How to Set Lasting Goals

Set Some Goals: It’s Never Too Late
 

Do you agree that Financial Stability is one of the highest needs we all have? I believe it is, even people who live the simple or modest life still need to pay bills and feed themselves to survive. If we are not Financially Stable, we develop problems, illness from starvation, struggles with creditors and bill companies, etc. Soon stress kicks in, and we start to struggle mentally. The struggle can lead to mental health issues such as depression. Depression has an enormous potential of affecting our ability to gain the same financial stability we seek. There is a solution to that can help us gain Financial Turnaround and start working towards financial stability and mental well-being. We can set some goals.

Every year we want to achieve things in our lives which seem to be out of reach halfway through the year, and we give up. We start out wanting a healthier lifestyle, more money in the bank, learning a new skill and the list goes on. By February soon we fall back into old habits and forget about it all until December.

It doesn’t have to be like that, though if this time we choose to approach it from a different angle. Set some goals; It's never too late to start a new habit nor is there the right time to start. Why wait for December? Let's start now; we can do it!

One of my favourite books is Goals by Brian Tracy; Brian breaks down in a very easy way how we can set simple manageable. If you haven't read it, get yourself a copy, If you are a lazy reader like me, it’s in audio format too. Are you busy? Play it in the car as you drive to work. Trust me it will change your attitude towards goal setting. I have learned from his book to move around with a notebook and a pen so that I can write down new goals as I think about them.

Many of us are afraid of writing down goals because we don’t want to feel bad if we don’t follow through with them. In a training session I run about setting goals, I asked the people a question. What stops them from writing down their goals?

Most of them said; “Why should we bother setting goals? We never follow through anyway” Research show that when you write something down you have higher chances of remembering it and getting it ingrained into your subconscious. One of my favourite authors, Brian Tracy, author of the best-selling book goals talks passionately about setting goals and how high performers always seem to be those top write down their goals.

At the beginning of the year, I wrote down a list of 5 things that I wanted to achieve in 6 months. It is is the first time I took the time to write them down.  Guess what? I surprised myself. I have followed four of the five, and I am now working on the 5th goal. The fact that I put them in a visible place after writing them meant that I was able to remind myself to do at least one small thing that would age me closer to my goal. Before long I already was achieving that I wanted.

For the record, no goal is silly, stupid or plain. Whatever your goal, you can achieve it. The only things you need to do is to work on small, manageable tasks that will lead you to the main goal that you are trying to reach. 

For example, If someone is tired of their current job, they are frustrated, they want to change and add some fabulociousness to their life. Yes; you got that right, it’s a new word I have created ‘fabulociousness,' it sounds good, right? They also want earn more than they do in the current job.

“A goal with no plan is a waste of time.”

~ Amina Chitembo

A few steps to follow to get to the goal would be as follows:

The first thing is to identify the goal, making sure the goal is positive and a timeframe in which this goal is to be realised. For argument's sake,  I will say I want to get a job in which will pay me £50,000 pounds per year and will allow me to travel up to a third of the time. I want to move in one year. So in setting this goal, it is important for this goal to have an end date, that way you will be working towards this date and have a benchmark. It is okay to set a date and then have to move it forward at a later date. You will find that you will still have covered some ground towards the goal even if you have not achieved it. You can then set another end date.

Keep yourself motivated towards your big goal by breaking it down into smaller chunks so that you can see milestones along the way, You finish your plate of food by eating it a fork at a time, right?  The same with anything else you in life.  The best way of doing this is to make small milestones that you can achieve. These can be sequential or activities that if grouped at the end will have done the job! Let's just call them ‘sub-goals.' Remember to reward yourself when you reach a sub-goal.

People always laugh when I say “I am such a genius” after achieving something, no matter how small. The reason I say ‘I am such a genius” to myself, is not to be braggadocios, I do this to affirm to myself that I have done something that was not easy. I have achieved a small milestone in my life’s journey. I feel good about what I have done it gives me the zeal to move on to the next thing. Now, you may say that is self-praise, and maybe it is. Can I just refer you back to my number one point, self-love and self-appreciation? 

Challenge

I am now going to set a challenge for you. Please come back in 12 months and tell me you have achieved the goal I will give you a gift! Go on you can do it too, set yourself a goal for the next 12 months. Trust me I will be doing it as well. I will come back to this post and report every month!

As you are so committed to this here is an exercise to help you keep on track. Write down the answers in the spaces below and place it somewhere you can see. Trust the process it will pay off.

Your Challenge

Ask yourself these question these questions:

1.     What is the biggest go I want to achieve in the next 12 months?

2.     What will my life feel and look like when I achieve this goal?

3.     What will be happening in my life for me to know I have reached my goal

4.     What do I need to start doing to get there?

5.     What do I need to stop doing to get there?

6.     Who’s help do I need the most to achieve this goal