Steps in Setting & Achieving Goals

Accomplishing your goals will eventually lead you to success.

Successful people always recommend others to set goals, and for good reason. Without goals, many of these people would not be as successful as they are today. Regularly setting and achieving goals can help anybody achieve what they call success, whether that means publishing a bestselling fantasy novel or becoming a model for popular magazines. Setting and fulfilling goals can mean the difference between living a fantastic, happy life and living a mediocre, unsuccessful life.

Instructions

Setting Your Goals

1. Make a list of the things that you truly want to accomplish in life. Refrain from writing down any whims. Write down realistic things that you've been dreaming about since you were a child. Only record goals that you want 100 percent. Just because your family wants you to be a doctor doesn't mean you should become one.

2. Decide what you want to accomplish the most from the list and use this desire as a guideline to set a long-term goal. A long-term goal usually takes years instead of months to accomplish. Choose a goal that is achievable, measurable and specific. For example, your long-term goal might be to pay off your five-story home in 10 years.

3. Brainstorm the steps it will take you to achieve your long-term goal. For example, if you want to have enough money to retire in five years, you're going to have to get a job before the end of the current year. These steps are your short-term goals. You must accomplish these before you can accomplish your long-term goal.

Achieving Your Goals

1. Work on accomplishing your goals little by little every day; you don't have to accomplish a goal all at once. Write your goals down on a whiteboard or in a notebook to remind yourself to work on them. Place the whiteboard or notebook in a place where you will see it often. Ask loved ones to remind you to work on your goals instead of watching TV, for instance.

2. Think about the benefits of accomplishing your goals. If you pay off your home completely and get home insurance, you will never have to worry about losing your home. Imagine spending thousands of dollars on anything except your mortgage. These benefits will push you during the days you don't feel like doing anything.

3. Find a way to track your progress and update it every day. For example, maybe your short-term goal is to write a 50,000-word novel. You might use an app on your phone to enter your daily word total. Try creating a to-do list. Check off something whenever you complete it.

References

• CNN Money; The 4 Steps To Setting Goals & 6 Keys To Achieving Them; Jean Chatzky; November 2003
• The Upright Project; 7 Steps for Setting and Achieving Goals; December 2010