How to Attain Long Term Goals

Many people struggle to attain long-term goals. And as we come to the New Year, many of us continue to set resolutions. How can you make sure that this will be the year that you see things through? it takes some planning that goes beyond thinking of your goals--you have to take those initial steps. Here are some tips to keep your goals and resolutions on track!

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Paper
• Planner
• Pen/Pencil

1. 
    

   Write down your goals. It's a given, right? Still, most people do not write down their goals. If they do, they don't make them attainable. Keep in mind the tone and practicality of the goals you create. "Lose 50 pounds in one month" probably isn't so practical--instead, "follow a healthy diet" would be more doable.

2. 
    

   Post your goals. It's important--and vital--to keep your goals in front of you. So don't write them in a journal and tuck it away. Reproduce the goals and put them on your desk or in another prominent place. When you see them more often, you're likely to take the steps to complete them. The key to attaining goals and resolutions is to keep them in front of you--and to find the right ways to do that. Once you see things to do as tasks, you're more likely to do them.

3. 
    

   Break it down. Once you see your goals every day, it's imperative to break them down into smaller baby steps. Have a weekly or monthly meeting to plan your smaller steps, and then integrate those steps into your planner or day-planning method. For example, if you're trying to improve your sales with a new marketing platform, you'll probably want to create a brochure or website. One goal could be to create an outline for the brochure or hire a designer for the website. After you know those baby steps, plan a day or time when you will actually write them in or enter them into your planning platform. When you see them come up as a task, they're more likely to get done.

4. 
    

   Stick to the program, gently. Let's say you've done all of that and you wake up only to notice that you've got to edit content for a brochure. What happens when you're too busy or not feeling like it? Give yourself permission to reschedule. But don't make a habit of it. While it's good to go with your own personal flow, sometimes you've just got to do something. See if you can muddle through (chances are, once you get going, you'll get into it)--or if it really does need to be rescheduled. Try not to put things off too much.

Tips & Warnings

• Take a small step. Often times, most of us want the long-term goal, but not the work. If you've got to hit the gym in order to lose weight, go with staying only a few minutes in mind. Once you're there, you're more likely to want to keep working out in most cases. If all you can do is a few minutes at a time of something, that's OK. Just keep taking those small baby steps.
• If you reschedule a task, don't keep doing that. It's good to be gentle with yourself, but you'll have to step up to the plate and get something done sooner or later. If it's really that hard to get done, maybe it's not something you really want to do.

[jseven]

on 1/28/2009 I like that giving yourself permission to reschedule! 5* RCRR

[Delaplane]

on 1/8/2009 great article!

[paint-it]

on 12/12/2008 Great timing for me on this one...thanks!