How To Set Goals For Life – 9 Step Process To Achieve Any Goal
Want to know how to set goals for life? Here’s a 9 step process to help you achieve any goal, no matter how big or small.
Let’s chat about how to set goals for life.
If you are looking for a proven process to accomplishing most goals in life, you have come to the right place.
This is because there is indeed a general process that can be followed to accomplish nearly any goal.
Understanding this process and following it closely is the key to making all of your dreams come true. Be warned: this does not mean that success is easy (it isn’t).
Or that it will come quickly (it may take years). Or that it won’t also involve lots of metaphorical blood, sweat and tears (it will). It only means that there is a process that provides predictable results.
You still have to do the work!
If you want to accomplish something that your heart desires consider following this simple 9 step process:
HOW TO SET GOALS FOR LIFE
TIP # 1 – Know what you want to accomplish.
If you want to accomplish something, you have to know what that something is.
Be clear on the specific outcome you wish to create.
Most people fail to even accomplish this step.
Choose something and have a clear idea of what you’re trying to achieve.
You need to have clarity before you can move forward.
HOW TO SET GOALS FOR LIFE
TIP # 2 – Create a plan.
Now that you have an objective, you need a plan to follow.
Yes your plan is likely to change over time, but you still need a roadmap in order to get started.
Make a plan and take that first step.
- Some things to note: Your plan will usually become more obvious after you get moving. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get started today.
- You only need to see the next step in order to make progress. Don’t worry if you can’t see anything beyond that first step!
- As you move forward and make progress, the path will continue to reveal itself. Some flexibility may later be required but getting started is the challenging part.
HOW TO SET GOALS FOR LIFE
TIP # 3 – Determine your internal and external obstacles.
Pull out a pen and paper and write these things down.
Internal obstacles are things like doubts and fears and other negative emotions or your thoughts about your objective or the path to your objective.
It’s important to identify and note these obstacles as you will need to resolve them if you want to be successful.
As for external obstacles, this includes things like time, money, finding clients, finding a mentor, and so on.
Many of these obstacles are predictable but you will need to have a plan for dealing with them.
HOW TO SET GOALS FOR LIFE
TIP # 4 – Set short-term goals.
If your objective will take more than a few months to achieve, you need to stop and set some short-term goals.
This will help keep you on track and maintain your focus.
It’s way too easy to procrastinate on something that will take you a year to complete, which is why you need to break it down into short-term goals.
HOW TO SET GOALS FOR LIFE
TIP # 5 – Plan your day.
Every day you have 24 hours at your disposal (just like every human in this world) so you need to make the most of each day by having a plan.
Look at your long-term objective and the plan you created in step 2 and schedule your time accordingly.
It’s best to do this in the evening the night before, so you’re ready to get to work first thing in the morning.
Avoid starting your day without a plan for your day.
HOW TO SET GOALS FOR LIFE
TIP # 6 – Lose the timewasters.
I love this quote by Bruce Lee who said: if you love life, don’t waste time for time is what life is made up of.
With that being said, most of us still waste time on occasion.
So what are your time-wasting activities?
Note them all down – every single last one of them.
Next think again about how you most commonly waste time and come up with a plan to remove those distractions from your life.
If they can’t be removed, the least you can do is work out how to minimize their impact.
HOW TO SET GOALS FOR LIFE
TIP # 7 – Enhance your mindset.
Now it’s time to focus on your mindset.
Why?
Because your mindset affects your motivation, energy levels, perspective, and how you make decisions.
You will need to adopt a positive mindset that supports your goals.
HOW TO SET GOALS FOR LIFE
TIP # 8 – Decide to never quit.
This is a hard step for most people but secretly I think it’s the most important one.
This is when you decide to never ever, ever, ever, ever give up!
Most people either fail by never getting started or by quitting before their objective is reached.
But this won’t be the case for you, right?
Perseverance might be the most important quality you can have if you want to be successful.
HOW TO SET GOALS FOR LIFE
TIP # 9 – Find a mentor.
Unless you’re very clear on how to achieve your objective, a mentor can often save you a lot of wasted time and heartache.
As a life coach for over a decade, I finally understood the value of having someone you can speak to about your goals and who will hold you accountable to your word when I took on a coach myself.
I’m already a naturally productive person but during those three months my productivity went through the roof.
Please note though: a mentor doesn’t need to be a real life person you personally meet and chat with.
Nor does it need to be an expensive or difficult step of the process.
Even an inspiring self-help book or public figure can be considered a mentor of sorts.
That is, many experts write books where they collate all their best wisdom and ideas.
And if you read those books, it is almost like that virtual mentor is whispering those things into your ear.
HOW TO SET GOALS FOR LIFE
So there you have it.
As you can see, the process for being successful isn’t really such a big secret.
I’m sure you have come across similar steps before in some shape or form.
In the end, this is a pretty reliable and well-tested roadmap for achieving almost any goal in life.
The challenge however is getting yourself to take action and to persevere long enough to become successful.
But if you can do those two final things, there’s a good chance you can accomplish just about anything in life.
HOW TO SET GOALS FOR LIFE
So pick a goal and go for it.
Yes it will be hard work, but it’s not as hard as dealing with the regret of never trying at all.
Give yourself and dreams a chance and see what happens – you now have a proven process that will help lead the way.
If you give up on your dreams, what’s left? Jim Carrey
To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe. Anatole France
Don’t ever let someone tell you that you can’t do something. You got a dream, you gotta protect it. When people can’t do something themselves, they are going to tell you that you can’t do it. You want something, go get it. Period. Will Smith
Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than one with all the facts. Albert Einstein
Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway. Earl Nightingale
Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Before You Go…
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I’m Frances Vidakovic – a mindset & action coach for quietly ambitious women who want to stop overthinking and finally take aligned action. I help women achieve their goals and follow through on what matters, without sacrificing their sanity or soul.