Summary::
Each year, for the past few years, I’ve created a goal list. A pretty one. 10 goals long, all nice and tidy tucked inside my journal. Because that’s a smart place for goals to stay, right?
I laugh now, but I honestly never gave a thought to where my goals were written or kept. I would just be happy at the end of the year, when I flipped back to them, to see that I may have accomplished a few. As an example, I have my goals lists from the last five years sitting in front of me. I actually didn’t even know I had all of these in this journal, so it was really interesting looking at and comparing what they had to say.
What I found really wasn’t that surprising. Although I had checked off some goals, more in recent years, I have a list of goals that have been the exact same for FIVE YEARS RUNNING. The exact same.
Volunteer my time, learn a new language, start a bible study, work for or organize an international social organization, sell my art, make 10 grand in savings, learn a new skill, get better at cooking, have a gorgeous home interior, maintain good relationships.
Those sound like great goals right? Yeah, I thought so too…for the past five years apparently.
The issue here is that I wrote down those big dreams, shut my notebook, and just expected them to come to fruition somehow. Did I just expect someone to come up to me and tell me how to start an international organization? I guess so. Did I just think one day I would just begin learning Spanish? Apparently. Did I just think 10 grand would land in my bank account when I was saving way less than enough to make that possible each month? Goodness.
It’s taken me five years to realize that this isn’t how goals get accomplished, and I’m sharing this with you so that you can get going on checking off your goal list ASAP! Please do not be like me and write your goals in a notebook that say “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined.” Yes, mine really says that. All this time I thought I was being true to that notebook, filling it with ideas and dreams….except I never gave life to most of them.
So what should I have done?
Easy. Take those goals and break them down. If you’re like me and you want to be a better cook, writing that you want to cook more excellent will NOT make you a better cook. What will? Breaking it down. For example: create one new 5 ingredient recipe each week. That’s doable, right? Read Tim Ferriss’s Four Hour Chef. Also doable as an amateur chef. And if you’re really into it, find a class near you and take a cooking class. All of those things could easily be done within one month, if not a week.
The same goes for my other goals. If I want to have a certain amount of money in my savings by the end of the year, all that requires is a simple plan of how much I need to add per paycheck, and ideally, setting up direct deposit would be part of that goal. How good would it feel to get to the end of the year and see all of that extra money sitting there?! I know. Amazing.
What I’ve also done recently is break my goals up into 3-month, 6-month, and year-long goals. This makes them seem way more achievable and less intimidating. I also have fewer to concentrate on at one time and am able to really focus on bringing those goals to fruition within the time frame.
And lastly, I read my goals out loud to myself each day, so that first off, I remember what they are, and secondly, I’m affirming them. For instance, one of my goals is to get a nicer camera. So, instead of simply saying, I want a camera, I say, I will have a white Canon EOS Rebel Camera by February 1st. That sounds so much stronger, right?
So take your goal list this week (or make one if you don’t have one), and break down your goals – into smaller tasks and shorter timeframes. What small step can you take today? Even if it’s just researching a workout class, or creating a Pinterest inspiration board, do it! Then celebrate the small achievements that you make along the way. Before you know it, you’ll be accomplishing that goal list you have, and adding bigger and better things to it!
Subscription links: Subscribe to the Newsletter to get podcast updates!
Outro Music by Tobu http://www.youtube.com/tobuofficial
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS