Setting Goals

Most of us have some idea of how we would like to improve our lives or just something we would like to do better. Many of us spend time at the start of the new year or the end of the weekend, thinking about what we would like to do to make our lives better. However, for many of us these ideas fade or get forgotten in our busy day to day lives. Some of us aren’t even sure about what we want, we just know we would like to make some improvements. Whatever the case may be, learning how to properly set and work toward your goals will help you boost your wellbeing and increase your personal growth as you work toward a positive future.

Begin by devoting some time to think about what is important to you across different areas of your life. Start to understand your values, think about the things you enjoy doing, and where your strengths are. Once you are in this mindset brainstorm some ideas of how you would like to improve in these areas. Some areas you may choose to focus on are mental and physical health, relationships, school or career, personal growth and hobbies or leisure activities. Once you have spent some time thinking of things you would like to do, decide what your goal will be. You may find that you have more than one goal you would like to work towards. A helpful strategy is to write down all the ideas that come to your mind, then arrange the list from most important to you to least important. From there choose to focus on the top three goals on your list.

There are some important things to consider to help you succeed at achieving your new goals. As you are deciding on your goals choose something you feel you are the most committed to. In order to be committed to your goal make it something desirable to you, as well as something that feels achievable. You want to challenge yourself, but the more confident you are in your ability to achieve your goal the more committed you will be. Try to make your goals as clear as possible. Make sure they are clear and precise, and that you can measure your progress in some way. The more focused your goals are the easier it will be for you to understand the steps to take to achieve them.

Once you have established your goals begin to write them down. It is up to you whether you choose to tell other people about your goals or keep them to yourself but writing them down is an important part of your success. This will help you maintain focus and allow you to come back and review your goals regularly. It is helpful to write them down following the S.M.A.R.T. format. Make sure they are specific, measurable and meaningful, actionable, realistic, and time bound. Rather than saying you want to ‘exercise more’, try writing your goal as ‘doing 30 minutes of physical activity three times a week for the next month in order to feel more energy throughout the day’. Including your reason for setting a goal can help you stay more motivated as you are progressing. Focusing on writing positive goals, rather than ones based in negativity may also help you continue to stay committed.

Once you have written out your goal, start to break it down. In the beginning it is easier to focus on short-term goals. The length of time may vary but try to choose something that you can achieve in the next few weeks or months. Achieving smaller goals is a great way to gain motivation to achieve larger more challenging goals. Break down your goals into small steps until you can create a clear action plan of what you need to do. Small steps will help you understand what you need to do day to day in order to progress toward your goal. Try working backward from the end point of your goal to help you create smaller actionable steps.

As you create the plan to achieve your goals try to plan and prepare for potential obstacles. It is likely you will run into challenges along the way but being prepared will help you stay on track. There are a variety of things you can do to better face obstacles, consider what might be the most helpful for you. Some useful ideas to stay on track are to focus on ‘most days’ rather than ‘every day’ and never go two days in a row without working on your goal. This can help allow for things to come up in your life but will help you stay motivated and committed to the goals you have set. The best way to achieve your goals is to keep going toward them. It is helpful to review and revises them regularly, this might be every day or every week in the beginning. Reviewing your goals helps you stay focused and allows you to consider what is working and not working in helping you succeed. Adjust your goals whenever you need to, to reflect your own strengths and values.

After all your hard work toward your goals, once you achieve one celebrate! Take time to appreciate all the work you put in and reflect on what you enjoyed most. Be proud of yourself for all your effort. Even if you haven’t reached the outcome yet, take time to celebrate your progress and enjoy your journey! The more joy and positivity you can bring to the process the more inspired you will be to keep working. If you can’t achieve your goal, learn from what you tried and revise it so you can eventually reach it. Once you have celebrated the goals you have achieved set new ones. Take the time to be grateful for everything in your life and be mindful of the direction you are heading in, set goals that align with your beliefs and help you create a life you love!