What are your goals in life?  If I asked you where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years time, would you know the answer?

Setting life goals gives you short term motivation and long term vision.  It may not always be easy or run smoothly, but the fact that you’re challenging yourself makes life a little bit more interesting.  Without goals you stumble around, never truly knowing where you’re going.  It’s like deciding on a destination for your holiday.  You can’t go on holiday until you know where your destination is.  Life goals are the same.  You can’t get started until you know where you want to go.

Set a goal that excites and motivates you.

What do you actually want to achieve and why is it important to you?  Relate the goal to the high priorities in your life.  If you have little interest in your chosen goal, you’ll lack the motivation to see it through.  Don’t be afraid to be ambitious and don’t let your past intimidate where you see yourself in the future.

Put pen to paper.

Writing something down makes it feel real and you’ve committed to it immediately.  It will also increase your chances of actually succeeding.  Write what you want, not what you don’t want.  Use positive words, such as ‘will’, instead of ‘would like to’, or ‘possibly’.  Focusing on any goal boosts your motivation and energy towards it.  If you write it down and have a plan, it becomes more than just an idea.  It starts to materialise.

Make your goals visible.

Sharing your goals with others will increase your chances of actually sticking to them.  You won’t want to let others down or more importantly, yourself.  Post your goals around your home or work-place as constant reminders of your intention.  This will help to attract more ideas, solutions and results.

Break the goal down.

If it’s a big goal, break it down into smaller goals.  For example, I want to run a marathon.  Start off with running a 5k, then move to 10k and keep increasing the distance.  Achieving these smaller goals will invigorate and motivate you to keep going to the ultimate goal; a full marathon.

Have a realistic plan. 

Once you set a goal, you can get carried away with the outcome, so make sure you think about the steps which will help you achieve it.  Ticking off the steps as you complete them will help you track your progress.

Keep going.

Perseverance and patience is the key.  If goals were achievable immediately, they wouldn’t be challenging.  Remember to check in with your plan regularly.  If you feel all is lost, go back to why you set the goal, adjust and restart.  Rome wasn’t built in a day!

Celebrate. 

Reward yourself for your hard work.  Remember the steps that worked, think about the things that didn’t work and identify why.  Use the lessons identified when setting your next goal.  We always learn from our set backs.

Goals gives you purpose.  They point you in a direction that can create happiness and ultimately make life more enjoyable.  If it excites you, then it’s worth the time and effort!

What are you waiting for?  Take the leap of faith.  Make the Change.  Not tomorrow.  Not next week, but NOW.

https://www.oaxlifecoaching.com/book-your-free-consultation/

Chris