Four Ways To Set Better Goals In Business and Life

Goal Setting

Oct 19

How many times have you set goals only to realize six months later that you're way off track or, in most cases, you totally forgot about it?

Probably more often than you'd like...

Seriously, the internet likes to make you feel like you're the only person not crushing your goals, not taking a chance and not finding your very own dream come true, but the truth is...

You're not alone.

Even the smartest and most driven people can have trouble reaching their goals. Trust me, it's not because you're not as smart, not as ambitious or not as committed.

In reality, you could be making some huge mistakes at the very beginning when you set your goal that can make it harder to stick to your goals all the way through.

Here are the top four minor changes to the goal setting process to make your goal setting go from start to done:

1.Start with a clear vision.

To accomplish your goals (and actually feel accomplished at the end of your journey) you have to know what success looks like. How do you know if you've accomplished your goals if you haven't defined the end goal? For example, you set a goal of starting a blog, BUT after you set up your blog and create 3 posts... you don't feel accomplished. Why? You started the blog, you should be elated! In reality, you wanted to start a blog and drive traffic to your online store. Success was never starting the blog - it was making 10 more sales a month.

A clear vision goes deep. Ask yourself questions like: What exactly do you want to accomplish and when? Why do you want to accomplish that goal? What will accomplishing that goal look like? When you can answer those questions, you officially have a clear vision.

2. Your goals were too small.

Sometimes, setting small goals can be a good thing. When you set smaller goals, you can create momentum early on in your journey that will give you encouragement and help you push through challenges. On the other hand, smaller goals can be easy to push to the side because you think "it'll be easy, I can do it tomorrow." If your goal doesn't challenge you, it's also easier to lose interest. You may realize that even after accomplishing your goal, you feel like you haven't done anything.

Set a goal that feels LARGE so you can challenge yourself and experience personal growth while reaching your goals.

3. Your goals were too hard.

Social media will really make you feel like your goals should BE SO BIG THEY SCARE YOU. If your goal is too big, the learning curve too steep, the amount of upfront monetary investment so high that you're considering opening a new credit card.... it's time to stop and take a step back!

Your goals should be large enough to challenge you, but not so large that you sell your soul to reach them. Your goals should not drain you. Choose a goal you are best positioned to pursue right now.

**4. You just didn't feel like it several days in a row... and then you forgot about it.**

The hardest thing about accomplishing any goal is that it will take some time to bring that vision to completion. For example, when you go to the gym, it might take a few weeks of actually lifting the weights, running the laps and sitting in the jacuzzi (just me?) before you see any visible change. When you're spending all of your time doing the work without seeing results it can be difficult to keep waking up every day excited about that goal. In that moment, some people would give up.

Writing your goals down or visualizing them will help you keep track of the goals you want to accomplish. Create a vision board to remind you of your goals and motivate you daily of what you're working towards.

Once you know where the pitfalls are, you have all the tools you need to avoid them and rock your days, months and years to the fullest. Your goal is within reach, so go out there and crush it.

xoxo