We all have so much going on in life.
There’s work, career, school, home and family. The list goes on and on. It’s so easy to lose sight of what our personal goals are. We might want to finish a degree, complete a certificate, write a book or just learn a hobby or skill.
We say we don’t have time, but the truth is we don’t make time. Have you ever noticed if there’s something you truly wanted to do, you find the time to do it? Even if means taking a sick day and doing nothing once in a while.
Bouncing from this, here are a few tips on how to create personal goals and how to achieve them:
- Choose one goal at a time – we all have the habit of getting overzealous in our personal goals and start out wanting to lose weight, diet and exercise, clean out clutter, take a class, earn a certificate, etc. and then we spiral out of control and fail at all of the above.
- Worse than this, we stop trying because we climbed too high, too fast and fell way too short. Start with smaller goals. It’s almost like a no-fail system. It’s a win/win. Start with one goal – even the type A personalities out there can do this. By starting with one goal and one goal only, you have no place to go but up.
- If you want to learn a new sport or skill, for example, start by simply exploring what’s involved a little bit at a time. Don’t take out 15 books from the library, talk to 20 different people about it and research for hours on end on the internet.
- Talking to too many different people will only leave you vulnerable, especially when it comes to personal goals. Other people don’t want to leave their comfort zone and they want you to stay there with them as well. Spend small increments of time each day and set the timer. Spend 30 minutes one day and 15 minutes another researching your new personal goal and stop there.
- Pick one person you trust to talk to about your fears, excitement and concerns.
- Pick an action step for the week and stick to it. Get an accountability partner you will have to report to.
- Continue to reward yourself as you go along and reach these milestones.
- Slowly begin to incorporate this new goal into your life through small, actionable and measurable steps.
- Acknowledge the success you are feeling on a small scale as time goes on. Don’t rush and don’t get ahead of yourself.
- Notice you are gaining momentum on your goal. It’s not bigger than you. It’s actually happening in smaller increments.
- Begin to get excited, and it will show. Power tip – the more you get excited about what you are doing, the more inspired you will feel and the more momentum you will create.
Phoenix Education 