How to Set Goals (and Achieve Them!)
I think everyone can understand that setting goals is an important part of life, but none of us truly understand how important until we reflect on things we have accomplished and realized they are the direct result of the goals we set. Even if you only set goals in your mind, to yourself, they are still valid and can truly be life changing.
Throughout the years of being an entrepreneur, setting goals has become sort of a daily habit for me, but it all started with simply creating them in my mind. I decide I want to accomplish something (setting the goal) and right then and there would be the commitment to myself. However, as you grow and so do your dreams, it starts to take more than just thinking about a goal in order to accomplish it. No matter where you’re at, I hope some of these tips will help you set goals that turn into success:
Set goals in your mind
I like to think of my dreams as goals, whether I am choosing to work towards them now or 5 years from now, they are still goals! So every single day I am setting new goals for myself. Keep dreaming and exploring the idea of new possibilities constantly.
Write them down
This is the perfect way to take the first step towards reaching your goals, by writing them down! I personally love to use the Start Today Journal for this, but a simple pen on a piece of paper, or a note in your phone will do. It’s just a way to physically declare you want to accomplish this dream! A typical start work day for me always starts with writing down my big goals and dreams, and also writing down the small goals I want to accomplish that day.
Speak them out loud
If we don’t tell anyone our goals, it gives us an out when we get too lazy or scared to work towards them. So telling someone the goal you set is a way to keep yourself accountable. Even better! Tell someone that you know will help keep you accountable. We all have people in our lives who will accept our excuses and some that won’t, tell the people that won’t!
Reflect and check-in on past goals
When my friends and I decided to start Grace + Gather… hold on, let me give a little context to those of you who don’t know what G+G is yet. Grace + Gather is a clothing and home goods shop located in Houghton, MI that Kendra and I, along with two other friends and business partners are opening this coming spring!
Back to what I was saying, when we decided to start this business venture, we created a business plan which included our goals to accomplish throughout the next year. We created three month, six month, and one year goals. Before the first three months had gone by, we were kind of feeling like we hadn’t made a ton of progress yet (because there is SO much that goes into opening a store), but when we were looking back on our list, we actually accomplished everything on our three month goals and we were onto the next ones! Which is so encouraging! Just seeing how much we did get done in such a short amount of time made us feel great and ready to tackle the rest of them.
I hope this post helped you learn new ways to set goals and how to accomplish them! What are some methods you use to set and achieve goals in your life? From one goal setter to another, I could use the tips!