3 Simple Steps To Achieve Any Goal You Desire
How many times have you become inspired to do, be or have something, only to give up on that pursuit before you even start?
You love the idea of achieving your new found desire, however, once you start to process the amount of time, energy and effort it will take to reach, you abandon ship altogether.
I, for example, have always wanted to complete a particular ‘12 week bikini body’ workout program I have heard so much about. I was pumped after seeing all the transformation pictures, reading the testimonials and seeing the inciting bonuses (tshirt, water bottle, wristband) you get when you sign up. I was so pumped in fact, that I purchased the $170 program right then and there.
Sitting in front of my laptop, I started reading the exhausting step by step exercise routine I would have to do 3 times a week. I glanced at the new eating plan I would have to follow, which was filled with foods I didn’t like and none of the food I did like.
I spent the next 30 minutes scrolling through Instagram comments highlighting how hard each workout would be – and all of a sudden, the motivation and excitement I had to complete the program began to whither away.
Within an hour of purchasing the program, I had psyched myself out to the point of never even stepping into the gym once.
Why do I tell you this?
I know for a fact you have gone through a similar situation before, it may not have been exercise related, however, you’ve set a goal to do or achieve something – only to not even start once you have understood just how much time, energy and effort achieving that goal would take.
So, how do you overcome this challenge?
1. Find your WHY behind your goal
The first step to ensuring you actually stick to your goals is making sure this goal is ultimately what YOU want. A lot of the time we think we want to be, have or do a certain thing but really it’s just someone else’s goal that sounds good or it’s societies way of conditioning us.
Let me explain, you may think that having the goal to move up in rank for the company you work at is a great goal, however, you actually visualize yourself opening your own business doing something completely different. You will never do what it takes to reach the goal of CEO in the company you currently work for if that position is not what you truly want in life.
Goals set from your WHY are extremely powerful. Your WHY is that emotion and reasoning deep down that forces you to persevere in adversity. You will often find yourself overcoming obstacles with ease and continually having the inspiration to move forward if your goal comes from a place of an absolute burning desire.
To understand your WHY better, watch this TedTALK by Simon Sinek…
2. Take each day as it comes and focus on what you can do NOW
Start living in the NOW. Focus all your efforts on what you can do to reach your goal today, instead of thinking about all the work and time you need to invest in the future.
For example, if your goal is around fitness – push yourself 110% during todays workout. Be present in the gym right now and stop thinking about the workouts left in this week and begin taking it easy thinking you will put more effort in tomorrow. Do that extra set, run that extra mile and lift that little bit more TODAY.
If your goal is work related – do that little bit more TODAY that most wouldn’t. Make 10 extra sales calls, complete those last 2 tasks on your ‘to do list’, start that project you keep putting off you know you have to do.
By focusing on what you can achieve today and putting that little bit extra effort in – you set yourself up for success and propel your efforts to reach your goal quicker.
3. Split your goal into bite sized chunks
You know what your overall goal is, now break it down into smaller, more manageable sized tasks. Often we become overwhelmed by the enormity of our goal and it paralyses us from taking any progressive action.
The solution to this self sabotage is to set smaller, more achievable goals that lead you in the direction of your desired outcome.
What sounds more doable? Writing one chapter or writing and completing an entire book?
Wow!!! Great advice…
Thanks Carla
This is great. The steps I’ve found to achieve my goals is definitely to know why I need to do what I need to do (art). By knowing that it was impacting my health negatively by not doing my passion. Believing that the greater risk was not doing it all (life is too short and I didn’t want to end up old and full of regret about what I didn’t do!).
Amelia
Very well expressed! I think maximizing your potential is about doing things you never knew you could do and reaching heights that you can only dream about. It’s about pushing yourself to become a better and stronger person.
Yes! Be the best YOU, you can be 🙂 Thanks Merlene for your comment.
Hey
Thanks for posting this article. You bring up some good points. I love that Simon Sinek TED talk, and his book is awesome too.
I’ve struggled for much of my life to actually make progress and see success, until relatively recently. In fact, I think the stats show that almost NO-ONE reaches ant of the goals they set for themselves in their lives. I think that is a crying shame that billions of dreams and aspirations are resigned to the virtual waste bin every day, people choosing more of the same, a life of mediocrity and low level depression, because the goal just seems too hard. Easier to give up and ‘make do with your lot’, than to battle through.
Another great book is The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson, where he explains that the reason most people (all?) fail to make progress is because every micro-decision and action we make, whether taking us closer to the goal or further away, is as easy NOT to do, as it is to do. And on that day, or even that week, the visible results won’t look much different.
For someone who’s goal it is to lose 50 pounds, eating a salad, or choosing a Big Mac with a Big Gulp 7-Up, and why not? extra fries on the side, is not going to have any meaningful impact on their waistline. Just as eating one cake does no a diabetic make. 🙂
So, once that realisation is in place, it becomes easy to evaluate each choice you make, and consider if it takes you closer or further from the goals iin question. The problem here is that the instant gratification society we live in doens’t really like the idea that anything worth achieving takes time. But it does, but there is good news.
As with the compounding effect of interest on your bank balance, regular, small, seemingly insignificant actions has a compounding effect over time. The idea that you need to take MASSIVE ACTION to achieve success is not realistic, especially when you are just starting out. I recommend small, easy to do actions every day, breaking things down into doable chunks as you recommend.
But what if you struggle to do those small things? There is a mindset issue for many people, but I’ve put in place a simple yet effective system to get my ass into gear and actually get shit done. They are called Trigger Actions, and are nothing new, but sometimes we miss the obvious altogether.
Here is an example. I recently wrote a book called LEAN IN (shameless plug). 20 something thousand words. The goal was to write it in a month, all edited and published on Amazon Kindle. Problem was, it seemed like a tight deadline. And I know that when I work at home, I get terribly distracted.
So, I chose to write it ALL in a cafe, where I know I do actually put the work in.
So, my trigger action, 4-6 times per week, is to only focus on getting the laptop into my bag, and leaving the house at 9 am. I know that if I do this, I will get in the car, go out, and as if by magic, I’ll come home 3 hours later with 2000 words added to the book.
I forget about the endgame, as long as I get in the car each morning, the book will be written. I was talking to a guy who wears his gym shorts to bed before gym day, and has his shoes right by where he gets out of bed. He knows that wearing the shorts will ensure he gets out the door.
So, to add to this great article, breaking goals into daily activities is awesome, and then set a trigger action that acts as a pre-action to the actual activity. This has made me far more productive in a short space of time.
Oh, and make sure that the goals you set are for things you genuinely love to do. Trying to force yourself into habits for stuff you hate rarely works, and hell, we all owe it to ourselves to be happy.
Thanks again, enjoyed the article.
-S
Wow – awesome comment Stephen, thank you. Loved reading your thoughts. 🙂
Why…. Now and Divide… Thanks for such great advice…
Simon Sinek always has good ideas to present!
Yes he does! 🙂
Practicality is quite difficult to find now a days online but this post you have written is just too good!! Truly amazing no filler crap but practical advice on a subject which many people try to ignore and most people just day dream instead of working on their dreams today. Would like to add a fourth step which is to know when to say NO. We get so many request that are some time detrimental to our own success, but most people are sacred to say NO because they think it will decrease their good will with the person who requested something from them.
Thank you for the awesome props Aly, means a lot! So cool to know people value what others are passionate about. 🙂 I agree! Let’s add that forth step to the list. Reminds me of what Steve Jobs said…”It’s only by saying “no” that you can concentrate on the things that are really important”.