There is one powerful thing about goals. they have the potential to change your life for the better. A goal is a conscious effort you make over an extended period of time to achieve a specific end result.
The key here is in setting a goal that is specific, realistic, attainable, and interesting enough for you to keep working on it.
This means the goal should not be an imitation of a goal set by other people like your friends, parents, grandparents, cousins, teachers, or anyone else in your social circle.
How do you figure out goals that are right for you?
I recommend that you take a notebook and a pen, then do these 5 exercises to identify them and create a plan to make them real.
- Identify your interests.
First, write a list of all activities that you most enjoy doing. It can include anything you’ve done in the past year, or five or ten years, or even back when you were younger. Be sure to list everything you can think of, even if the list starts getting long.
Next, select the top 5 things that get you the most excited when you do them. Take your time to pick your top five. Don’t rush this part.
Then, from your top 5 things, select 3 that you cannot imagine your life without ten or twenty years from now. To make this task easier, think about your why — what is the personal connection you have to a particular activity, subject matter, or hobby?
- Write down your skills.
Start by writing down your current skill set. What are you really good at, what do you excel in, what is a skill that you’ve worked on developing for a long time and that you devoted a lot of years to?
Next, write down which skills you are working on right now. Here you will write everything that’s currently in progress. Learning a new language, taking a class in personal finance, or starting a fitness routine to get more fit. What are the activities that you are working on consistently?
Finally, write down the things you consider to be your core strengths and that have helped you achieve tangible results in the past. This could be areas of your personal or professional life such as awards you received, top grades you earned in school, a public or professional recognition of some sort that you accomplished, etc.
- Match up your interests to your skills.
Starting with your list of the top 3 things you’re most interested in doing, find which skills and strengths you can pair them up with.
For example, if you enjoy learning languages, match the interest up with your self-discipline, your past performance in getting an A in a language course, your time management skills that enabled you to create an effective study plan, and so on.
Be optimistic about the progress you can make. This is very important. If you’re going to create a vision about your life, you should maintain a growth mindset when it comes to consistently working on what’s important to you.
Always have a can-do attitude that you can develop your skill set as long as you do it consistently and you put in your best effort.
Be realistic about the time it will take. Yes, it’s important to be optimistic, but you shouldn’t lose touch with reality. For example, don’t expect to run a marathon without getting into shape first.
Or, don’t think that it’s going to take one weekend to become a professional photographer. Becoming a master at something does require time. Be prepared to put in the hard work and practice getting better every day.
- Create a realistic action plan.
Be specific in what you’ve decided to do that feels like your true calling. Write down the top 1–3 areas where your top interests and skill set intersect. These will be your target areas where you’ll focus your energy.
Create a concrete goal for each area. What would you like to accomplish in one month, 6 months, or a year? Write down the goal for each area, and give yourself a deadline for each one.
For example, if you’re learning a new language, write, “My goal is getting to know another culture better. I want to be able to have a basic conversation in my target language and know the alphabet by a specific date.
Make an actionable plan. Create a monthly plan and divide up each week so that every day you have a chunk of time to focus on the things you’ve identified.
The key is to be consistent. make sure to devote some time each day to work towards your goals. If you believe you don’t have enough time, start with 15 minutes to work on a small task.
Once you get into the habit, it will be easier to increase the time to 30 minutes, and then an hour.
- Celebrate your progress.
Acknowledge every step you take in a positive direction. Why is this important? You should be mindful of all the energy you’re devoting to pursuing the goals you’ve identified. It’s not a small thing. Take pride in what you’re doing!
Give yourself the space to course-correct. Once a week, make an assessment of how you’re doing so far.
You can write this as an exercise. Ask yourself, What is working well so far? Is there an area where I’m wasting time and how can I improve? Then change your strategy and do things a little differently for the week ahead.
Treat yourself by doing something you find enjoyable. Spend an evening out with friends, go on a long bike ride, watch your favorite TV show, or set aside an uninterrupted hour to read a novel.
Yes, it’s important to stay on track and measure your progress, but don’t forget that rewarding yourself sends a positive message to your brain that you are on the right track.
