How to achieve your goals: 3 rules for success
When it comes to growing your business, having a process for consistently setting and achieving your goals is essential to your success. It’s how you choose what to focus on - what to say “yes” to and what to say “no” to. It’s how you evaluate your priorities and decide how to spend your time.
And yet it’s easier said than done, isn’t it? We set these lofty goals, but eventually the shine wears off, real life gets in the way, and we’re faced with the reality that making changes is hard.
And so here we are, in the third week of January – the perfect time for a quick gut check: How are you feeling when it comes to your 2020 goals?
If you’re cruisin’ right along and feeling good, then high five, friend – keep going!!
But if those lofty ambitions feel more like light years away than just three weeks old, you’re not alone!
In fact, did you know that this week is the week most people give up on their New Years Resolutions?
It’s true. Fitness app Strava says that based on the global data from their users, January 19 is this year’s “Quitters Day” – the day that most people throw in the towel on their goals for the year.
So it only feels appropriate this week to stop and take a quick look at three things you can be doing to beat the odds and make those goals a reality.
Because the truth is that these goals are important – you chose them for a reason, and you know that if you can find a way to stick with them, they will make your business and your life better as a result.
Ready? Let’s jump in.
Rule 1: Keep it simple
One of the first ways that goals start to feel overwhelming fast is when they feel too impossible to achieve. Yes, goals should push you out of your comfort zone – but Everest wasn’t climbed in a day, Rome wasn’t built in a day… you get my drift. :)
Good things take time, and yet so often we allow the scope of the big huge goal we’ve set to overwhelm us.
That’s why Rule #1 is “Keep it simple.” And by this I actually mean two things:
Start SMALL.
Even if you have a big scary audacious goal – GO YOU! – the best way to build up to it is to start small. Break that thing down into manageable chunks, and remember that you can build on your progress as you go.
If your goal is to get up at 5 but you can’t seem to haul yourself out of bed before 7:45, start by setting the alarm for 7:30. Once you’ve got that under your belt, aim for 7:15, then 7:00, and keep going from there.
If your goal is to create consistent content, start by blocking off 10 minutes in your calendar every day to write.
If your goal is to read more books, start by going to bed 15 minutes earlier and reading for 15 minutes before you turn out the lights.
Remember – you’re trying to do something new and different, and change is hard. Just like you learned in high school physics, it takes time and energy to build momentum – and the hardest part is getting started.
Limit your goals & focus your energy
Just like it takes energy to build momentum, you’ll also get better results by focusing your energy instead of spreading it out over too many things.
In his excellent book Essentialism (highly recommended!), author Greg McKeown connects the idea of focus with fulfillment and impact:
“In the image on the left, the energy is divided into many different activities. The result is that we have the unfulfilling experience of making a millimetre of progress in a million directions. In the image on the right, the energy is given to fewer activities. The result is that by investing in fewer things we have the satisfying experience of making significant progress in the things that matter most.”
Overwhelm happens when we have too much on the go, and we don’t know where to start or what to prioritize.
Choosing to focus on just a few goals, on the other hand, will require intention and discipline – but it will lead to much greater progress in the long run.
Rule 2: Build out a plan
To me, the difference between a resolution and a goal is a plan – or to put it another way, goals are resolutions with legs.
It’s one thing to say that you want to achieve something; it’s another thing to figure out HOW and WHEN you’re going to do that. That’s why having a plan is so important – it’s the roadmap for turning your resolution into reality.
Your plan doesn’t have to be a fancy, branded 10-page strategic document with diagrams and appendices.
But it does need to be a clear, measurable, time-bound list of actions that you will take that will help you move toward your goal.
Take a look at the examples I gave a few minutes ago – waking up early, creating more content, reading more books. All of them have a very simple plan attached to them:
Set the alarm (and then set it a little earlier)
Put an appointment in your calendar
Set a reminder to go to bed early
Not fancy. But each of them clearly identify how and when a specific action will happen. And with each step, you move closer to your goal. Step by step. Little by little. Day by day.
Rule 3: Give yourself freedom and grace to adjust along the way
Here’e the real reason I think so many people abandon their goals by the third week of January: they think it’s about willpower. And so when they stumble or hit a roadblock, they figure they don’t have the willpower and therefore can’t do it after all.
Here’s the truth, friend – and this is good news!
Achieving your goals is NOT about willpower. Instead, it’s about connecting your small daily choices and habits to the big picture of what kind of life you ultimately want to live. Where are you going, really? What will life look like when you get there?⠀
Keeping your eyes on the end result gives you new courage and motivation when you feel tired. (And hi, it’s the middle of January – I think we all feel a little tired!)
It also gives you grace for yourself when you feel like you’ve failed or messed it up – rather than focusing on your stumble, look up and realize that the thing you really want is still there, still possible, if you just 👏🏻 keep 👏🏻 going 👏🏻.
So – take a second and take a breath. Picture the win that’s waiting for you. Remember that you don’t need to do this perfectly; you just need to take the next step. You can do it.⠀
Your takeaway: Keep going!
I hope you’re coming to the end of this article feeling a little more encouraged and empowered. Yes, it’s the third week of January, and yes, maybe the shine has come off your goals a little.
But remember – you chose those goals for a reason. You had a vision in mind when you decided that these were important choices to you. Go back to that vision and keep it front and centre, and then follow our three rules:
1 - Keep it simple
2 - Build out a plan
3 - Give yourself freedom and grace to adjust along the way
Good luck!
