7 Essential Strategies to Achieve Your Goals in Life
Every one of us dreams of a life we want to live and the person we wish to become. Creating and pursuing goals means that we choose to take action and make our dream life a reality. Whether you already accomplished some life goals or you’re just getting started, congratulations! You chose to show up for yourself and make a positive difference in your life, and that is already worth celebrating. There are many ways to realize your goals, but here are 7 essential strategies to help you actually achieve your goals while staying consistent and committed. 1. Visualize the Future Self Our goals are reflections of the person we want to become and the life we want to live. Goals are important milestones, but what we actually want to achieve is a lasting transformation in our identity and lifestyle. Think about it: Nobody wants to achieve a goal only to slip back into negative habits a few weeks later. Goals are steps we take in life toward creating the version of ourselves we wish to become. It’s not just about achieving that goal, but about the effort, dedication, and self-love you will pour into the process that will transform who you are. It’s about the new version of you that is created by overcoming your old self. The real goal is to become a person who will maintain the progress, the person who has the right mindset and continuously invests their effort into something they care about. Take a moment to really visualize the person you want to become. Take a piece of paper or open your notes and start describing the version of you that has already achieved your goals and dreams. What does your daily routine look like? What habits do you practice? How do you speak to yourself and others? How do you feel about yourself? Whether it’s becoming a more disciplined, healthy, successful, or confident person, visualizing a future version of you can be deeply inspiring and help you understand what you need to change. Once you have a clear vision, start to progressively align your actions with that dream version of you—and step by step, you will become them. Read my list of New Year resolutions you can set and achieve this year! 2. Set realistic goals The logic is simple: setting overly high expectations, especially at the beginning, is likely to leave you disappointed. You are fully capable of reaching your desired goals, but you have to understand who you’re up against. Achieving your goals is a battle between you and your mind, between your old self and the version of you you’re creating. Depending on the goal and the starting point, this can be tough, but it’s most definitely worth it. It is completely possible to exercise 5 times per week, eat only healthy meals and read 50 pages per day, but when setting goals, we should consider what is realistic for our unique situation. Our mind needs time to adjust to change, which is why consistency matters more than anything else. The best way to set realistic expectations is to create many smaller and achievable goals, especially at the start. This not only makes us reach but allows us to exceed our expectations, which makes us feel more accomplished and inspired. This strategy works because no matter the size of the goal, achievement releases feel-good hormones, such as dopamine, serotonin and endorphins, that boost happiness and motivation. Remember that growth in any area is not linear, so be patient and get back on track if you fail. The key is consistency, not perfection. 3. Start Small and Build Progress Once we set realistic and achievable goals, we will naturally start to exceed them, and progress will follow. However, we can continue to build progress by raising our expectations in a way that suits our unique situation. If your goal is to improve physical fitness, you might be tempted to say, “I’ll go to the gym four times a week and stick to a strict diet,” but this could overwhelm you, especially if your habits were very different just a few weeks ago. Similarly, if your goal is to spend less time on your phone, it’s unrealistic to think you’ll cut your screen time from 3 hours to just 1 hour a day. Instead, set realistic expectations, like reducing to 2 hours and then gradually down to 1 hour, to prevent feelings of failure. Start small, focus on consistency, and do more when you feel ready. It’s much harder for your mind to adopt a completely new routine than to adapt to small changes over a period of time. Besides, you are committing to a lifestyle change, not just an end result, and that is a long-term goal. That being said, don’t let the strategy of ‘easing your mind’ into growth become your excuse for inaction. Achieving your goals still needs discipline and commitment, so use this strategy to achieve sustainable, lasting and positive changes in your mind. 4. Create and follow a plan Benjamin Franklin famously said, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” For growth of any kind, planning is key. The reason is that achieving your goals is much like managing any other project. You have a starting point (your current state), you have a goal (your desired state) and you have your resources with which you will reach your goals (time, effort, money, etc.). Research shows that goals are 42% more likely to be realized when we write them down. This is true, not only because goals written down manifest, but because a person who cares enough about their goals will write them down, make a plan, and strive to achieve them. Writing down goals is a simple action but it shows a lot about commitment. It shows
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