How To Set Goals

Writing your goals down is an art form and we believe it is the secret to getting what you want in life. Numerous studies have shown only three percent of the population set goals and only one percent actually write them down. YOU are about to join one percent of the population. 

Elliot Berkman, at the Centre of Translational Neuroscience in the University of Oregon, has a great definition of goals: “a goal is a detour from the path of least resistance.” It’s easy to do what we’ve always done and much harder to change in order to achieve. 

Basically, if you have a goal…YOU have to do something different to what you are currently doing to achieve it. Simple as. 

Goals naturally contain resistance and friction because they require you to do something new – you have to be willing to push through some kind of discomfort and resistance to reach your true goals. But first, you need to know how to set them, follow these steps for flawless goal setting: 

 1) Identify what you want to achieve: 

You might be saying “How do I set goals when I don’t know what I want?” 

Allow yourself to dream again, like a kid…If you don’t know where to start think about the end, when you are 90 years old, what will you want to have achieved in your life? Reflect on this in your journal and you will find some dreams and answers to move forward with. 

Be specific and define your goals. 

2) Make it measurable: 

How will you know if and when you have achieved your goal? Put a measure against the goal. If you want to start running, your goal might look like “I will run 10K and take part in a park run” When it is measurable, you can break it down into smaller, achievable steps like “I will run 1km this week, 2k next week, 3k the week after” and so on. This will help you track your progress and stay motivated. 

3) Set a timeline: 

When do you want to achieve this by? Ensure it is a realistic timeline for achieving your goal. This will help you stay focused, motivated and accountable. It keeps you moving forward. Your goals now becomes “I will run 10K and take part in a park run on the 20th of November 2023” 

4) Write it down: 

Make a plan, write down your goals and the steps you need to take to achieve them. This will help you stay organised and committed to your goal. Keep this somewhere you can reflect on regularly, in your agenda, journal, or on your vision board. Writing it down is a form of commitment to yourself, a promise that you are going to work to achieve it. Don’t underestimate the power of putting pen to paper. 

5) Make it challenging but achievable: 

Set a goal that challenges you but is still achievable. If its too hard you will be discouraged and if its too easy you may not bother. There is a goal setting ‘sweet spot’ it sits between too easy and too hard. Just the right amount of challenge but not too challenging. Achievable and ambitious, where there is satisfaction involved when you get there and along the way to getting there.

6) Visualise success: 

Feel into the achievement. Embody the feeling, see the prize, allow yourself to dream and visualise yourself achieving your goal. This will help you stay motivated, light you up and ignite the fire in your belly. It’s an extremely powerful tool. 

• Close your eyes and clear your mind. 
• Take 3 deep breaths. 
• Sit in this silence until you feel a sense of calmness take over you. 
• Picture yourself working towards your gaol, how does it feel? 
• Picture yourself having achieved your goal; how does it feel? 
• Picture yourself looking back on your goal a year on, how does it feel.

Share your goal with friends or family members who can support you and hold you accountable. Find a partner, someone who has a similar goal and work towards it together. Sharing your goal can motivate you even more.  

8) Know your why 

So many people only focus on the ‘how’ and not the ‘why’ when setting their goals. Thinking about ‘how’ all the time brings pressure and can make you lose focus. The ‘why’ brings the motivational and emotional aspects of the behaviour change. The 'will' to change needs to be defined and present for real success and satisfaction when setting goals. 

 “Where there's a will, there's a way.” -Albert Einstein 

Remember, setting goals is a personal process, and what works for one person may not work for another. Experiment with different approaches and find what works best for you. Stay focused, stay motivated, and don't give up on your dreams. 

These steps are all laid out for you in our best-selling Productivity & Wellness Journal. It guides you through the process from start to finish. 

Now it’s over to you..

We want you to take out your journal or a piece of paper and simply write down 3 goals you would like to achieve in the next 6 months, these will be your short term goals. They can be big or small. Consider everything you have now learned from above.

Write it down & make it happen!