3 Ways to Work Towards Goals
Nothing great gets done in a day
We all have long term goals we want to accomplish. It could be writing a book, running a marathon, or getting a steady job.
This is a unique trait among humans. Every squirrel just wants to find enough food for the winter but we each dream up totally different futures.
Having so many different objectives comes with its own set of problems, especially considering how bad we are at achieving them. We’re master procrastinators. We make up excuses like being too busy and allow doubts to pile up in our minds like acorns in a tree.
Many people don’t achieve what they wanted to. How tragic is that? They never got to live up to their full potential. They died with that final thought on their mind: What could I have been?
We need to stop squandering time and begin living up to the potential that exists within all of us. Here are 3 ways to get started on your goals.
1. Stop putting it off
Everyone leads a busy life. Some are busier than others, but we all use this as an excuse to get out of things we don’t want to do.
Dishes are dirty? I’m too busy.
You’re having a gender reveal party? I’m too busy.
Yet we somehow manage to watch Netflix until midnight and spend an extra five minutes in bed the next morning. Go figure.
There are infinite excuses you could pick from. Whether it’s waiting for retirement or not wanting to disrupt your routine, but you have to start taking baby steps right now if you want to see yourself improve. If you want to start a blog, start drafting posts. If you want to run a 5k then jog for a few minutes.
Start doing it today so you can improve faster, just be careful not to get too swept up in fantasies instead of doing the work.
2. Visualize, don’t fantasize
It takes effort to achieve goals. Sometimes we get so caught up in the work that we forget what we’re aiming at. This makes it easy to get demotivated and forget the goal.
Visualize yourself at steps along the way. What will you look like after two months of playing piano, a year, five years? Imagine those goalposts and remember why you’re putting in the effort to stay motivated.
But there’s a catch. Don’t fantasize.
Fantasizing is when, instead of doing what you need to, you imagine what it’ll be like when you’ve “made it.” It’s seeing yourself playing to sold-out concerts or gold medals draped around your shoulders.
It usually has to do with praise from others and is indulgent. The problem is that when you don’t get that same level of satisfaction doing the activity as having the fantasies, it gets harder and harder to put in the work.
It becomes less about the process and more about desire and pleasure. The pleasure in real life falls short of the pleasure in the fantasies; it feels nothing like you expected it to.
Envision yourself getting to where you want to be but nothing past that. Otherwise you might as well stay in bed and dream.
3. Be consistent
This is the most important.
Nothing gets done in a single day. Every day you will improve just a little, and it’s only when you compare your current abilities to your abilities a few weeks or months ago that the improvement will be noticeable.
Even if it’s just for five or ten minutes, by doing it consistently, you’ll be reinforcing a habit. Habits are important to build so tasks that were once difficult and energy draining become part of your routine.
Washing your face or brushing your teeth might have felt like a huge effort as a child, but now it’s part of your day. This can happen to any task. Overtime you’ll get used to it and it’ll just be a part of your life.
It’s easy to become unmotivated but those days are the most important ones. Push through those and put in less effort so that on the days when you feel motivated you will go all out.
As long as you do a little every day, you’ll be improving instead of worsening.
Now there’s only the matter of doing it. That’s the hard part and I have to leave it up to you.
If you feel anxious, or stressed, or flat out tired, don’t think about it. Close your eyes and take that next step.
