Setting and Achieving Goals

How to set and achieve challenging goals

It may never feel like the perfect time to start making strides toward achieving your goals but in reality the only perfect time is now. We all have big goals in life and some of them may seem out of reach at times but nothing is impossible if you have the right plan. Having an effective strategy to help you achieve challenging goals can be the most important key to your success.

Here are tips to help you overcome any obstacle and for how to reach challenging goals wherever you happen to be in life right now

1. It's important to focus your goals on what they call "smart goal setting." Not all goals are created equal and it takes a strategic and smart approach to reaching challenging goals. Smart goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bounded. Specifically for challenging goals that "A" word for achievable is incredibly important. While it's important to push yourself out of your comfort zone, but if your goal is not achievable from the start, you're just setting yourself up for failure. If you fear your goal has a high probability of failure, perhaps it is simply too aspirational.

2. Break your goal down into manageable tasks what we call bite size tasks. This helps you to keep your goals in motion and achieve them one small step at a time. With big goals, remember each step you take brings you that much closer to reaching your goals and each step you take motivates you to take the next step. So while they may not seem monumental in the moment, all of these daily tasks add up to incredible accomplishments.

3. Set specific milestones. You can help yourself stay motivated in any situation whether it's hunting for a new job, staying motivated in school or hitting a new financial goal by creating and celebrating milestones along the way. When you check a task off your to-do list, no matter how small that task may be, it is a victory that pushes you one step closer to your goals. Celebrate your small successes along the way whether it be taking time off, spending time with loved ones or simply reflecting on your latest achievement. These moments of reflection on your hard work help you to remember your why your big picture plan.

4. Mark Twain said that if the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that is probably the worst thing that's going to happen to you all day long. Your frog is your biggest, hardest, most important task. Uou must develop the habit or the routine of eating your frog before you do anything else and without taking too much time to think about it. When using the eat that frog strategy, make a list the night before of all the tasks you need to do the next day. Once you begin the hardest task of the day, work steadily and single-mindedly until it is 100 complete.

5. Implement the 80-20 rule. The 80-20 rule also known as the pareto principle is one that can be applied to any goal. This rule says that twenty percent of your activities will usually account for eighty percent of your results in almost any area. When you break down the 80-20 rule, you'll find that two out of ten items on a general to-do list will turn out to be worth more than the other 8 items put together. Understanding this principle allows you to prioritize what tasks will achieve the greatest result in the shortest amount of time.

Start achieving your goals. Now, the truth is it may never feel like the perfect time to start making strides toward achieving your goals but in reality the only perfect time is now. Not tomorrow and not someday.