The Secrets to Successful Goals

What is a Goal?

A goal is a plan, but successful plans don’t just magically happen. There are proven formulas for goal setting that stack the odds in your favor. These are the secrets that successful goal setters know and apply. Whatever you do, the better your plan, the more likely you’ll have a successful outcome. That plan is the combination of an idea and organized action. The secret to successful plans is to write them down. If you only think about them, you have a wish. (Are you struggling with even figuring out what your goals are? Head over to my post about getting unstuck where I share exercises and printables to help you overcome goal writer’s block.)

Your goals should be worth your effort and appealing enough that you want to take action. How successful are you going to be at something you dread? There are times you may be faced with getting past an unpleasant task as part of a much larger goal, but you’re going to have your eye on a much larger prize like a college degree or promotion. If you have to get past a class you hate, then you can set a goal to do that homework first. You don’t have to have the highest GPA in the class. Another example: Why set a goal to learn to crochet when you have zero interest and would rather be reading or exercising? Instead, set a goal to do yoga 3 nights a week or whatever sounds interesting to you. The secret is that the only person a goal needs to be important to, is you!

You should set goals in different areas but not load yourself down with more than you can accomplish. One thing done well has more power for good than many started and forgotten. As we grow our goals grow, which is why most successful people are goal-setters. It’s like walking up a flight of steps, each goal is built upon the ones prior. Each goal elevates the next one. Did you see a secret of successful goals? Less can be more. Simple and focused keeps overwhelm in check, which is important for reaching your goals. Find the balance, grasshopper!

Why Do I Need Goals?

Goals help you to prioritize and make the most of your time. Have you ever said you didn’t have the time to do something? You may have really felt that way, but barring a catastrophic life event, it’s more likely you had the time but used it for other things. It’s more correct to say, you didn’t choose to use your time that way. Successful goal-setters understand this secret, and they hold themselves accountable for how they use time. Think about yesterday. Did you watch TV, surf social media, wait in an office, or try to get things done but feel like you were spinning your wheels? Time will pass no matter what you get in return, but it can be more productive and rewarding with thoughtful planning. (Planning isn’t boring!) If you think ahead about how to use time, you’ll get more of what’s important accomplished and reduce your stress.

In simpler words: Let’s get stuff done!

Do you have a bucket list? People who plan, check more off their bucket lists. What’s on your bucket list you could check off this year if you prioritized it? Now ask yourself how many times you binge-watched Prime or did a little Net-flastinating? If you haven’t partaken in a little streaming avoidance of life responsibilities, you haven’t lived I bow down to your superior time management. (And, while I’m on the subject, how many times can one watch 2 seasons of Lost in Space because season 3 is nowhere in sight? But, I digress.) Here is the point about powerful goals: they keep you focused on the target, unlike this rambling paragraph.

For example: let’s say two friends have vacation time. One waits until their first day off to decide what to do, and the other is my son. Whose vacation do you want?

Powerful Goal Setting In Action

My son, Connor, traveled to Europe for a month when he was 22. He planned, worked, saved, researched, bought winter clothes, and he took his dream trip. Friends who had better jobs said they really wished they could go. They told him that he was so lucky. He explained the steps they needed to take to join him, but the difference was it was just a dream to them. They either didn’t think they could do or weren’t motivated to take the steps, which is fine. He went alone and had the time of his life. Goal-setters experience their bucket lists. They don’t just Pin them or wish for them to magically happen “someday”. He’s also moved across country and started a company, and he’s changed careers by studying free online resources and testing for certifications. My son is a goal setter, and I’m a proud mama. (About that vaca question, he’s been back to Europe.)

The Power of Habits

Habits are more than mundane repetition. Routines/habits can be your superpower that can make it easier to achieve your goals. They build on one another like blocks, sometimes exponentially. For instance, the habit of using a planner could help you plan and remember the steps to take for goals you’ve set. Regular setting and reviewing of goals is also a powerful habit, making it a superpower.

Habits can also interfere and be what I like to call an “area of opportunity”, because there is opportunity for improvement. Let’s face it, we all have “areas of opportunity” whether we like to own them or not. If you can make a habit of owning your areas of opportunity, think of what you can accomplish.

Breaking Bad (Habits, that is)

Maybe you’re facing the challenging “opportunity” of breaking a habit. But first, it helps to understand how habits work.

There are 3 parts to a habit:

1. Cue
2. Action
3. Reward

The 1) cue tells your brain to start; the 2) action is the habit; and the 3} reward is something your brain likes, so it helps you remember the routine. If you want to break a difficult habit, vacation is the best time, because routines and cues have changed. That’s not very practical, so change your routine to successfully break habits. Is it more important to have all your power working toward successfully overcoming a habit or to stay in the routine that supports it? Don’t be your own enemy.

30 Days to Change

A new habit takes 30 days to establish, so if you focus on only one habit per month, that’s a possible 12 habits this year! Wow! Think of how impactful even half of that could be. That’s pretty exciting, right? Remember the part about goals are like steps and you need balance? There are really bad metaphors I could make about losing balance on the steps of goals and breaking your habits, but I’m not going to resort to such cheesy comparisons. You remember that pacing yourself is key. Quality and time will yield quantity.

Just Throw Darts

Forming a new habit takes effort, so focus on no more than one habit per month. Your habits can move you to your goals faster, so think about which habits will help the most. There’s no wrong way to do it, though. If it’s overwhelming, write your top habit picks on sticky notes and throw darts to decide the order. Seriously, improvement is the object, and darts are fun. So skip the perfectionism while you’re working on perfecting yourself. Yeah, that’s what I said.

Habits Can Be Superpowers

If you really want to be an over-achiever, some habits will benefit more than just one area of your life. Exercise is a super habit, because it improves health, sleep, energy, and mood which has a ripple effect. Then there are the habits with superpowers like learning to learn better or creating a habit of goals and habits. Forming good habits is the secret to crushing your goals. There is nothing but winning when you work on habits. No effort is a waste. You learn more from your failures and challenges than easy successes, so if you don’t have the desired results, evaluate, adjust, and keep moving forward. Even an imperfect effort has value, so don’t get mired down in perfectionism. You can take charge of your life using the power of goals to develop new habits and to achieve the things you’ve been dreaming of.