We all know how important setting goals is to personal growth and development. If you’ve ever set a goal, you know that setting a goal is the easy part. It’s the sticking to it that gives us a little bit of a challenge. Now, I don’t struggle with sticking to goals because I lack motivation or anything like that. Sometimes sticking to a timetable of what to do, when to begin doing and when to have it done can be a bit overwhelming. Confession: I am a perfectionist…well…a recovering one. So those things (having a specific time to achieve something) gives me a little bit of anxiety. But. There are ways to set goals that make setting those goals and sticking to them a tad bit easier and even a little exciting. I’ve started applying these to my life and I’ve been able to set goals, stick to them and actually enjoy the process and now I want to share them with you in 3 steps.

1. Make them practical- Nothing ruins the momentum of a new goal more than a goal that is wayyyy to big. Now, I am not saying limit your hopes and dreams. By all means dream as big as you can (I too am a big dreamer). What I am saying is that you can’t begin your journey on the 5th step. You need to start with the little things first.
2.  Make them S.M.A.R.T.- Specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time based. No, I did not make that up. But, this is so important.
   • Specifying your goal helps you to know exactly what it is you are trying to achieve. So instead of, “I want to lose weight” you’d say “I would like to lose 15 lbs.” Specifying how much you want to lose also helps you make your goal measurable.
   • Now you can calculate where you are when you check your progress.What will you be measuring this goal by? Set up some dates for yourself where you will measure where you are and where you’re going. This will help you to stay focused.
   • Attainable relates to making them practical. Is this something you can actually do? Do you have the physical ability to achieve this? Let’s stick to the weight example. For me personally with my body type and my ability in the gym (without a trainer) I know that saying I want to lose 50 lbs is not practical and aiming for that and not being able to achieve that would discourage me. Instead I would aim to lose 15 lbs. Something I know I can do on my own without hurting myself but would still be challenging enough for me to feel accomplished when achieved. You’ve got to be real with yourself.
   • Being realistic with your goal setting is similar to making sure it is actually attainable, but with a small difference. Does this goal fit in with your life and other lifestyle goals? Example: My life goal is to be a present mother to my children, to be involved in their day-to-day and watch them grow. If I suddenly decide that I want to be a doctor, and go to medical school, those two goals will clash. That doesn’t mean that you can’t go to medical school to pursue being a doctor, but that short-term goal will interfere with that lifestyle that you are aiming at in the long run.
   • And lastly we’ve got time based or timely. This means you’ll have to ask yourself “Can this goal be accomplished in a specific time?” Once you answer that, you set that time frame. Give your goal a deadline. This ensures that you do whats necessary to stay motivated and focused on accomplishing your goal.
3. Tell somebody-  Friends are really good at holding us accountable. Let a reliable friend in on your goals, tell them what you’re hoping to achieve, and when you hope to accomplish it. Also, let them know why you’re telling them so that they are aware of your expectations. You don’t want to turn this into a full-time job for them so don’t be too demanding. But give them permission to ask you questions and don’t get defensive if they nag you just a bit…because that IS why you recruited them.

Hopefully you find these tips a little bit helpful and are able to apply these to your life! If you do, send me a note in the comments below!

Do you have any helpful tips that help YOU to stay on top of your goals? If so share a few in the comments!

Thanks for reading! See ya later!

Photo Source