MY Quick Guide To Achieve Your Goals

Taking bigger steps, and by that, I mean creating goals and ambitions that really excite us, ones that will help launch and/or grow our creative business, potentially change our lives, and greatly improve our sense of self. It’s something we all dream about and would love to make happen on an ongoing basis … how though do we take our bigger ideas forward and turn those goals into reality?

We know that all too often when we have a dream, and, in its infancy, it feels hugely exciting and wholly possible, but as the days go by, we can often become distracted, day-to-day life gets in the way, and the dream begins to fade. If this resonates with you, please know you are not alone, as science states, that most set goals, are never achieved.

So, how do you step out from the ordinary, and achieve your goals?!

It’s entirely possible to achieve pretty much any of your dreams and here, I share the six key steps that I use, which I hope will help you to sustain your path and achieve your goals:

1. PURPOSE – Really understand what the outcome will be of achieving your goal, the whole purpose behind your intention. Don’t just focus on the singularity of the goal itself, instead focus on how the goal will impact your life, your sense of self, your lifestyle, your family. Feel, visualise, and really understand how, by achieving your goals, your day to day will be positively impacted.

WHY IT WORKS … By understanding the purpose of your goal, this will motivate you to dig deep when you hit stumbling blocks, the times when you start to feel procrastination seep in, when you become distracted and/or simply lose focus. If you really want and can genuinely feel and imagine the impact from your goal, then it is far easier to keep focussed, motivated and on track.

2. STEPS – Working out and understanding the individual steps you need to take, to achieve your goal. By breaking each goal down to a series of daily tasks and working on them as individual smaller steps, these will lead you to the overall goal. Always start with the small steps. Use these steps to form the overall guide, the whole model, to reach your goal.

TIP … Create weekly projects and break these down further into daily tasks, which form your to-do lists. When you tick off/cross out the tasks as you complete them, this gives you a mini dopamine hit, a natural high. It gives you a great sense of achievement, it builds your self-esteem and sense of pride, you know that you are moving forwards, and it motivates you to continue, by building your confidence to move forward, particularly when you hit harder tasks, and it perfectly demonstrates that you can achieve what you set out to do.

3. CONSISTENCY – You need to form a daily, weekly, monthly rhythm, a routine to achieve your goal. If you simply start without a plan, without structure, you will easily lose focus. If your goal is to launch a new website for example, appoint time each day, to work towards your goal. It might be a few hours every evening, the first week focussed on research to select the best platform, the second on gaining a basic understanding about the platform, the third creating a base design layout … and you continue until you have launched your website. Focus on rhythm, consistent daily tasks, completing smaller steps, with daily check lists, to achieve your bigger goal.

INSIGHT … As humans, we are creatures of habit, in the same way as when you start an exercise routine to be effective, you need to be consistent, with a focus on small, sustainable steps.

4. GROWTH - When you become stuck, seek new skills, ask for help. Don’t let not knowing something stop you in your tracks. Research new methodologies and ask others who have achieved similar goals for their advice, and then tailor to work for you and your unique vision. Remember, there is always a solution, and it might not be the initial straight path you envisioned, most people become stuck and stop at this point, choose instead to figure out the new path, and embrace the multiple meanders you will find along the way.

TIP … Many of us have an inner voice that tells us we cannot do things that we haven’t done before – but those who succeed in life, have a growth mindset: you believe that you can and that you will find a way. Be this person, be positive, believe in yourself.

5. SUPPORT – You will most likely need support from others as you progress through your steps, whether family members helping around the house, by sharing more of your daily chores, leaning on friends, or appointing a virtual assistant. Once you have a clear focus on your goal, you know the steps you need to take, you are actively seeking new learnings and you are consistent with your rhythm, you will have significant clarity, and at this stage, it is so much easier to see where you will need support and ask for help from others.

INSIGHT … So many of us are independently working so hard, sometimes though it takes real strength of character to ask for help. Don’t be afraid to reach out. Acknowledge your need for support and take a positive step to move forwards.

6. MEASURE – Understand your reasoning behind your goal, what does it mean and place measurements or targets against it. Creating your new website as an example, you must understand why you are creating a new website and use measurements. For example, your new website might be to help you secure five pieces of editorial coverage within the next 12 months, to secure your first dream project within six months and grow your ideal customer base to 500 newsletter subscribers. Put specific measurements in place, so you can track them and know what you are working towards, give reason and measurement to your goal. You will be amazed how few people do this step!

TIP … Set up a table in MS Word or open a new Excel spreadsheet, and note down your targets and your current status. Choose how often you want to measure your progress – every month or every quarter and update it as you hit those dates. That way you can really see your progress and change track if you are not on target.

Following and committing to the above six steps on your path to achieve your goals, shows that you are willing to plan, you are willing to put the work in, you are prepared to focus on the detail, to learn and grow and to be open minded. You will be able to identify the outcome, how you will feel when you achieve it and how that will change your life. You are prepared to follow your steps, to be consistent and conscientious.

And track it every day, every week, so you know what you are doing and where you need to go.

By being wholly disciplined, diligent, thoughtful, and reliable, you will follow each step through and ultimately achieve your set goals. We simply must follow through, we have to train ourselves, particularly in a world that is full of distraction.

Remember the six steps - OUTCOME, STEPS, CONSISTENCY, GROWTH, SUPPORT and MEASURE.