How to set goals & achieve them
“Growth is in the action. Virtue is in the struggle.”
Goal setting and achieving is like a muscle that needs to be worked repeatedly until it is strong. You will be able to create bigger and better goals through success and repetition of achieving smaller targets. Just like growing physical muscle through training and exercise, eventually you can go big and not look back.
SET
Take time to step away from your situation & circumstances and think about what you really want and what the outcome ideally needs to be. Start writing down thoughts and ideas that come to mind based on the agenda of your goals i.e. Fitness, Health, Career, Relationships, Family etc. Don’t over think it. These thoughts and ideas shouldn’t be stopped by fear or over analysing. You are just getting it out of your head and onto paper. Just write down what you really want. If you want to create goals for all areas in your life then sub headings can also help break it down. Eg: health, career, relationships etc. Dial in and focus on these goals. Make them crystal clear. No fluff, no maybes. Write them with conviction or like it’s already done. (AFFIRMATION)
The SMART Principle is a great place to start.
S – Specific goal. What is the exact ideal outcome of your goal?
M – Measureable. Can you track the progress? How will you measure the outcome?
A – Attainable + Action Orientated. Is the goal reasonable enough to be accomplished?
R – Realistic. Is the goal worthwhile and does it meet your eventual long term needs? Is it RELLEVENT?
T – Time. Your objective needs to have a time limit otherwise any sense of focus or urgency is lost.
Once you have your goals written out, organise them into priority and time frames.
PLAN
Once you have prioritised the most important and actionable goals, start to set a plan of attack.
You may find that you’re not exactly sure how you are going to achieve these goals, so you will need to set plans around educating yourself and figuring out how you are going to achieve them. This might mean researching and educating yourself, employing a coach, talking to friends, listening to podcasts etc etc. Knowledge is power.
Make your plan based on YOUR realistic time frames you have each day/week/month.
Unless your goal is so strong that it burns a hole in your heart and you will move everything in your life to do it, then you will need to be realistic about how much time you will need to give it.
ACTION
Get yourself into action mode. CREATE MOMENTUM.
You must do something immediately to create momentum and amplify the commitment. It can be small but it needs to be a forward step. Sign up for that race, ring that person to enquire about that job, etc etc.
Small actions become big actions. DON’T OVERTHINK IT. Just keep moving forward.
Tell EVERYONE. Get yourself ACCOUNTABLE. Perhaps hire a coach or find yourself an accountability buddy.
Read your goals daily.
WE ARE OUR RITUALS. So what you do repeatedly becomes you. Your daily habits and rituals should start contributing to your goals.
REASSES
Re-evaluate your goals often (weekly + monthly) to see how you are tracking. BE HONEST.
MY FINAL TIP:
FAIL FORWARD
If you’re going to fail. Fail forward. Fail trying your best. Fail gracefully. Fail intelligently. Fail with integrity. Bounce back and try again. ‘I would rather shoot and miss than not shoot at all.’
If you are looking for training or nutritional support, give me a call on 0404 448 124. I’d love to chat with you and help you squeeze the most out of your training and life.
BLAKE MORRISON, founder and head coach of BMF