Life

Setting Realistic and Achievable Goals

January 31, 2018

Let’s talk about goals today, shall we? We all have some sort of goal floating around in our mind and when you get to be as psycho as me, there are hundreds (slight exaggeration) goals written everywhere. I always find the process of setting and pursuing our goals to be so interesting. As humans, perhaps we are always looking for something more, something better or simply something else. Do we fear the constant state of being? Sorry…I seem to be going waaay too deep into my own psychological thinking on this. That is a conversation we are setting on the back burner because I definitely want to continue it with you all.

Going back to today’s agenda! I wanted to present some tips to you on how to set realistic and achievable goals for the future. As a disclaimer though, I am no way the best person to look towards in setting such said goals. BUT I think I’ve set enough in the past and have an abundance of experiences of failures and successes to draw from. I do hope that at the end of reading this blog post, you will find some motivation to begin your goal-setting or if you already have them, to continue!

1. Be Flexible

Whether this be towards the timeline in which you imposed on the goal or the conditions within, being flexible when setting goals is so crucial. Of course, there are cases that you can’t be flexible with some things, such as doing something for a deadline, which has a specific date. But there are always aspects that you can control and be flexible with. Instead of aiming for a specific number, aim for a range or a certain threshold.

Being flexible means you won’t be constrained to such specifics, which have the potential to hold you back. Don’t let the little things halt your efforts in striving towards your goal. Having flexibility within your goals doesn’t mean being 100% loose with yourself either. It’s all about the balance. Be able to pinpoint the areas you have to be strict on yourself with and the areas that can use a little leniency.

2. Know Your Limits

Just like adding some flexibility to your goals, you also need to know your limits. What is achievable to you? Setting goals that you know deep in your heart you won’t be able to keep not only fails the purpose of setting goals, but also hinders future efforts. So make sure your goals are do-able and given certain conditions (mostly from your life), assess how realistic your goal is. Now, don’t confuse this with self-doubt—we all have that one voice in our heads telling us we can’t. Separate that voice with your own consciousness and really evaluate. There are some goals that we just cannot keep up with for various reasons, and for that, we need to add some flexibility in to change it up. Knowing our personal limits is important to set boundaries, but also allows us to continue pursuing achievable goals. If you know you have it within you to push those boundaries, that you have the limits and means to, then go for it!

3. Not Achieving Your Goals is Not Failure

Even if you were flexible and made a goal within your limits, don’t consider it failure and stop there if you don’t achieve your goal. You can do anything you set your minds to and don’t let one setback stop you. I, too, am guilty of not trying anymore after I don’t succeed. But it’s all about getting back up and learning from your mistakes. I am a firm believer that mistakes happen for the sole reason of teaching you something you didn’t know before, whether that be a lesson or a wake-up call on what you’re doing wrong. So use your past to motivate your present for the future instead of letting it define you.

4. Start Small

When you’re first starting out with setting goals for yourself, don’t go too big! This relates back to knowing your limits and making sure you are setting achievable ones. Overdoing it can actually set you back and lead you towards the road of not achieving your goals. So set baby goals to work towards, which can actually be fun! These little achievements can motivate you to set more goals. Even if you have a major big goal in mind, you can set your mind to it, but set little ones before it to work along the way….which leads to the next point.

5. Break it Up

If you can, break up your goals into mini-goals. Smaller bites will be easier to chew than one whole chomp. If you know your ultimate goal, then set mini-goals along the way to help you reach it. This makes sure you are constantly working towards your goal and can actually help you track your progress. It’s just like having a huge assignment to complete, you need to break it down to research, note-taking and then actually compilation of what you learned. Take it step by step and you will find that achieving your large goals will be more realistic.

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These are my five major tips for goal-setting. But the ultimate one has to be: GO FOR IT. You will never get anything done if you sit around and twirl your fingers. Set a goal for yourself and start working towards it. No one is in charge of your future but you. As a huge goal-setter myself, I keep myself motivated with my list of goals, which I’ve shared several with you in past blog posts. So from one person to another: you can do it!!

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