I’ve personally found that unless I’m constantly working towards a goal that I want to achieve, I feel a huge lack of motivation. This is why I’ve taught myself how to set goals, and then go after them – and that’s exactly what I’m sharing with you today!
First, let’s talk about FEAR.
Fear is something that comes up often when we’re going after our goals. Fear can either stop you in your tracks, or, you can learn to move past it. It’s YOUR choice.
Fear tries to tell me all the reasons why I won’t be able to accomplish my goals, so I really shouldn’t even bother trying. Fear will try to make every tiny set back seem like a huge catastrophe. Over the years, I’ve learned to push past my fears, because I recognize that they aren’t real.
Fear is made up in our imaginations, because our brains are constantly looking for what anything that could go wrong. Our brains aren’t designed to make us happy, they’re designed to keep us alive.
One of the greatest fears that I have is getting to the end of my life and having any regrets. I absolutely refuse to let that happen, and that fear is what drives me forward every single day. This is how I’ve learned to use fear to motivate me to accomplish my goals, instead of holding me back.
Learning how to set goals has been a complete game changer in my own life, and I hope it is for you as well!
How To Set Goals:
1. The BIG Goal
First, I write out the HUGE goals that I want to accomplish in life. Writing it out is KEY!
This could be a change in your career, a move across the country…anything that seems like a huge change from where you are now. This goal usually excites me and terrifies me all at the same time – and that’s the biggest clue that I’m on the right track!
I set personal, career, financial and training goals. This might seem really overwhelming at first, because it’s typically means that I’ll be in a very different place than I am now. That’s what takes us to the next step!
2. Break it Down
In order to achieve any really large goal, I break it down into smaller, more manageable steps. I first start by writing out my 30, 60 and 90 day goals, which all add up to the larger goal that I want to accomplish. From my 30-day goal, I break that down into weekly goals, and then daily goals.
I have my 30-day goals written out on a white board in my office, and my 60 and 90-day goals written out in a notebook. I break my 30-day goals down into manageable steps in my journal, that way I can be sure that I’m working towards what I really want on a daily basis.
Each day I do at least one thing that brings me closer to my end goal. Sometimes it’s the teeny, tiniest step – BUT I’m always moving forward, and that’s all that matters.
3. Accountability
Every single Sunday (pick any day of the week that works best for you) I check in with my progress towards my goals. It only takes a minute or two, but it holds me accountable and makes me realize where I’m really giving it my all, and where I’m slacking off. This is when I’m REALLY honest with myself, and recognize when I’m making excuses that are holding me back.
As I’ve learned, self-sabotage can be the total goal killer.
Often, we get in our own way because we have some sort of limiting belief, which we may not even realize at first. For whatever reason many of us believe that we won’t really be able to achieve what we want in life, so we aren’t even aware that we’re stopping ourselves.
I’ve experienced this in just about every area of my life, but when I hold myself accountable and check in with my goals, I recognize that I’m the one holding myself back, and that’s when everything begins to change for the better.
If you find yourself in a cycle of self-sabotage, ask yourself, what would happen if you achieved your goals? What would happen if you didn’t achieve them? Write this out. It can help to give you perspective and that extra push that you need to really commit to changing your own life.
There’s no reason to beat yourself up if you find that you’re not as close to your goals as you’d like to be. No one is perfect, and we all experience set backs. Just start fresh from that moment forward, and adjust your goals as needed – but really take the time to recognize if you’re the one stopping yourself.
Leave a Reply