It’s frustrating.
You attempt countless times to accomplish, at least, one goal daily. But at the end of each day, you go back to the list, and your goals welcome you with a frown.
You just betrayed them, once again.
Although you promised to set them loose by accomplishing them, you failed to keep your promise.
Now, your goals lay inert.
Waiting to be achieved. Waiting to be completed. Waiting to be attended to.
Some months ago, you were all fired up. Ready to crush every goal that crossed your path.
But today, the reverse is the case. You’ve become so weak that you even find it hard to mute the evil voice within you that says you are nothing but a loser.
You now believe you can’t set goals and achieve them. In fact, you’ve concluded in your heart that people who succeed at crushing their goals are extraordinary beings.
But the truth is:
You are just as “extraordinary” as the millions of people around the world who set goals and crush them.
The only problem is, they know what works—but you don’t.
All you know is that every goal you set must be:
Specific (S). Measurable (M). Achievable (A). Realistic (R). Time-bound (T).
Granted, the goals you set must be SMART. But there are other useful tips you must know before you can achieve any goal.
Below are these tips:
4 Tips For Crushing Every Single Goal You Set Your Mind To
1. Be Fully Immersed
When you set a few new goals, you feel motivated.
Ready to take over the world. Ready to break every barrier. Ready to move mountains.
It’s normal.
We all feel fired up whenever we come up with new goals. But there’s one thing we often forget:
It doesn’t end in setting goals.
Goals don’t achieve themselves. People achieve them.
And to keep pushing hard even when the chances of you achieving a particular goal are slim, you need one thing:
Commitment.
It doesn’t matter how SMART your goals are or how well they are broken into smaller parts for easy tracking.
The truth is, to achieve them, you must be ready to commit yourself fully.
Commitment, in this case, means pushing hard even when the going gets tough.
It means deciding to put in whatever it takes to accomplish your goals—time, hard work, etc.
It means being prepared to make sacrifices when necessary, without giving excuses.
There’s no two ways about it. If you don’t commit yourself to your goals, you won’t succeed in achieving them.
Want to lose weight, become an influencer in your industry, or become a best-selling author that everyone will talk about forever?
Be committed!
Remember, you can’t get the bikini-worthy shape you desire, become a successful entrepreneur, or write a best-selling book overnight.
There are processes involved in achieving each of these goals.
Following these processes and seeing positive results, in most cases, might linger than necessary.
But no matter how hard a goal may be, those who are committed always crush it.
You can crush yours too. Just ensure you stay committed.
2. Create a Broad Pathway
Benjamin Franklin once said…
“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!”
This wise saying applies to almost everything in life, including goal-setting.
Imagine this, for a minute:
You are in the middle of a desert.
Alone. Lost. Confused.
Then suddenly, from nowhere, a faceless man appears right before you.
“Hallelujah,” you scream, “my messiah has come! I’m saved!”
Unmoved by your drama, the “messiah” brings out three wrapped items and asks you to choose one. Just one.
Then you unwrap all three items and find:
A bag full of jewelry, a beautiful royal robe, and a neatly drawn map.
Which would you go for, knowing the instruction is you pick just one?
The map, I guess!
Either of the two remaining items will, no doubt, bring you a fortune. But in a situation like this, your priority isn’t money, but guidance so you might locate your way out of the desert.
Relating this illustration to the topic in question, when you set goals, also create a plan (or map) so you don’t get lost at some point.
Your written plan should include the exact steps you will take to achieve each goal, obstacles you might encounter, and ways you intend to overcome these obstacles if they arise.
By creating a detailed and actionable plan, it will be easier to monitor your progress. And when you get stuck, getting back on track won’t be a challenge.
3. Be Driven By Greed
Want to achieve your most difficult goals?
Become greedy!
Yes, you read that right:
“Become greedy!”
In this case though, “greed” doesn’t mean eating up one’s candy, and yet desiring to eat that of others, too. Instead, it means keeping an eye on the reward that lies ahead, at all time.
Knowing there’s a reward for accomplishing every goal, being greedy is the path to follow.
Don’t get it? Let’s consider an example.
If your goal is to develop a perfect beach body, then always keep the reward in your mind. Getting accepted into a famous modeling agency, in this case, might be the reward.
Knowing the whole process involved in losing weight and getting a perfect body is strenuous, you’ll have to keep in mind the reason you began the journey.
You can do this by visualizing how working for the modeling agency of your dreams would be like.
The multiple appearances on national television. The front-page features in top magazines. The mentions on podcasts, blogs, social networking platforms, etc.
When you keep visualizing the reward you stand to gain by achieving your goals, staying motivated becomes easy.
For freelancers, the reward may be sufficient money to pay the bills, live a good life, and explore the world.
For aspiring models, the reward may be fame, endorsement deals, and respect.
Whatever goal you set, there’s always a pretty reward awaiting you.
Use it to your advantage!
4. Speak into the Atmosphere
Positive affirmations can help you achieve your goals. Never knew this? Now you do.
What are affirmations, by the way?
Affirmations are weapons used to kick negative self-perceptions out of one’s head.
Simply put, affirmations are positive statements that help combat negative ones in one’s mind.
To ensure you understand the subject well, here are examples of affirmations (positive statements) that can help mute the negative voices that try to prevent you from achieving your goals:
- I am confident I would crush my goals this time.
- I have all it takes to succeed. The ideas, skills, and energy.
- I choose not to give up on my goals. I’ve started the journey… no going back.
- Millions of people have accomplished more challenging goals. I won’t let mine frighten me.
- I am not a loser. All I do is “Win! Win!! Win!!!”
Now you understand how it works, how about you learn how to use affirmations to your advantage?
Below are the steps to take to use affirmations as a tool for accomplishing your goals:
- Sit somewhere quiet and keep away every form of distraction.
- Think about your most important goals and ways you intend to achieve them.
- Listen carefully and write down any negative thought that drops in your mind. Also, take note of the little voices that whisper in your head.
- For every negative thought, write out an affirmation that is the direct opposite of the negative one.
- Do this for every negative statement you hear.
- Now, say the positive statements you wrote earlier one after the other.
- Keep saying the affirmations … slowly.
When you habitually use affirmations, you will reach a point in life where you won’t hear those negative voices any longer. And if you hear them, they won’t have much effect on your life as they used to.
Good news, isn’t it?
Leonardo da Vinci once said:
“I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.”
Setting goals is important. But taking action is more important.
Although your goals have all the evidence they need to win in court, they have decided not to press charges anymore.
They are ready to forgive you, even though you’ve betrayed them multiple times.
They are ready to watch you let them loose by accomplishing them.
They are ready to give you another chance.
Granted, you’ve once hurt them. But now is the best time to make things right.
You’ve gathered all the information you need to crush even your most demanding goals. There are no excuses anymore.
It’s all set.
Go out there, accomplish all your goals, and enjoy the rewards.
Go now. Go!
Originally published at www.huffingtonpost.com