ahead and not strictly getting consumed in the moment.

3. Set time aside for yourself. Every Monday, I have a reminder in my calendar to schedule a personal activity for myself during the week. Sometimes, it’s as simple as going kayaking with my Dog. What’s important is being intentional about this time and actually blocking time off for it.

Self care is so important in order to maintain a positive mindset. This was one of my biggest weaknesses that I have honed in on this year. More to come!

Goals

My favorite topic of them all! This is part of what inspired Won Day as I grew a deep appreciation for goal setting and the power that it holds when incorporated into your lifestyle. An important practice that you do not always learn in school. Going back to habits, setting goals is a habit in itself!

Several studies show that you are more likely to remember something if you write it down.

As a matter of fact, a study completed by Dr. Gail Matthews has proven that you are more likely to accomplish your goals if you write them down.

I’ve found that writing goals down and reviewing them daily along with monthly reviews with mentors / accountability partners has been most effective. A few things that I employ in order for this to work:

The infamous goal board! This is placed right outside of my bathroom, making it impossible for me to miss. Some goals are updated almost daily, such as my goal to run 1000+ miles this year. Below is my Vision Board — we will talk about this in the future!

My tokened “Success Book”! Inside, you will find all of the goals that I written down since college, along with a bit of info about people that have positively influenced my life in some way. We will talk about this more in the future!

A copy of my goals from my final semester of college at The Citadel! As you can see, some goals have check marks and others were missed. That’s fine! To me, it means more opportunity to grow in the future and learn from why the goal was not accomplished.

I cannot stress the importance of setting goals and writing them down enough! I attribute a large portion of my success towards this simple practice and habit. I LOVE having the opportunity to teach people how to incorporate this into their daily lifestyle, and look forward to sharing more with you in the future.

Tips to get started

1. Think about what’s important to you and what you want to accomplish both in the short and near term and write it down.
2. From there, you should be able to divide goals up into meaningful categories. I divide my goals into the following categories:

Personal, Professional, Financial, Health / Fitness

3. Quantify as many goals as you can to measure progress. For instance, if you want to read more, set a number of books to read.

4. BOOM! You have your goals. Now, focus on the habits required in order to accomplish the goal.

5. Find an accountability partner / mentor to review your goals with. I recommend starting off with monthly reviews!

I challenge you to give this a shot if you have not before and let me know how you do!