Setting goals can be effortless. If you’re like me, it’s easy to think of goals, and fairly easy to write them down.
Achieving them, on the other hand, that’s where the challenge comes in!
In order to reach our goals, we must maintain our focus on the end result, especially when things get rough. Here are some tips to help stay focused on our goals.
1. Create a visual reminder. A wish book contains pictures, personal reflections and other notes related to the finished goal. Let’s pretend for a moment that your goal is to nurture your creative side, perhaps to start painting. Create an artsy wish book full of pictures, cutouts from magazines (if you want to go gold school) or snips of images from websites you like. Think about the space in which you would set up an easel, create an amazon (better yet, small local shop in town) wishlist of supplies you may need. Visual reminders are meant to encourage and keep your eye on the prize when you hit a rough spot in your plans.
2. Ask for help. This point can’t be stated enough. Nobody is an island. Without help, everyone would fail at something. We’re not talking about help to start the business or any actual physical labor. This kind of help refers to support for you in general. Support such as weekly phone calls with a friend or mentor for encouragement, focusing sessions or even just a sounding board for you when things get off course. I like to think of this role as your accountability buddy (ies). They could likely use your check ins as well for reaching toward their goals.
3. Reassess the game plan. A goal is only as good as the plan behind it. Looking at that plan every three to six months lets you see what can be tweaked or omitted all together. As things change, so do the steps in that plan. If, for example, one step is starting a website business by the end of the year, a major move to another state can put that on hold. Instead, maybe selling items on eBay or similar auction sites would help keep you in the loop, without the pressure of reaching your original goal until the move is over.
4. Reward yourself. For every step along the way that brings you closer to your goal, celebrate. It can be a night on the town with friends, a new outfit or a quiet weekend alone. If the goal involves saving money, then the quiet weekend alone would not dip into your coffers. For weight loss goals, a new outfit or trip to the movies won’t ruin all of the work you have done up to that point.
5. Learn how to deal with setbacks. One reason people lose focus on their goals is a temporary delay or two. They call them failures when, in all honesty, they are anything but. Setbacks can signal that the goal needs a new direction or you need to rededicate yourself to the task at hand. Put it into perspective, deal with the hindrance and move on.
Staying focused on a goal can be tricky and even hazy at times. To correct your vision and stay focused on the final result, use the five tips above as often as needed throughout the process of completing your goal.
Author’s content used under license, © Claire Communications
