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by Aaron Vick, CDO Cicayda
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10 Goal Setting Steps That Actually Work
It’s easy to dream big and come up with vague goals, but harder to achieve the. Here are 10 goal setting steps that will actually help you succeed.
Did you know that only 8% of people who set New Year’s resolutions actually achieve them? That’s a pretty dramatic number. That means that 92 out of every 100 people fail to see their goals through to the end.
Why is that?
Often times, it’s because they didn’t set their goals the right way.
Setting goals the right way isn’t simple and it isn’t straightforward. But there is a way to set goals that can help you actually follow through.
Read on to find my ten goal setting steps outlined for you, and start making your dreams a reality today.
1. Write It Down
One of the most common pitfalls in goal planning is failing to do this first simple task. Why is it so important to write down your goals? Studies show that you’re much more likely to actually achieve your goal if you write it down and create a concrete plan for it.
The more detailed your plan, the more likely you are to follow through with it.
So right now, wherever you are, grab a pen and a piece of paper. Write down your goals.
Why write it down physically? Because research suggests that writing things down on paper makes you retain more as opposed to just typing it out.
So go on. Write them down.
2. Be Specific
When you write down your goals, you want to be able to envision them in your mind with a lot of detail. This is very important.
If you skip this step, you’ll likely fail. It’s not just about writing down your goals, they also have to be specific. Make sure they’re well thought out and with a lot of detail.
Write them down in a present tense, make them positive, and use the word “I.”
For example: “I will lose ten pounds by Christmas 2018 or sooner.”
Now, put it somewhere you will be able to see it often.
3. Make Them Measurable
The next most important part of the goal setting steps is making sure your goals are measurable. The more measurable your goals are, the more likely it is that you will be able to achieve them.
When you make your goals detailed and measurable, it should be easy to track them as well.
Let’s use my previous example. “I will lose ten pounds by Christmas 2018 or sooner.” There is a specific amount, ten pounds.
I can track my weight and the time that has passed. This is crucial in the journey of goal setting and achieving.
There are so many different variables that you can track, no matter what your goals are. You can track the number of hours you’ve worked, products you’ve sold, interviews you’ve gone on, or emails you’ve sent.
This gives you the knowledge of where you are at any point, where you were when you started, and how much more you have to go.
4. Pick an Exact Date
The date is another important part of this process. Again, get specific. Mark down the day, month, and year that you want to achieve your goal.
Back to my previous example. “I will lose ten pounds by Christmas 2018 or sooner.” Christmas 2018 is the exact day that I want to accomplish this goal.
This date is instrumental in this process. It helps you break your big goal down into smaller milestones, or smaller goals to help you on the way to your larger one.
Give yourself plenty of time. Pushing yourself and building that momentum is great, but so is realism.
5. Have a Solid Reason Why
What is driving you right now? What is the core reason for wanting to achieve this goal?
Dig deep and find these reasons. They can’t be loose or weak or superficial. They have to be the type of reasons that strike right at the heart of you, your values, and your belief system.
Make it compelling to who you are.
“I will lose ten pounds by Christmas 2018 or sooner.”
What’s my why there? Do I just want to look good? That’s a great reason, sure, but maybe that doesn’t resonate deep enough into me.
Losing ten pounds could prolong my life, extending the amount of time I have with my family. Now that’s something that can reach down deep into me, personally.
So, think about your goal. What motivates you?
6. Create an Action Plan
Now it’s time to create an action plan. This is the key to success in achieving your goal.
Your action plan is basically your roadmap, or those turn by turn instructions you printed out on Mapquest.com in the early 2000s. If you don’t know where to go next, how can you expect to get there?
Put a lot of detail into your action plan. Figure out the exact steps you will take, what methods you will use, what strategies you will implement.
This can take a while. But the time you put in is absolutely worth the investment.
7. Figure Out What’s Stopping You
Clearly, up until this point, something has been holding you back. Unless this goal is something you just developed five minutes ago, you have certainly come up with a few things that could stop you from achieving it.
What subconscious thoughts do you have that have been holding you back? Identify them. Talk to your friends and family, they often have valuable insight that you cant usually see yourself.
“I will lose ten pounds by Christmas 2018 or sooner.” What has been keeping me from achieving this goal until now?
Maybe I think it’s too hard. Exercising is too difficult, it’s impossible to fit into a busy schedule, and healthy food doesn’t taste good.
These are just examples, there’s a wide variety of things that can hold us back.
Consider using a mind map to identify the language you use and the long-held beliefs you have that have prevented you from making this goal a reality.
8. Forget Mental Objections
Sometimes it’s not just what we believe about the outside world that can change how good we are at accomplishing goals. It can be things in the far-reaches of our minds.
Maybe it’s something you heard someone say, or maybe it’s the way a family member scoffed when you brought your dream up. This can take hold and turn into a serious mental objection in your mind.
Write down every single one you can think of. Then write down an answer to that. Argue with yourself. Write “so what?” and then come up with ways that you can achieve your goals anyway.
Thinking back to the example goal now: maybe I just don’t think I can do it. Maybe I’m too lazy, I have no willpower.
Maybe I am lazy, but this is something I can overcome. And clearly I have willpower, I’ve gotten this far in just trying to create and manage my goals, right?
9. Manage Your Time
If you aren’t great at time management, you’re going to have a hard time following through. It’s so easy to get sucked into various time wasters that stop us from being productive.
Find a time management system that works for you and work with it.
If you aren’t putting in the time to accomplishing your goals, you aren’t going to see the results.
10. Track Your Progress
If you’ve been following the first 9 steps to setting and achieving goals, it’s time to start on number 10.
Track your progress. The better you track your progress, the more you’ll understand what about your action plan is working and what isn’t. Create smaller goals into small goals and check where you are weekly.
As long as you stay committed and stay persistent, you’ll achieve your goals.
Aaron Vick is the Chief Strategy Officer of Cicayda, a legal software company making sense of the discovery process by fully understand the data using real-time actionable analysis, immediate complex search results, and complex managed review workflows.
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