How many times have you set goals that you never achieved?
Somewhere along the way you got derailed, lost interest, and lost motivation. It is common so do not beat yourself up about it. Instead, look at it realistically. To achieve a goal, you must commit to it which takes energy, discipline, and focus. In other words, it takes motivation. You must really WANT it – and that is the problem. Many people set goals based on what they should do, what others want them to do, or what they think they want to do. Their goals are not coming from a deep internal desire – they do not really WANT them.
Before you set any goal, dig deep and ask yourself “why” you want to achieve that goal.
If you do not have a burning desire or a darn good reason – something that really impacts you and lights you on fire – then it is not a goal. It is you trying to please others, it is you “shoulding” yourself. Never, ever “should” on yourself!
The very first step to setting goals is to make sure you are super excited about them and that you know your “why”.
That, and only that, will keep you motivated enough to persevere, stay focused, and devote the necessary energy. Before you read any further, think of some things you want to accomplish and ask yourself why. When you have some exciting and impactful reasons that come from deep within – then read on.
Once you know your goals and reasons, think about what you want the outcome, or results, to look like. Say you want to lose weight (goal) and you have a serious medical condition that is motivating you (why). Your outcome might be to have your blood work come back with everything within range, a weight loss of 10 pounds, and sleeping through the night. This is how you will measure your success – with the outcome that you set in the beginning.
Now that you have your goal, your why, and your outcome, it is time to determine the required steps and time frames. For your goal of weight loss, you may need to walk daily for 30 minutes, meet with a nutritionist monthly, track your food intake, get your body fat tested twice a month, and have labs repeated quarterly. Schedule these things immediately. Even if these steps seem overwhelming, if your ‘why’ is meaningful enough, your motivation will stay high especially when you start to see results. It may be obvious by now that your “why” is what fuels your motivation. One additional tip to keeping up your motivation is to have accountability and support. So, think about who can assist you with that and schedule regular check-ins with them.
You cannot keep all your goal information in your head, especially if you are setting multiple goals.
So, write everything down in a format you can refer to at least monthly. Plus, putting your goal information in writing makes it extra powerful. There are a few templates you can use for this and a few goal-setting methodologies that you can follow. If you would like a sneak peek at what I use, feel free to contact me and I will send you my template and method. When you message me, I would love to know your goal, your why, and your outcome!