2023 is around the corner and if you are wondering how to set goals that you will achieve then this is the post for you. There are 5 simple steps that you need to take to make goal setting less daunting and I will be going through them!
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Just before the new year, a lot of people say ‘I am not setting myself any goals or resolutions because by February I just stop and end up never reaching my goals’.
I always say if you want something, you will do whatever it takes to get there and setting yourself goals is extremely important, whether you think you will stick to it or not. The goals you set yourself do not have to be materialistic things. It could be goals around improving your health or maybe you want to start reading more. These goals seem so small but setting yourself goals for the year does not always have to be big and when they are big they can be unattainable during that time frame which is why most people give up working towards their goals after 2 months.
Last year I learnt five amazing simple ways to set goals. These five steps have made setting and achieving goals much easier. So, I thought as the new year is around the corner, I’ll share this with you so you can start thinking about your goals and how to set them to help you achieve your goals.
How To Set Goals
How To Set Goals And Achieve Them
1. Categorise
The first simple step is to figure out only four areas you want to work on/achieve. For example, health, finances, travel and faith. There may be so many different areas you may want to work on or many things you want to achieve. That does not mean you can’t focus on them too, but categorising your goals into four different categories will make goal setting easier.
For example:
2. Write Goals
After you have decided on 4 areas, write only 3 goals for each category. For example, under the health category, you may write – reduce takeouts to once every two weeks, drink more water, exercise 3-5 times a week. You need to be flexible when you are writing your goals.
I know some people write goals such as losing 20kg by the end of the year which can be good to have specific goals. But if you are someone like me who has struggled in the past in achieving goals then I found being flexible with your goals increases your chances of achieving them.
If you are more flexible, you will feel so good about yourself that you will want to keep pushing. If you want some ideas on the kind of goals to focus on then I can’t recommend the bucket list journal by Evertue enough! It has five different categories and includes 101 goals which are aimed to improve your life.
The journal has helped me write down my goals for the month. This is because it has given me so many ideas and I know it can give you some ideas on the kind of goals to set yourself. You can use my code Mariam15 for 15% off.
Make sure you are not writing more than three goals in each category. 12 goals to focus on in a whole year is more than enough and if you write more it can be very overwhelming and reduce your chances of achieving your goals.
3. Digital Copy
I know a lot of people like to write down their goals on paper – maybe in their planners. But making a digital copy can be more effective. This does not mean you can’t write your goals down on paper, you can. But make a digital copy too as I found that by having a digital copy you are more likely to see it every day or more often than you would if you wrote it on paper. Seeing your goals more often will increase your chances of motivating you to take action to achieve them as it will be a constant reminder of what you want.
4. Pictures Not Words
When you have written down the three goals for each category, find pictures that would relate to your goal. So for example, if one of your goals is to drink more water every day then find a picture on google of someone drinking water. This is effective because if you have your goals written down, then you are less likely to read them every day. However, if you have them as pictures then all you’re doing is looking at the pictures and you will immediately know what each picture symbolises.
5. Set As Wallpaper
One way to see your goals every day is by setting them as your wallpaper – either on your laptop or phone. I set my 2022 goals on my laptop wallpaper as I use my laptop every day. So I knew that at least once a day I would constantly be reminded of my goals.
If for some reason you do not look at your laptop or phone wallpaper as much then another way you can increase your chances of seeing your goals every day is by creating a vision board. You can use your digital copy, print it out and stick it into a vision board. Make sure you have this vision board placed somewhere that you will see every day.
There are people out there, I’m sure, that achieve all their goals in one year. However, not achieving all your goals is normal and more common too.
Sometimes it isn’t possible to achieve them all which is fine. As long as you try to achieve as many as possible you will know that at least some areas of your life have improved. Out of the 12 goals I set for 2022, I have only achieved 5 so far. The other 7 goals are still some things I want to achieve. If this happens to you as well, don’t be hard on yourself. Instead, carry them on to the next year and come up with as many more goals as you need to make 12 goals. Never be too hard on yourself when it comes to achieving your goals.
Making it as simple as following those 5 steps above helped me find goal setting easier. Seeing it every day whenever I opened my laptop helped remind me how badly I wanted them.
I hope this post was valuable and helps make goal setting easier. I know it is only October, but start thinking about your goals right now. When you think of something, write it down and when you set a total of 12 goals you can start creating your digital copy.
Lots of love, Mariam x
This post was all about 5 effective steps on how to set goals and achieve them.
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