We all love to set goals but most of them are hard to maintain. It is quite easy to take a pen and paper, write down the things you need to focus on every New Year. But then you seem to fail in doing so as you are not motivated enough.
Executing the New Year resolutions is a day to day struggle and we all go through it. Every year we set up some goals which we try hard to achieve. The goals we set are nothing but our dreams constrained with deadlines.
Ways to maintain focus on your goals
This year, help yourself and become a doer from a dreamer. Below, we have listed 10 different ways which will help you reach your goals.
- Go the smart way
The SMART goal approach refers to fulfilling goals with the help of specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound technique. If your dreams refer to the above then there is 100% possibility of fulfillment.
- Specific – If you are specific about your goal then it will have answers for the 5 W’s (What, Who, Why, Which and Where). If you are specific about your wants and identified your priorities then accomplishing your goals is very simple.
- Measurable – One needs to measure their goals to know the progress done or progress yet to be done in achieving it. You have to keep asking yourself how you are going to accomplish your goal.
- Attainable – Set such goals which you can actually attain in reality. Make your goals real and within your reach. We often love to say that I want to fly like a bird but that is beyond reality. You must be more practical with your goals.
- Relevant – You need to set such goals which will have an effect on your life. Unrealistic and irrelevant goals do not mean anything to be focused on. Your goals must be relevant and should add value to your life. If your goal is relevant then you will be motivated towards accomplishing it.
- Time-bound – Goals must come with deadlines. If there is no deadline for your goal, there is no way to reach it. You will lose motivation soon and your goal will be just another dream of yours. When you add a deadline to your goal, it increases commitment towards it and helps in fulfilling it faster.
- Write down your goals
We live in a society where people talk more and remember less. Our generation is progressive but only in terms of work, science, and technology. Is there any progress in our daily life? Do we follow our heart? Do we set everyday goals and fulfill them? No. We do promise a lot to ourselves but don’t tend to keep them.
When you set a goal, write it down, give a deadline to it and keep it in the place where you can see it throughout the day. According to a Chinese proverb, we tend to see and remember, write and understand. On the other hand, what we hear and speak, we often forget. A study suggests that people who write down their goals have shown faster progress than those who don’t.
- Start small to accomplish big goals
To set goals and work towards the fulfillment of those goals is a big thing. Often we see people who set big goals and then tend to lose motivation as they can’t figure out how to accomplish them. In such cases, you can break down your big goal into smaller goals.
This helps in staying motivated and gives several positive vibes too. To make it more clear, if your goal is to build a two-story house then build the ground floor first and then the second floor, then painting the house, and then doing the rest one after another. You don’t have to build the house at once.
- Plan your actions
As once Benjamin Franklin said if you fail to plan then you are planning to fail. When you set goals, then you must set a plan of action too. A planned move towards your goal helps in fulfilling it faster. Make a list of goals and write down your daily, weekly, monthly targets and the goals you want to accomplish this year. Make a detailed plan of completing the smaller goals first and keep working on the bigger goals.
- Rise with the Sun
Just as setting goals is easy, working on them is equally tough. If you go through the articles, biographies, and interviews of successful people around the world, they tend to wake up early. If you are worried about how to manage your day then try to wake up early. Most successful people wake up at dawn and utilize most of the day. This is why they are successful. They work for at least 18 to 19 hours a day. Work on your goals early in the morning, for instance, if you are planning to become fit then hit the gym in the morning.
- Keep an account of progress
One thing which none of us can deny is that if we are accountable to someone then we are bound to get a job done. The same theory works in case of accomplishing goals. If someone is there who is constantly checking your progress then you are bound to reach the goal within the deadline. It can be anyone – your friend, spouse, mentor, trainer, parents, and more. You will notice a boost in motivation and efficiency.
Final thoughts
Nobody likes to have goals which don’t make us a better person. To live a happy life, one needs goals in it. If the goal you have chosen for yourself doesn’t excite you then you can never reach it. You must enjoy the journey of the goal for accomplishing it. It must motivate you, excite you and push you for more hard work. If you are not experiencing any of it then revaluate your goals before it’s too late.
