As we enter into a new season, you might be looking back and asking yourself why you are not reaching your goals or why things are not happening for you yet. Did you set SMART goals at the beginning of the year and you haven't achieved them yet? It's one thing to set a goal, but when not properly done, it will be hard to achieve. There are some things that you need to consider before the "S" and beyond the "T" in SMART goals to achieve them.
Follow this seven step process and apply it to any goal you are trying to achieve.
1. Have a purpose for your goal.
Your goal should be tied to a purpose. If you are part of an organization, it should be tied to the vision of your organization. Why do you really want to lose weight? Why do you want to start or grow that business? What is your WHY? When you have as many compelling "whys" as possible, you will be on the right track. Many times we don't achieve a goal because deep inside, we don't really want to or we don't have a reason for pursuing the goal.
2. Your goal has to be clear and written down
If your goal is not clear, it will be hard to achieve. A clear goal means you're specific.
Unclear goal: I want to lose weight this year
Clear Goal: I want to lose 10 lbs by the end of June....because I want to fit back into my size 8 (the latter part is the "why" as mentioned in step no. 1)
Unclear Goal: I want to increase the number of clients
Clear Goal: I want to increase the number of clients I serve by 20 or I want to serve 10 clients this week....so that I can go to Hawaii with my family in December
You have to have a clear goal. If it is clear, you will have the right strategy. If it's not, no strategy will save you. So your goal has to be highly specific and you need to write it down and look at it everyday.
3. Do the first things first. Your habits should match your goals.
You have to learn to prioritize. One reason we don't achieve our goals is that we don't prioritize. What are the daily actions you need to take to achieve your goal? You have to break down your goal into specific action items. Many people set goals and their daily habits do not match their goals. Goal setting also involves writing down the specific things that will take you towards achieving your goal so that you stop doing those things that take you in the opposite direction.
4. You need Others
You cannot achieve your goals alone. Who is going to help you? You have to include others if you want to achieve your goal.
It marks a big step in your development when you come to realize that other people can help you do a better job than you can do alone- Andrew Carnegie
You need to write down a list of people and other resources that you will need to help you achieve your goal. You may find this blog post post helpful "5 Kinds of People You need to Help you Achieve your Goals".
So, in setting your goal, you need a team of people that will help you and you also need to be in the right environment; with like minded people to support and rub off on you in the right way. Show me who you are hanging around or following, and I will tell you if you will achieve your goal or not.
5. Count the cost
What price do you have to pay to achieve your goal? You may have acheived some goals easily because you didn't have to pay much. A bigger goal means a bigger price to pay.
Achieving your goal requires you to go out of your comfort zone. It requires you to pay a price. Many give up on their goals because they didn't realize what they had to sacrifice.
You have to understand and write down the things you have to give up: time, money, some pleasurable activities, and so on.
You also have to understand that there is an incubation period for your goal to be achieved. When you understand and accept this, it will help you remain focused and patient and you won't give up.
6. Upgrade your belief system
In order to achieve your goals your mindet has to be right. The body cannot go where the mind is not willing to go. What do you belief about yourself? How is your self confidence? Our weaknesses and limiting beliefs can stand in the way of us achieving our goals, so you have to upgrade your mind and believe that you can achieve the goal despite your weaknesses, background, past faillures or what people are saying about you. With each challenge or new level we are trying to attain, a new set of limiting beliefs always set in. You have to work on your mindset ahead of time if you want to achieve that goal. Write down some affirmations and in conjuction with no. 4 above, stay motivated by staying in the right environment.
7. You need to improve yourself and your skills.
What skill set do you need in order to achieve that goal? Even if you have the proper skills, you need to perfect those skills. What do you need to read up on? What kind of training do you need? Your goal is to write a book but you your are not brushing up on your story telling skills. You want to lose weight but you are not getting educated on how to read food labels, and so on. Another part to this is self improvement. Improving yourself daily by reading, learning, or taking classes will give you a solid foundation to achieving anything you want in life.
Are you having a hard time achieving that important goal and you need someone to help you? Would you like someone to be your accountable partner? Learn more about my one on one Goal Achievers Program here and let's talk.
To your Success!