4 Essential Tips for How to Define and Achieve Goals
"If you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time."
"If you don't know where you're going, you'll probably end up somewhere else."
"The greatest danger lies, not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low and hitting the mark."
Have you heard some of these famous quotes about how to set goals? No doubt you have. But on their own, all the inspirational quotes in the world aren't enough to help you achieve your goals. What you truly need are clear, actionable steps to achieve goals (and the right habit system to manage them).
By "goals" I also mean targets, objectives, rocks, KPIs, and anything else related to your personal or professional life that you want to change.
Regardless of what you call them, you need to understand the importance of defining and pursuing these objectives before you start working towards achieving them.
The following are four of our greatest guidelines for setting proper goals.
1. Consider Goals with the Biggest Positive Impact
A goal has been defined as "a dream with a deadline." It's your vision of the future and something specific you hope to accomplish.
At work, your goal could be to reach your monthly sales quota, land that big promotion, or improve your soft skills. At home, your goal could be to lose weight, learn a foreign language, or spend more time with your family.
Chances are you could list dozens of things you would "like" to do someday. But this isn't the same as setting a concrete goal and then taking definite steps to achieve it. Goals are not mere wishes or resolutions - they need to be more tangible than sentiment.
To help you narrow in on the right goals to pursue right now, think about the things that would most positively affect your career or personal life (or both). Then think about the benefits you'll receive with that goal achieved. What should you try to do first that makes everything else easier or better?
Here are three actionable steps you can take to get started.
Choose Goals That Pull You
It's okay to glance back at the past and learn from it, but the strongest pull in your life should be the pull of the future.
Think of your goals like a magnet. The stronger and more purposeful they are - and the bigger and more meaningful they are - the stronger they're going to pull you.
The best goals are:
Inspiring
Believable
Actionable
If you skimp on your goals or only have weak, undefined objectives, you're not going to feel that powerful magnetic pull. As soon as you encounter a few bumps in the road, you'll likely give up because that goal just isn't important enough to you.
If you're wondering how to achieve your goals, the secret lies in choosing the right goals for you (right now). These are the goals that make you eager to get out of bed every morning. These are the goals that will pull you through the days when you're tired, distracted, or unmotivated because you simply can't let them go.
Write Down Your Goals
There's a reason why career coaches and psychologists recommend putting your thoughts to paper - it works.
Abstract dreams and ideas floating around in your head will probably remain in the clouds. To bring them down to earth, pull out a pen and a sheet of paper and write down your goals.
You could try a mind map to create a visual diagram of your objectives and interests. Or, if you're a more linear thinker, create a list of your goals and number them in order of importance.
You might be surprised at what comes out during this thinking exercise. For example, you might find yourself defining your fears instead of your goals, which can help you identify and remove obstacles from your path. Or you might uncover a new project, hobby, or career change you'd like to pursue.
Define a Crystal-Clear Purpose
Sure, it'd be "nice" to learn Spanish. You "should" spend more time with your children. And while that promotion sounds great, you're doing "fine" in your current position.
Do you see the problem with each of these statements? There's simply not enough motivation behind them - meaning you've given in to defeat before you've even gotten started.
The reason many people fail to achieve goals is that they haven't figured out their "why." They haven't dug deep enough to determine how achieving that goal will change their life (or what it will mean to accomplish it).
Imagine what could happen if you changed your mindset to these statements instead:
I want to learn Spanish so I can connect on a more personal level with my bilingual employees
I want to spend more time with my children to help mold them into happy, successful adults
I want to land this promotion because it would help invalidate my secret feelings of unworthiness
Can you see the difference? To achieve your goals, you need to consider the long-term benefits and the positive impact they'll have on your life.
2. Create Measurable Objectives with Realistic Deadlines
It's fine to have lofty, ambitious goals, but it's easy to feel overwhelmed by them, too. As Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu famously said, "A journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step."
How can you use this philosophy to achieve your goals? Break down a large goal into smaller, measurable objectives. This could include a series of steps, a new habit or routine, or a system of repeatable actions.
Try starting at the end and working backward. For example, look at your year-end sales goal and break that down into quarters, months, and weeks. Then think of what you can do on a daily basis to hit those weekly, monthly, and quarterly targets.
Does this really matter in a professional setting? It certainly does! Research shows that teams who set clear, measurable goals generate three times the results of teams without clear goals.
The key lies in choosing objectives that are most relevant to you (or your company). You also need to have realistic due dates and deadlines. They should be tight enough to motivate everyone to action, but not so tight that everyone feels frazzled and rushed.
3. Focus Your Time and Energy to Achieve Your Goals
Have you heard of the concept of ego depletion?
In a nutshell, it explains that we only have so much willpower on a given day to get things done. As we use up our willpower on necessary tasks, we have less self-control left over for other aspects of our lives.
What does this have to do with how to achieve goals? Simply put, we only have so many hours in the day to work towards our goals. And there's only so much energy, focus, and willpower to go around.
If you've been wondering how to set goals and achieve them, consider the number of goals you're currently working on. The absolute maximum should be three major goals (personal, professional, or a mix of both). Ideally, it's best to work on just one or two goals at a time.
Think back to our earlier example of someone who wants to learn Spanish, spend more time with their children, and land a big promotion at work. These are all excellent goals — but are they compatible with each other?
Studying Spanish requires a large investment of time, which detracts from the other goals of spending time with kids and working hard for that promotion. On the other hand, if the individual prioritizes their family life, they'll have less time to devote to learning a language or climbing the corporate ladder.
What's the takeaway? If you're spreading your time and energy in too many different directions, you won't accomplish a long list of goals. Instead, you'll end up with a long list of failures.
What's the Solution?
Like everything else in life, you need to prioritize. Choose one or two goals that are most important to your life right now and are also compatible with each other.
For example, our ambitious friend might write down their goals and give them serious consideration. Perhaps they reason that their family needs to come first, but they also want to strive for that promotion. After they achieve these two (more important) goals, they can devote some time to (the less important goal) of learning Spanish.
Of course, this is just an example to illustrate the point. Your steps to achieve goals may look different, depending on your priorities, but the thought process remains the same. You may also need to brush up on your time management skills to help you juggle your obligations while striving to achieve your goals.
4. Share Your Goals and Seek Accountability from Others
Trying to achieve goals entirely by yourself can be a lonely (and overwhelming) path. Even if it's a highly personal objective, one of the best steps to achieve goals is to share them with someone else.
In a personal setting, this could include:
Sharing your goals with family members or friends
Sharing your journey on social media or a blog
Joining and participating in an online forum related to your goal
Joining and participating in a real-life group or organization related to your goal
Why is this such an important part of goal setting? It brings in the accountability factor, which can be a powerful motivator on the days when you're just not feeling it. Accountability helps you to make steady, consistent progress, especially if you experience any setbacks along the way.
Accountability in a Professional Setting
If appropriate, get the entire team involved in a brainstorming session. Ask a big question like, "What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?" Then give everyone the chance to voice their answers and listen carefully to their input.
Next, be sure that everyone understands the purpose - the "why" - of the goals you hope to achieve. Every team member should be able to share the same vision for success. With this level of clarity on what you want to accomplish, everyone will be equipped to work together.
Choosing an Accountability Partner
Recovery programs often include the concept of an accountability partner — one specific person to help the other stay on track. This same concept can make a world of difference when it comes to reaching your personal or professional goals.
Here's how to find the right accountability partner to keep you motivated:
Choose somebody who cares about you but can also be honest and even "tough" with you
Explain your specific goal(s) and what they mean to you
Commit to being honest with your partner
Ask them to commit to being honest with you
Give them permission to provide encouragement or counsel when you need to hear it
Agree on a reasonable time frame for each step leading to your end goal
Check in regularly and update your partner on your progress
Accountability can be a tremendous motivator, so use its power to your advantage.
Now You Know How to Set and Achieve Goals
A goal achieved is a beautiful thing - but first you have to get there!
The tips on how to achieve goals outlined in this article can help. Choose goals that will have the biggest positive impact on your life. Break a large goal into smaller, measurable objectives or systems and set realistic deadlines for each step.
Remember, you'll have the best chance of success if you focus on just one or two goals at a time. And to help you stay on track, be sure to share your goals with others and work with an accountability partner.
These tips for how to achieve your goals are a great start, but there's so much more to learn. Here at Habitly, we're passionate about helping people become the best personal and professional versions of themselves.
Does Habitly sound like something that you and your team need? Click here to view our full list of courses designed to help you (and everyone you work with) to become highly successful.
