How to Plan and Achieve Your Goals

So you have the goal, that's a start. Now, you need the plan. To do this, look at where you are now, then look at the things you need to build the life you're picturing. For instance, you might find that you need a certain amount of money to make your dream of travelling a reality. 

In that case, you need to look at the options available to make that money. Or maybe you want to achieve a certain status or level in your career, and you realize that to get there, a certain amount of experience needs to be acquired first. How can you acquire said experience? 

There are many similar examples of how you might go after a particular goal, but a key to remember in every case is that you need to focus on the small steps that are just ahead of you. That might mean the next small promotion. It might mean a small upgrade to your home. It might mean developing any form of increased income, regardless of how small it may seem now. 

With that in mind, break these smaller goals down even further. Reduce it to the ridiculous, I say. The objective is to activate the 'next best step' - to look at the smallest possible steps you need to take on a daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis to get there. If your goal is to have a body like Brad Pitt, then the smallest daily step is simple: diet and exercise. 

Look around, find a training plan and a diet that works for you, and then commit to sticking to that every single day without one flaw. Likewise, if your goal is to be a top novelist, your daily goal is going to be to write X number of words per day. Make the goals easy to accomplish but ensure to take positive, proactive, and productive – even if small – steps in the right direction. 

This is the key target. This is the primary directive. Hold the image... imagine the vision... and let it motivate you when times get tough. Dismiss and forget anything and everything other than the daily target. Right now, that is all that matters. Right now needs to be fulfilled!

What it boils down to: 

Dream/Vision (Overarching Goal) > Plan (Stepping Stone Goals) > Daily Target (Daily / Weekly / Monthly/ Quarterly Goal) 

Changing Your Thinking 

So why is this change in thinking so important? Because focusing too much on a distant goal detaches you from what you’re trying to accomplish. You won't stay focused on achieving your goal if the goal is vague and set too far into the future.

For instance, if your only ‘goal’ is to become a novelist one day, you lack any real structure or any real plan. You'll give up the goal at the first obstacle big enough to derail your dream. 

This is going to make it very hard for you to stick too. It’s too easy to get lazy, to take shortcuts, or even forget all about it. Even if your goal is more specific and time-sensitive – such as losing 15 lbs in 6 months – you're still too detached from it. Why? Because a) you might still think it’s okay to skip a workout or to cheat on your diet one day and then ‘put off’ the goal. 

By the time you have 1 month left and you’re still no lighter, you'll give up. Or what if you stick to the plan as much as possible, but you still don’t see the results you want? How disheartening is that? So, instead, the goal is the target. Keep looking to where you want to go, but focus on today. 

You either succeed or fail. It's entirely up to you. It’s entirely your responsibility, and no excuse is acceptable. But if you keep focusing on the daily targets, you'll find the overarching vision takes care of itself. It’s like building a house brick-by-brick or taking a journey step-by-step. 

Some Final Tips 

To help you stick to your path, consider a few pointers. 

One: Keep your daily targets easy to accomplish. Introduce them slowly. Don’t be in a rush to get anywhere. It's better that you just start to enjoy exercise than letting yourself get burned out or put off. 

Two: Keep track of the days you succeed and lose. Jerry Seinfeld uses this technique and calls it ‘the chain’. 

Every day, he does what he sets out to do, then puts a big X on his calendar. This is rewarding and addictive in and of itself, and his desire to ‘not break the chain’ is reportedly enough to keep him from giving up. 

Three: Use the most practical and proven methods to get to where you want to be. You must believe in your plan. 

Why are you willing to go to work every day but not work on a plan you enjoy and that will make you richer? Simple: when you go to work, you definitely get paid. You need a similar plan. Something that will help you to definitely get where you need to be, at least in your mind. 

And finally: don’t get disheartened if you miss one day. The aim is not to, of course. But if you slip up, go easy on yourself. Look in the mirror, forgive the person looking back at you for breaking your agreement with yourself, then get back on that horse!