A lot people ask me how to set goals. But they should be asking how to set goals and make sure they can achieve them.
Otherwise it’s all for loss. Think about it: a goal set is only meaningful if it’s completed.
Ever hear the phrase “talk is cheap”? It’s often rightfully directed toward people claiming big goals without backing them up. That’s weak sauce. You don’t want to be a part of that group.
What’s going to make you most happy and fulfilled this year is if you clearly define your goals and then work your face off to make them a reality.
That’s the only way. There are no shortcuts that allow you to win without being disciplined, committed, and focused. Sorry, I’m not sorry.
And if we can learn how to set goals you can actually achieve, then we’re onto something big for every consecutive year for the rest of your life. That’s world changing information, if executed properly.
Here’s the two-step-method for how you set goals and make sure you follow through to accomplish them.
Step 1 – Specifically Define Your Goals
There’s no objective to complete if you first don’t know the overall mission. So Step 1 is to clearly define your goals.
Don’t give me any generic, stupid answers like, “I want to be smarter,” “I want to get bigger,” or, “I want to do good at work.” That’s a lazy thought, not a goal.
A good goal is something super specific and numerical that you can hang your hat on every morning and night, knowing the exact task at hand.
I’ll go first to show you what specific goal setting looks like. Here are my three goals for 2018:
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- Grow Robben Media to $250,000 in revenue
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- Make $250,000 in personal income
- Work out 4 to 5 times a week
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You can read more about my goals in this BrianRobben.com article, but do you see what I mean?
All three of my 2018 goals have numbers attached to them. And by the end of December I’ll have a clear baseline to determine if I succeeded or failed in my mission. There’s no gray area, and you don’t want any.
What are your three goals for this year? You see I have mine in a career, money, and health bucket. I recommend most people do the same. And three is a nice number because it’s not too many to keep track of or too little to make a big difference.
Stop reading this for a second, you can come back to it, and go write down three specific goals. You got this!
Again, just knowing our goals won’t do anything for me or you. Step 2 is what most people don’t complete and that sets them up for total failure.
You must do this next step, or else.
Step 2 – Define How You’ll Achieve Them
You have your goals written down? Excellent.
Here’s where you separate yourself from the pack to help yourself wake up every day and attack your goals, instead of procrastinating like a loser.
For Step 2, you must define how you’re going to achieve your goals.
By that I mean you need to go reflect and consider all of the individual steps or changes in routine needed to complete your goals.
For example, if your goal is to lose 20 pounds this year, don’t leave it at that. Instead have answers for:
- How many times a week am I going to work out?
- Where am I going to work out?
- What time of day? Before work, at lunch, at night?
- With who? A friend? A personal trainer?
- How am I going to meal prep? When am I going to meal prep?
- How am I going to drink more water?
- How do I stay away from emotional eating? Do I get one cheat meal?
- Who is going to hold me accountable besides myself?
- What’s my motivation and reward for accomplishing this goal?
If it helps you, think of Step 1 as the overall mission, and Step 2 as the individual objectives that if accomplished will complete the mission. They go hand in hand.
This works because you give your brain a roadmap to accomplish your goals before you even get started. It also inspires confidence and belief in yourself that you can do these mini-tasks, and if so, you’ll accomplish your main goal.
That’s powerful! Trust me.
Again, I’ll set an example by defining my goals, but this time you’ll see a quick solution with each one of how it’s going to get done:
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- Grow Robben Media to $250,000 in revenue
- Keep doing what we’ve been doing, sign bigger clients with larger retainers, land software deals, increase pricing
- Make $250,000 in personal income
- Make Robben Media as much money as possible so more comes to me, continue growing my personal brand, invest money into cryptocurrencies and stocks but don’t save much money
- Work out 4 to 5 times a week
- Work out during lunch, when I have the energy, instead of at night when I’m exhausted from a long day of work
- Grow Robben Media to $250,000 in revenue
Now set aside time to take your list of goals and one by one define how you’re going to complete them. You can do this.
Setting Goals Wrap Up
The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals. – Melody Beattie
Going off on Melody’s theme, you get to write your story for 2018 and your entire life’s story. Take advantage of this!
Set ambitious goals. Take crazy action. Be patient. And never give up.
Even if you’re not dealt a perfect hand in life—no one is—it’s all about your mindset and making the most of it every single day.
I’m choosing to chase my goals and write the best life possible for myself.
What do you say? How’s your story going to go? Set goals, accomplish them, and then live in the truth that you’ve done all you could to improve your life. That’s what peace looks like.
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