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Use these quick guides before reading the article, or return to them when you need help preparing questions for a doctor.
Ugh! I can’t believe that I gained 30 pounds in one month! That is it. I am going to finally hit the gym this month and take care of myself. No more sitting around the house and eating junk food. No more making excuses and continuing bad habits!”
Purchases $100 worth of new gym clothes, a fancy gym membership, then proceeds to never use either
Then 2 weeks later…
“HOW THE HECK DID I MANAGE TO EAT TWO SLEEVES OF OREOS IN 5 MINUTES?!”
Falling short of our expectations is arguably one of the worst parts of being a human being. One week, we’re telling ourselves that we are going to make the type of money we deserve and meet our soulmate. The next, we’re working a job that we despise and swearing off love until we kick the bucket.
It seems to you like that’s the natural cycle of life. That’s perfect if you enjoy missing out on the type of life that you could be living. But if you want to get out of this cycle, I will let you in on a little secret. You don’t have to engage in this type of self-sabotage at all.
Will it be difficult? Yes.
Will you wake up some days, wishing that you had no expectations for yourself? Definitely.
Will it be worth it? Hell yes!
Meeting your own goals is as simple as 1, 2, or 3.
Step 1: What Do You Want?
Goals are the least complicated part of this process. After all, a goal without a plan is just a wish! That being said, all you have to do to begin moving towards your ideal life is to figure out what you want.
Are you not getting paid enough at work? Do you spend more time talking to the walls than you do with your friends? Is there anything that you wish you could be doing in the world?
Great! Look at these issues and find a solution for them. Whatever it is that you feel you need to do to improve your life, write it down. Let’s tackle it together right now. Grab a piece of paper and a writing utensil.
Do you have them? Perfect! Put a fun name at the top of the paper such as “Reaching my dreams” and add a couple of bullet points below the title. Now, I want you to clear your mind.
Imagine that, one day, you woke up without any time, monetary, or distance restrictions. Where are you going? Who are you seeing? What are you doing? More importantly, does every action in your vision feel exhilarating?
Come back to reality and think over everything that you just envisioned. What did you see? For example, my ideal day would consist of wandering every street throughout the world, spending my time with my loved ones, and performing in front of millions of people.
What can I add to my bullet list that may reflect my vision? Here is a short example:
- I want to be able to travel throughout the world with ease.
- I want to become a musician.
- I want to spend more time with the people who are important to me.
Of course, your own goals don’t have to be as extravagant as the ones listed above. It could be as simple as raising your annual salary from $30,000 to $40,000. Whatever goal you have, just make sure that it aligns with your desires. This is vital to the goal-setting and planning process.
Step 2: Analyze!
It’s great that you want to start making $40,000 a year. However, there is a big difference between dreaming about a $10,000 increase and working for it.
Motivation is the first thing you need to identify in your goals. If you know that you are going to give up on your goals a couple of months in, scrap your goal now. It is a waste of time to work towards something you are not going to complete.
The second thing that you need to make sure your goal has is specificity. How are you going to manifest that extra $10,000?
You’ve heard of SMART goals, right? Specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timebound. Find out more about SMART goals here.
- Is there anything that you could do around your place of employment to get a pay raise?
- Do you have a side hustle that might be lucrative if you put more time and effort in?
- How much will you have to earn per month to reach this goal?
It certainly seems like a lot of questions at first but you will thank yourself later. A good example of a specific goal related to the above might be, that I want to earn an extra $10,000 this year by making $834/month through my t-shirt business. It’s specific, it’s actionable, and it is hopefully something that you are truly motivated to accomplish.
While it certainly seems easy because of the way I’ve mapped it out, it may be hard to create an actionable, specific goal when it finally comes time to do so.
Set a “theme” for the upcoming year, manifest daily success, and be intentional about where you truly want to be. For now, though, let’s go through the third and final step of successful goal-setting and planning.
Step 3: Map It Out
To reach your goals, you have to have a plan. But you don’t need to have it all figured out straight away. Let’s continue with the goal that I wrote in the previous section.
You want to make an extra $10,000 by earning $834 each month through your t-shirt business. This is a start but this is not a plan.
There are plenty of variables that you need to look into if you plan on making this happen. For example, what is the monthly amount that you are currently earning with your t-shirt business?
- How can you increase that amount?
- How many t-shirts do you need to sell per month to reach $834?
- How can you better market your business so that you are successful in selling that amount of t-shirts each month?
Let’s imagine that you are selling t-shirts for $20 each. Let’s also imagine that you are currently making around $60 each month with your business.
To reach your goal, you will have to sell around 39 shirts each month in addition to the three shirts that you are currently selling.
To sell that many shirts, you can start selling to people around your workplace, in your community, and start a Facebook Ads campaign to target your exact audience.
This may not apply to you specifically but you can see how well you need to develop your plan to reach your goals.
Evaluate each step that needs to be taken, figure out what you have at your disposal to make it happen, and figure out what it is that you need to be successful.
Once you’ve reached that success using this method, you will never go back to your old habits. After all, losing that extra 30 pounds or hustling for that extra $10,000 will make you feel as though you’ve transcended your previous self, why would you want to return to the way that you were feeling before? Exactly. Success and accomplishment are the two biggest motivators that will drive you into this new stage of your life.
The most important part of this process, however, is to remember that everything is negotiable.
Goals are as ever-changing as we humans are. If you change your mind on what it is that you truly want, go back to the first step and work your way through them again.
This is highly recommended. The worst thing that you could do to yourself is follow through on a goal that no longer speaks to you. It’ll put you farther away from your life path and create more work to do in the future.
