No matter what your life path looks like, it most likely includes goals that matter to you. They can be personal, professional, financial, nutritional, recreational, social, spiritual, the list goes on. If you’ve found yourself struggling to achieve any particular goal, this blog post is for you. Although different goals require different strategies for accomplishing them, there are certain tips (both mindset- and action-based) that are pretty universal. Without further ado, here they are!
1- As the popular expression goes, “discipline over motivation”, but with a twist…
The motivation that’s being referred to in that expression is from short-term rewards. For example, it shouldn’t require feeling daily excitement to work on your goals to be disciplined enough to do so. There will be days when you’re just not in the mood to work on your goals, but you know you need to in order to see results. If you only relied on fleeting motivation, you wouldn’t do the work, hence why discipline needs to hold more weight.
Simultaneously, though, we do need motivation in the sense that our goals need to mean something to us. Despite not being in the mood on a given day, our desired long-term results should be enough to fuel us. Any singular action toward your goals may not make a world of difference. However, if you can look ahead to see the bigger picture, that long-term motivation should help the discipline kick in.
Sometimes we choose our goals based on what we think we’re “supposed to” want or what we see others doing. At the end of the day, though, those goals won’t fuel us like our goals grounded in authentic desire will. Your reasoning behind your goals can be big or small (depending on the size/nature of the goal), but it should be YOUR reasoning. The clearer you can become on the personal importance of your goals to you, the more likely you are to go after them wholeheartedly and devotedly.
Of course, that doesn’t mean you need to be in go-mode 24/7, stopping at nothing to reach your goals. As humans, we need to rest and recharge, and we certainly don’t want to resent our goals. Also, not feeling like it “just because” is NOT the same as not feeling well enough to do it. (Honor your physical and mental health first and foremost!) Ultimately, though, as long as your health is in check, you owe it to yourself to put in the effort as needed. Consistency will pay off, even if it takes time to see those results.
2- When it comes to the goals that involve creativity, inspiration is also important.
You can be as disciplined and motivated as they come, but if ideas just aren’t coming to you, you’ll find yourself in a standstill. Luckily, this is a solvable problem, as inspiration can be found in countless places. It’s just a matter of finding the ones that speak to you the most. Consuming content, both of similar and different types from what you’re creating, should get your creative juices flowing. For instance, if you’re writing a novel, sure, it can help to read other novels. However, it’s important to ensure you’re not copying material from those other novels, even if inadvertently. So, you can also listen to podcasts, listen to songs, talk to people, etc. to diversify your inspiration sources.
While you don’t want to delay action-taking for too long, you want your action-taking to be effective. Creating from an uninspired place and having to start all over later anyway isn’t exactly the most efficient. With that being said, the time you take to gain inspiration is NOT time wasted. Rather, it’s time invested into a strong end product. Combine your newfound inspiration with your discipline and long-term motivation, and you’ll be unstoppable!
3- Don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to tackle too many goals at once.
Organizing your goals into levels of urgency can help you determine which ones to focus on now vs. later. Certain goals can be easily integrated into your everyday routine, whereas others require greater time investments. As for the latter category, narrowing in on just a couple is much more realistic than trying to do them all at the same time. You can periodically reevaluate which goals are most important to you at any given time and adjust accordingly. For example, the start of each new month is a good time for a reevaluation. Whichever goals you’re still in the process of achieving—and are still important to you—can continue on into the new month. And goals that are already achieved—or no longer resonate with you—can be replaced by those in the next tier of importance!
4- Create action plans for your goals.
If your goals are just swirling around in your head without any plan for achieving them, you probably won’t act on them as regularly or intentionally as you could. By writing out specific actions you can take to get closer and determining how often you should do each one, you’re setting your goals up for success. Consider all the different actions that are likely to move the needle. Some can be more passive (such as reflection and research), but a lot of it should be more active and tangible (such as doing the hands-on work). You can even have a checklist with all the actions you plan to take each day. This will save you time from wondering, “what is it that I should be doing right now?”
On that note, also try to plan out when you’ll be taking these actions. If your schedule doesn’t allow for as many large time blocks as you’d like, that’s okay! Even spending an average of 20 minutes a day on a goal is far better than not spending any time on it at all. Ideally, the more time the better, but you can start as small as need-be. Just aim to be as consistent as possible, and make that time as focused as possible. If you can’t spend as much time on it as you’d like, the least you can do is make it quality time.
5- Track your progress.
Depending on the type of goal in question, progress-tracking can look any number of different ways. Some examples include a habit tracker, a checklist, a calendar, and a journal. No matter what method, it can be gratifying to look back and see how much you’ve already accomplished. Even if you haven’t hit your end goal yet, you’ve probably made more progress than your memory alone could tell you. You owe it to yourself to celebrate even your small wins. Seeing how far you’ve already come can fuel you to keep going even when things feel stagnant. Documenting your entire journey can also highlight which actions made the biggest impacts vs. any that haven’t. With that insight, you’ll know which actions to continue vs. stop taking, leading you to make more substantial progress.
6- Stay patient with yourself.
When our goals mean a lot to us, we tend to have intense emotions surrounding them, including discouragement during stagnant periods. However, by firmly believing that you’re meant to have something, you’ll know it’s not a matter of if; only a matter of when. If it’s taking longer than anticipated, you might just need to get creative and shake things up. As per the last point, tracking your progress will point you in the direction of which actions have been effective vs. ineffective.
In the meantime, holding onto your faith in yourself and what’s meant to be for you is essential. That faith is what will instill patience in you, which will help you stick with your goals even when things are slow-moving. As I’ve said in previous posts, a great way to develop faith in yourself or the process is to reflect on past evidence of your success, of things working out, etc. Remind yourself what you’re capable of, and let that fuel your belief that you’re capable of this too!
The bottom line…
Achieving our goals can require a lot from us. However, with the right mindsets and organizational tools, we can approach them more efficiently and successfully! Best of luck to you in accomplishing all that you set your mind to!