How to set achievable goals

It’s that time of year again where, if you haven’t already, you need to go about setting goals for the upcoming year – but how do you go about setting goals that will stick? Ones that you can actually achieve? Here are my top ten tips on how to do just that.

 Believable goals

The number one reason our goals fail is because they are not believable to us personally. If your goal is to make $100,000 this year, but you truly don’t believe that you can achieve it, well then guess what... you won’t.

If you are going to be setting BIG goals for yourself, then make sure that you believe that you can achieve them. So how do you believe in achieving those big goals? Here’s a great book by T. Harv Eker that I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that everybody reads, especially if you want to aim big!

Make it visual

We all know about vision boards... where we put up a bunch of pictures of what we want to achieve, and place it somewhere where we can stare at it for a few minutes a day (at least), but why are these vision boards so successful?

When we see things in images, it makes it easier for us to actually visualise ourselves reaching our goals and dreams, vision boards are possibly one of the more powerful tools that you can create for yourself.

How do you really feel?

Feeling good about actually achieving your goals is one way to make sure that you will do exactly that. I’m always surprised by the amount of people who are actually embarrassed by the goals that they set for themselves and their businesses.

If you feel shame in the idea of sharing your goals, then either you have to work on changing how you feel about your goals... or change your goals. You should never have any negative emotions linked to your wanting to achieve any goals in your life.

So ask yourself HOW you feel about your goals and WHY you feel that way about achieving them to make sure that you are on the right track.

How much?

Most of us have goals that can be linked to a number. Be specific on that number and focus your attention on it. Knowing EXACTLY what you want to achieve will help you to do exactly that.

How much money do you want to make this year?

How much weight do you want to lose?

How many people’s lives do you want to affect?

Whatever your goal is, there is a number. Pick your number and aim for it.

A back up plan

What if something happens and you are for some reason unable to achieve your goals, or if it seems you might not, do you just fall into a heap on the ground and give up?

Have a plan to get back up and dust yourself off. Are you feeling doubtful about your goals? Well create a plan or strategy that will get you back into the right mindset and focused on achieving those goals again. Perhaps you just need a short holiday, or a glass of wine with a good friend.

Either way if you feel you are failing or have failed, what are you going to do about it?

Measure those goals

Break your goals down! Let’s say that you have decided to give yourself one year to make $100,000. That’s around $8,335 per month or $1925 per week or $275 per day.

Break your goal down to as small a number as you can, then use that as a way to track your performance. If you are averaging $275 per day (some days may be a bit less, others a bit more) but if you are sticking to your average, well then you are definitely well on your way to achieving those goals.

So whatever it is, break it down and use that as a way to measure your performance. If you are not on track, ask yourself why.

Create a plan

What exactly are you going to be doing to achieve your goals? What products are you going to be creating or actions you are going to be taking? Write down 5 things that you will be doing to help you to achieve your goals. You know what your goals are, but now you have to know how you are going to be going about achieving them.

Put time aside every day

Every day, revise your goals. Every morning I like to remind myself what my goals are, and then go over the figures and stats from the day before. By making this my daily practice, I’m reminding myself what it is that I want to achieve, and more importantly, I’m keeping myself on track.

Create a mantra

I love mantra’s. I say mine to myself every day, and as often as possible. Look at your biggest goal, and write it down as a mantra. Place that mantra somewhere where you will look at it several times during the day, and remind yourself what it is that you wish to achieve.

My mantra, that I repeat to myself frequently is based on my biggest goal, and so far it’s quite true, and that manta is “I am the Queen of Earning Passive Income” – because I am, and I do. It should be something short and fun that keeps you believing in your goals.

Journal it!

As you know, I love journaling. Once you know what your goals are and how you are going to go about achieving it, write it all down in your journal. Write down how you visualise yourself achieving those goals. By doing this, you a actually helping to program your brain so that you can do exactly that.