Happy New Year! Today, I’m sharing the very first thing that you should do in order to make sure you actually accomplish your goals!
I recently got back from my business planning retreat where I spent two nights focused solely on my business. There is something really powerful about getting away from your normal routine to focus on your future.
Part of the process of my planning was setting goals for the new year but, here’s the thing – in order to achieve your goals, you have to start by setting better goals. I know we set goals all the time, but we rarely think about our mindset around them and how that can actually impact whether or not we achieve our goals at all. So, here are five steps to help you set better goals.
- Narrow your goals.
- When I started brainstorming, I quickly filled an entire page with things I’d like to accomplish by the end of 2019 and if you’re anything like me, I know that you can do the same. Now, If I took on every single one of them as goals, how many do you think that I would actually accomplish? Probably not very many.
- I read some research that says the likelihood of achieving each goal decreases with every new goal you add. Goals require intentional allocation of resources in order to be met. So, you have to narrow your goals. Set 1-3 goals tops, write them down and go all in.
- Set Goals that Motivate You.
- The goal itself and the why behind it has to be enough to motivate you. No one else can want it for you! So you need to connect with your vision enough that you will show up to do the work. You have to be honest with yourself about whether you actually want it before setting it as a goal.
- Set SMART Goals
- The goal itself and the why behind it has to be enough to motivate you. No one else can want it for you! So you need to connect with your vision enough that you will show up to do the work. You have to be honest with yourself about whether you actually want it before setting it as a goal.
- Your Goal Needs to be Actionable
- When you set your goals, don’t say, “I want to.” Start saying, “I will!” Then, get clear on the input required for the outcome that you want. Reframe the goal for the actions that you want to consistently take.
- Give Your Goal an Upper Threshold!
- Our effort will match the goals that we set. If we are setting a minimum goal, what do you think we are going to put in? The minimum effort! Whatever we think is required to get the number that we said is what we are going to do, even subconsciously. So, I like to use a good, better, best method for my goals. The minimum number is the good number but then I set two higher numbers so I have a range and when I make my plan to meet that goal, I base the plan off of the best number!