Reaching Your Goals

Setting goals is the first step in achieving change and moving toward a better place.  I personally set goals for all areas of my life; school, family, health, and faith.  It is important that our goals are not fleeting but instead desires with a plan.

Here are 8 tips on making YOUR goals a reality:

1. Desired Outcome.  Its hard to have a goal without a vision.  Your goals should be specific, down to the last detail.  One of my goals is to succeed in Young Living.  I cannot just say that I want it without knowing what that means, for me I want to reach Platinum in two years.  I also have a very defined "why" for this goal.  Knowing why I want to reach this goal is important in understanding what the desired outcome will be.
2. SMART Goals: I learned this in school and thought it was a useful way of looking at a goal:  S-Specific, M- Measurable, A- Attainable, R- Relevant, T-Time-Bound.                                                                  
3. Write it Down: No matter how small our goals are we need to write them down. I love the idea of putting your goals in a place you will see them daily. A Post-it note on the bathroom mirror for example. This will help you set the intention for the day, everyday. 
4. Publicly Declare Your Goals: Tell people what your goals are.  When you tell someone you have a goal you are less likely to backtrack on that goal.  You can let people know that your are choosing to eat healthy, which in turn will provide a group to keep you accountable. I have several people in my life who know what my goals are.
5. Partner in Crime.  Finding someone with your common goal can also be a great way to stay on track! I have Christina who also has a goal of success with Young Living, and we hold each other accountable.  Partners are great to encourage you over the bumps and to praise you in moments of success. 
6. Baby Steps.  Most goals can be broken down into a serious of small goals.  My goal this month was to care call everyone in my downline. This can seem like an overwhelming goal, but I broke it down by week and then by day.  
7. Road Map.  If you can map out each step that you need to take to reach your goals then you will be more likely to get there.  When you don't know how to get somewhere you MapQuest it, you don't wonder around aimlessly hoping to stumble upon it. Goals are a location and to get there a map is needed.  Get out a piece of paper and write down you goal and every single small step you need to take to get there.  
8. Get Mentor.  The thing about goals, many people have been in your shoes and succeeded in reaching that same goal. You can help build your road map by following the path of others. The great part about my goal of success with Young Living is that many others have achieved the goal I want to achieve.  I have read books to help me zero in on my goal, and I have also received great guidance from my Young Living leadership.  Finding someone who reached the same goal you want to reach and emulating how they succeeded is another way of reaching your goals. 

Here are some tools to set, monitor, and reach your goals:

Daily Planner/Calendar- Whether you have a planner on your phone or a calendar on your wall this is a very important way of setting and tracking goals.  How do you set a goal without being able to schedule in and track those steps? I have both a large white board calendar and a planner.  I use a Passion Planner and love it, but get what works for you. 

Free Online Help- There are several apps that you can use to set goals and also to track your progress. Here is a great list of these apps or for more on line help check out this List. I do like the idea of finding what works best for you, not all of us are pen to paper people.

Journal/Blog- It is a great help to track your thoughts and ideas as you are reaching your goals. There maybe a day of what seems like failure and writing down your feeling can be a great help.  Sometimes you just need to get it off your chest and move on.  Keeping a journal can also be a great way of brainstorming and working past obstacles.

Vision or Dream Board- I love this idea and thanks to Pinterest it does not require cutting a pasting anymore. Create a board on Pinterest with what inspires you to reach your goals.  If you want to cut and paste an actual vision board go for it and keep it in a place that you can see it often.

Reward Yourself- Have a set of rewards for reaching milestones. This will not only inspire you along the way but is a great intensive to keep going! I love to gift myself a pair of new shoes or a mani/pedi when I completed one of my smaller steps toward my big goal.

No matter the goal, don't give up!