Have you thought about where you want to be in the future? Your dream could be a place you want to get to in a months time, 5 years or even part of a 10 year plan. But how do you get from where you are now, to where you want to be? How do you take active steps each and every day and KNOW you are on the right path to achieving your goals?
I wanted to share with you some of my tips for what I have found have really helped me to set personal goals AND achieve them:
1. Visualise Your Goal
Firstly, I find it helps to imagine you’ve already reached your goal. I mean, REALLY visualise it. Every single detail you can imagine. Do you want to be able to finish a 5km run? Imagine the sheer elation and self-confidence of crossing the finish line. Is there a place you’ve always wanted to travel to? Picture enjoying some delicious local cuisine or laying on the beach as the sun shines. Imagine every little detail of your goal and how you will feel once you have reached it.
2. Work Backwards From Your Dream
We tend to think of a goal and naturally work out the steps we need to do in order to get there. While this may work for those who know the exact steps on how to reach their goals, I find it helps to actually work backwards.
One of my goals for example, was to go to Australia. For YEARS I dreamt about doing this ‘someday’. But one year led to five years, and before I knew it, time was passing by too quickly and I still hadn’t reached my dream. Financially, this was going to cost a fortune. But it wasn’t impossible. I needed to know just how much I would need to fly out there, to book accommodation, to eat comfortably and enjoy sight-seeing. Once I did the research and figured out just how much I would need, I worked backwards to the place I was at the time, dividing up my months and income, to work out just how much I could realistically save each month. This set realistic goals each month, and I actually enjoyed going above my target amounts.
If I had just ‘put money aside’, I wouldn’t have had a clear direction of where I wanted to get to. I would have saved a bit, but I wouldn’t have known just how much money I was aiming to save.
3. Set Aside Time
It’s so easy to get swept up in our busy schedules day-to-day. But ask yourself, is there any time you can dedicate to work on your goals each week? Maybe if you know you’re just watching TV for the sake of it, flicking through channels, could you be working on your goals instead? While it’s absolutely fine to relax and enjoy yourself each week, if there is a goal that you really want to achieve, be honest with yourself if you would feel better in the long run if you were working on that instead of letting time pass you by.
4. Be Flexible
Life does get in the way sometimes, so its so important you don’t feel overwhelmed reaching your goals. Have a plan in place, but allow for the unexpected. If you do find yourself off track, go back to the first step of visualising your dream. Then follow the second step of working backwards from where you want to be to where you are now, and get back on track to following your dream.
If you have a burning desire to go out there and achieve something, you NEED to do it for yourself. From my own experience, trying to ignore my yearning to go to Australia, only made that dream stronger. I OWED it to myself to go and YOU owe it to yourself to live a fulfilled and happy life. The bottom line is, if you don’t work towards your goals now, when will you?
If you have any further tips or advice to add, please feel free to comment below!
