How to Set Successful Goals
Ivelisse Ada
June 2016
We've all heard it before: goals are important things to have and to strive for. Many of us have hopes and dreams, things we want to accomplish – but turning them into actionable goals can be a challenge! New Year's resolutions are a perfect example of goals that people set which quickly get abandoned, but there are many other times when we hope to do something only to fail. So what's the secret?
1. Visualize your goals
What do you want to do? Where do you want to be? Take a moment to sit back and think about your goals and why you want to achieve them, and how much happier you would be if you succeeded. The first step to a successful goal is knowing what you want!
2. Figure out the specifics
A very big pitfall of many common goals is that they aren't specific enough. Take for example two very common ones, "Lose weight" or "Improve my grades." The problems with these goals is that it is very hard to tell when you've achieved it, and thus it's hard to plan how to achieve it. Making your goals specific helps you achieve them by allowing you to be realistic about them; whether they are achievable, what the timeframe should be, and how you will get from where you are now to where you want to be.
3. Make them measurable and time-based
This ties in with being specific – a goal should be measurable. There should be a clear outcome, and hopefully, clear steps on how to get there. A good example would be "I want to earn 1000 House points." However, an even better goal has a timeframe, such as "I want to earn 1000 House Points by the end of the school year." Making a goal measurable helps you break it down into smaller goals or steps, which make the overall goal more manageable, and gives you a definitive idea of when you've succeeded. Being able to write out and see all the things you would need to do in order to achieve your goal goes a long way in achieving it. Sometimes, the hardest part is knowing where to start! Having a timeframe for your goal helps keep you on track. If you don't set a timeframe, it is likely that you will keep telling yourself you'll start "tomorrow," or that you will drag out the achievement of your goal, or abandon it all together. Giving yourself a deadline puts the pressure on to get working!
4. Hold yourself accountable
Keep a log of your success so far and contemplate your goals at least every other day. Keeping these things in mind and forcing yourself to reflect on your actions so far will go a long way in keeping you on track. If you let yourself ignore the goal or run away from temporary setbacks or failures, the journey will be over quickly! Getting your friends involved by discussing your goals with them can be massively helpful in this respect; chances are, they will ask you about how your goal is coming along. The embarrassment you might get from constantly telling them you've gotten nowhere can be a good incentive when you are slacking, and chances are they will be happy to offer encouragement when you need it and praise when you make progress!
5. Remember the big picture
When you've broken your goal down into smaller steps and are toiling away at them, it can get hard sometimes to remember why you started this journey or project in the first place. If you feel like you're losing steam, take some time to sit down and remember why you wanted your end-goal in the first place. Everyone deserves a break once in a while, and taking time to think about how happy and proud you will be when you achieve your goal will get you excited to start again.
Chasing your ambitions and achieving your goals can be difficult, but it's certainly not impossible! If you choose your goal well and plan for it appropriately, I bet you will find it wasn't as difficult as you first thought.
We've all heard it before: goals are important things to have and to strive for. Many of us have hopes and dreams, things we want to accomplish – but turning them into actionable goals can be a challenge! New Year's resolutions are a perfect example of goals that people set which quickly get abandoned, but there are many other times when we hope to do something only to fail. So what's the secret?
1. Visualize your goals
What do you want to do? Where do you want to be? Take a moment to sit back and think about your goals and why you want to achieve them, and how much happier you would be if you succeeded. The first step to a successful goal is knowing what you want!
2. Figure out the specifics
A very big pitfall of many common goals is that they aren't specific enough. Take for example two very common ones, "Lose weight" or "Improve my grades." The problems with these goals is that it is very hard to tell when you've achieved it, and thus it's hard to plan how to achieve it. Making your goals specific helps you achieve them by allowing you to be realistic about them; whether they are achievable, what the timeframe should be, and how you will get from where you are now to where you want to be.
3. Make them measurable and time-based
This ties in with being specific – a goal should be measurable. There should be a clear outcome, and hopefully, clear steps on how to get there. A good example would be "I want to earn 1000 House points." However, an even better goal has a timeframe, such as "I want to earn 1000 House Points by the end of the school year." Making a goal measurable helps you break it down into smaller goals or steps, which make the overall goal more manageable, and gives you a definitive idea of when you've succeeded. Being able to write out and see all the things you would need to do in order to achieve your goal goes a long way in achieving it. Sometimes, the hardest part is knowing where to start! Having a timeframe for your goal helps keep you on track. If you don't set a timeframe, it is likely that you will keep telling yourself you'll start "tomorrow," or that you will drag out the achievement of your goal, or abandon it all together. Giving yourself a deadline puts the pressure on to get working!
4. Hold yourself accountable
Keep a log of your success so far and contemplate your goals at least every other day. Keeping these things in mind and forcing yourself to reflect on your actions so far will go a long way in keeping you on track. If you let yourself ignore the goal or run away from temporary setbacks or failures, the journey will be over quickly! Getting your friends involved by discussing your goals with them can be massively helpful in this respect; chances are, they will ask you about how your goal is coming along. The embarrassment you might get from constantly telling them you've gotten nowhere can be a good incentive when you are slacking, and chances are they will be happy to offer encouragement when you need it and praise when you make progress!
5. Remember the big picture
When you've broken your goal down into smaller steps and are toiling away at them, it can get hard sometimes to remember why you started this journey or project in the first place. If you feel like you're losing steam, take some time to sit down and remember why you wanted your end-goal in the first place. Everyone deserves a break once in a while, and taking time to think about how happy and proud you will be when you achieve your goal will get you excited to start again.
Chasing your ambitions and achieving your goals can be difficult, but it's certainly not impossible! If you choose your goal well and plan for it appropriately, I bet you will find it wasn't as difficult as you first thought.