10 Steps to Crush Your Goals in 2018
They worked for me in 2017
I have been enjoying life as a single guy for the first 34 years of my life. It has it’s ups, downs, and challenges every day. But one thing I have taken notice of as a single guy is an opportunity most people don’t have: I’ve got time. What can we do with a lot of time? Set some incredible goals and crush them.
Having time on your hands is only the beginning, though. With time, you have the opportunity to then commit to something. Time and commitment working together should make us some of the most productive people on the planet, right? Don’t we all wish?
We struggle in this arena because single guys (and millions of others just like us) haven’t learned the skill of how to set goals and crush them.
Our struggle with goals is real. It’s everything from we don’t’ know what we want to accomplish or we are just too lazy at being a bum to get them done.
So, how can we make sure we are successful at not just setting goals but setting the rights goals and making sure we crush them? Follow these ten steps.
1. Make sure your goals are people-centric.
Notice I didn’t say people focused. Those are two different ideas. The most important thing you need to remember when setting goals are how important your relationships are. The reason why we are terrible at setting goals and sticking to them because we forget to place people at the center of them.
Let me give you an example. I’m writing a book right now. The game changer to the entire writing process has been having someone to be accountable every single week. My accountability partner checks in on my progress to see how I’m doing. It’s huge. Is my goal focused on him? No, but he’s at the center of it, playing an intricate part in helping this book to get done.
When we keep people at the center of our goals, we’re more apt not just to start but finish them. Be sure to include relationships in your goals.
2. Don’t set your goals in a vacuum.
Some of my early mistakes in goal setting came when I would set goals, run off to conquer them while not including anyone in the process.
It’s imperative for you to get your goals around others and get their feedback. It’s not so they can crush your soul and tell you your goals are stupid. No, it’s so they can make them a bit sharper. You’ll thank them for it.
3. For every goal you set to benefit you, set another to help others.
They don’t have to be the same size goals, but it’s essential for us to take the attention off of ourselves and what we want to accomplish to make ourselves better and turn the focus onto other people.
Not only will this just make us better human beings, but it will keep us from spinning our wheels in just serving ourselves. We’ll begin to remember how important it is in serving the needs of others.
4. Cut your goals in half.
Man, I wish I would have known this sooner. Cutting goals in half is a game changer. The crazy thing is — this idea isn’t new, but it is revolutionary.
Jon Acuff, in his newest book Finish, talks about the importance of cutting your goals in half because we often shoot for the moon when we should be shooting for just down the street. If you want to crush goals — cut them in half.
5. Check in with your goals weekly.
Keep your goals in front of you all the time. For some of you, it’s a poster board in your bedroom. For me, it’s Michael Hyatt’s Full Focus Planner that tells me every single week — “GO LOOK AT YOUR GOALS!”
What does looking at your goals do? It keeps them at the front of your mind. I can’t get three months down the road anymore without looking at my goals because I see them at least every seven days.
When you check in with your goals (at least) weekly, you are more dialed in and prime to succeed.
6. Baby steps, man. Baby steps.
You know all those guys you pay attention to that have all this money and seem to be successful? You know what got them there? Baby steps. Baby steps are the magic bullet. (I feel weird typing that sentence).
The simple way to doing baby steps is to keep track of your next steps towards your goal and follow up with those actions today. Not tomorrow. Today. Today is all you have. But don’t let that throw you. You can do your most significant work today. Make it happen.
7. Don’t break the chain.
After you start cutting some of your goals in half, you’ll notice they are much more reachable but still tricky. So, if it works for you, build a calendar and cross off each day you work on something with that goal to not break the chain.
Years ago, this is how Jerry Seinfeld gained traction in his comedy. He committed to writing jokes every day. He threw a calendar on the wall and for every day he wrote he would place a big red X over that day. What’s his advice to those looking to crush their goals?
“Don’t Break The Chain” — Jerry Seinfeld
Men are visual people. We need to SEE progress for us to continue. I can’t think of a more simple way to make that happen than a big ole calendar with a bunch of X’s on it.
8. Show up Every day.
Do something. Even the smallest thing. Don’t quit. Consistency is better than frequency. Show up and be awesome.
I love the way Sean McCabe frames this. He states that we often think motivation will just show up randomly and we’ll start doing stuff. But it’s the opposite. It’s when we start taking action towards something that the motivation to do and continue follows.
Show up every day, and the motivation will follow.
9. Give Yourself Some Grace.
We usually fall into one of two camps on this. Either we are the hard-nosed, gotta crush everything every single day OR we are the lazy bum who doesn’t do a thing. We have one of those two mentalities.
Neither of them works when it comes to getting goals completed. It’s somewhere in the middle of those two. And finding the center begins with you showing yourself some grace. The middle ground is where the secret sauce for goal crushing is, and you get there by learning to show yourself some grace when things don’t quite work out as you planned with each of your goals. It’s cool — we’ve all been there, and we’ll all get back.
10. Be Sure You Are Having Fun.
I’ve lost track of the number of goals in my life where my goals have been no fun. It’s simple — where there is no fun, the goals perish. It’s true. If you’re not enjoying it, stop trying to reach it.
If we got a hold of this whole “fun idea” and ran with it, marathon registrations would go down, and goal crushing would go up. Pun not intended. Seriously, there is no way THAT many people want to run a marathon. It’s just not possible.
Learn to set goals that you can enjoy almost every day you work on them. You are more apt to complete your goals this way.
*BONUS* — 11. Reward yourself.
When you set goals for yourself and reach them, do something awesome. Buy that jacket you’ve been holding off buying. Treat yourself and some friends to dinner. Have fun with it — set rewards in proportion to the goal and enjoy it.
So what are you going to do today to crush your goals?
Do This Today:
Talk is cheap. Put this all into action. Grab my quick start guide to getting better at relationships, and your goals will begin to fall right into place. Click here to Grab my Guide Right Now.
