How to set goals correctly and learn to achieve them

How to set “your” goal

People do not know how to set goals for themselves or choose their goals. Most people don't even understand what they want for breakfast. Therefore, they always want what they should want like everyone else: money, a car, to lie under a palm tree.

The main question is not “How to set a goal,” but “How to choose your goal.” A correctly chosen goal is half achieved .

“Correct” means you .

This is not a “right/wrong” test, not a simple choice - this is right, but otherwise it’s not.

The right choice between: OWN goal or someone else’s . A simple criterion, but hellishly difficult for an unprepared person.

Remember or now choose a goal for yourself, which we will now set and analyze along with examples.

To help you decide, the Life Balance Wheel tool will help you.

Look at examples of how to set goals: 100 goals, 50 goals and 25 goals, 20 goals, 10 goals.

What mistakes do we all make?

When we come across conditional goal setting in marketing and advertising, everything is simple and clear. There is a necessary set of tools that need to be used, there is an order in which they are used and the end result, which depends on how much a particular person followed the instructions and how much effort he spent on working through each step.

But when it comes to life goals, everything is different. These are more abstract things that are difficult to pin down to specifics. The two most common mistakes:

Too ambitious goals. Large goals make it difficult to see progress. A person sets a large-scale goal, for example, to buy an apartment. Gradually begins to accumulate. But small expenses, plus force majeure, result in a situation where there has been virtually no progress in a year. There is some amount, but it seems insignificant. After all, you need 2 million for an apartment, but you only have 200 thousand in your account. And then the thought arises in my head: “Does this mean you have to save for 10 years to achieve your goal?” And then there are some other costs, and a failure in motivation occurs.

Too ambitious goals do not motivate, but, on the contrary, kill motivation. Athletes have a similar thing - the plateau effect. When certain results are achieved and it is already difficult to jump above them, most people simply turn off and stop doing such things. If you set big goals, then this plateau will be constant. There is no noticeable progress, doubts arise, and even the most motivated and disciplined person will at one point turn off the path. Because we want to see progress, and that's okay.

Goals for the other person. When we all plan something ahead, we imagine ourselves to be cooler than we are now. “I am tomorrow” is a superhero who will be able to solve everything that didn’t work out today. “Me in a year” is generally a mythical creature who plays sports, is successful and generally saved the world.

And it turns out that today we seem to be setting the right goals, but for a completely different person. Who is more successful, smarter, more purposeful than now. And then he will solve all the problems and make sure that everything will be fine. And now I can just do nothing and enjoy.

If we constantly put off solving important problems, then tomorrow, and in a month, and in a year, nothing will change. There will be no increase in strength, sports will also remain in the plans, and money will not appear. Simply because the person from the future is the same me, only after some time.

Examples for goal setting

Become financially independent.
Learn English.
Travel.
Start business.
Learn to sing.

If you have similar goals, you must read this article.

The list above is not goals . These are desires, dreams, “it wouldn’t be bad,” but definitely not goals that you can set for yourself.

These are areas worth taking a closer look at. Perhaps your goals are there.

Achieving these goals is difficult - because it is a set of templates. These goals can be achieved forever.

How to set a dream goal

The first thing we will do to set a goal is to specify the dream (desired future).

Determine the deadline and specific result that is valuable to you. Read more - “How to set a goal using the SMART method.”

Time frame to achieve the goal: 1 year. The chosen period already dictates the result to be strived for.

“Learn to sing” in a month from scratch - at best, you’ll sing one song passably.
“Learn to sing” in a year from scratch - in such a period, you can already sing 5-10 songs perfectly in karaoke.

Let's set goals using our examples:

Become financially independent → Double your income (get promoted).
For Vasya, financial independence from his parents means having $200 a month. Another one for you. Determine for yourself what specific amount per month is acceptable to you.
The amount of $1,500 per month (per person) is enough to live in 85% of the countries of the world. I have been living in different countries for 3 years now. If you have a lower income, aim for this figure.
It is important to clarify - this is a complex goal, its implementation will take ~ 2–3 years.
Learn English→ Watch movies in the original.
It is impossible to “learn” a foreign language perfectly; we will still miss out on many cultural features.
Achievable goals: pass the TOEFL test with 60 points, know at the “Intermediate” level. For traveling, an average conversational level is sufficient.
Travel → Spend a week abroad.
If you have enough money to go abroad, go ahead! 500$ is enough. If it's expensive, travel to other cities.
Go hiking - this is a very budget trip. If you don’t get anywhere in a year, it means you don’t like to travel or are afraid of new things.
Open a business → Study the area and competitors.
If you don’t have commercial experience, but have the intention of becoming an entrepreneur (which makes me very happy), it’s better not to rush. Understand in which niche you see yourself and your project. Restaurant, car wash, online store, new Facebook?
Get a job at another company, similar to which you intend to open. Get the experience of participating, do you like it? Study, grow within the company, follow the owner.
Read also: Nervous and physical fatigue: symptoms and what to do
Learn to sing→ Record a song in a recording studio.
If you only dream about singing, but have no real skills, don’t rush to the stage. From scratch, practicing 2-3 times a week with a teacher, in 3-4 months you will sing in a way that you like. Write it down. If you liked learning, develop yourself.

Ways to organize time

There is no clear plan for planning the day, except for some recommendations. It is necessary to take into account the specific features of your lifestyle and activities. This is clear, because the day of a schoolchild is clearly different from the day of a banker.

Keeping a diary

First you need to get a diary. The main thing is to choose the one that is convenient for you. Some people like pure white sheets, some like ruled sheets, and some prefer dated diaries. It doesn’t matter, because now there are thousands of options, from ordinary notepads to electronic applications.

It is important to do it regularly, planning each evening for the next day. For what:

Time saving;
Subconscious assimilation of information;
Motivation;
Achieving goals;
Prioritizing tasks.

Setting goals

The first thing you need to do is define your goals. There are three types of goals: long-term, medium-term and short-term. Their difference is in the implementation time. Be sure to write down your plans. For what? This is how they materialize and you can see what is important and what is secondary. Then you can determine an action plan to achieve your goals. And we must not forget about the timing of their implementation, then the period of achievement will be clear and they will become more obvious.

Target distribution

How to distribute goals? There is a simple exercise to answer this question. You need to write down all your plans, dreams, desires. From “clean the balcony” to “take a trip around the world.” After a week, you need to write down more and more significant and practically unattainable goals - they will be long-term (5-10 years). From the rest you need to choose what you need to make an effort to achieve, for example, learn a language or lose weight. These are medium-term goals that require several months to achieve. And the rest is for a couple of weeks or days and will be short-term. It is imperative to return to this list to refresh your idea of the future, make changes to it, etc.

Determination of peak activity

You also need to remember about what time a person is more active, which is very individual, and distribute tasks according to complexity. Do the most difficult ones during the period of peak activity, the simplest ones when productivity decreases, and “scatter” the rest the rest of the time. And don't forget about rest! Let it be a fifteen-minute walk or a nap.

Resources to achieve the goal

To receive, give. Purpose has a price. The price is expressed in: money, energy, time, discomfort, effort.

Discomfort, effort, overcoming yourself - this is a growth zone that you should enter in order to get what you want. The very presence of a goal in life requires effort to achieve it.

What will you need to achieve your goal? How many hours, money, stress and sweat? What will you have to sacrifice for the sake of the goal?

If you need 1 hour a day to learn a language, it means you won’t do something as before. If it was a rest after work, therefore, now there is less rest, will you have enough strength?

Let's consider the resources for our purposes:

Double your income.
- Find out whether you can, in principle, have the required salary at your current job? Yes, then find out how and act.
Retrain for someone who pays more. It's not easy, but it's possible.
If you are the owner:
- Double the number of clients.
Reduce costs.
Improve performance by 20%

Increasing wealth is not an easy task. Often one such goal is enough for a year of hard work.

Required: change character, habits, increase responsibility, prove yourself, look for new ways.

Watch movies in the original.
To achieve such a goal requires regularity. It's better to study 1 hour every day. Learn new words, grammar, communicate in clubs, practice in groups or individual lessons.
When setting a goal to master a language, understand what it costs you and take on the required commitment.
Read also: Top 16 tips on how to overcome laziness and apathy and what to do about it
Required: 30-60 minutes every day.
Spend a week abroad.
It is not necessary to know an international language, but it is desirable. There are many countries that are “simpler”.
Required: passport, visa, $400-700, vacation, determination.
Research the area for your project.
Running a company is a complex task that requires many personal qualities. But with a bright dream and a strong desire, everything will work out.
If you want a restaurant, but you work as an accountant, quit. Go work as a waiter, manager and then restaurant manager. Disassemble the details, what and how it works. Likewise for other niches. Go to the niche in which you intend to build a business.
Required: analysis, passion for the business, service to the client, ability to take risks.
Record a song in a recording studio.
Follow your dreams. A little overcoming yourself and you are a vocalist.
Required: 2 hours with a teacher per week, 30 minutes per day for independent work. ~50$/month. ~$40 for recording.

Step-by-step instructions for setting goals and achieving them

I want to offer you instructions that will help you set goals correctly and achieve results. It was developed by a world-class expert in the field of personal growth and success - Brian Tracy. He has written a large number of books on the topic of business and success, many of which have become bestsellers.

Clearly define your goal

I have already written about this. The goal should be as specific as possible. And it is very important to write it down in the present tense, as if everything has already happened:

I drive a Nissan Leaf;
I live in my own house in Sochi;
I earn 200 thousand rubles. per month, etc.

You can set goals for the year ahead. But in any case, one of them will be dominant. It is to achieve it that you will devote all your strength.

Write your goal down on paper

It is very important to write down your chosen goal by hand on a piece of paper. A goal written down in this way will be better recorded not only in the conscious mind, but also in the subconscious. And from now on, it will work around the clock to achieve the goal.

It is even recommended to make important decisions with the help of the subconscious. To do this, before going to bed, you need to write down an exciting question on paper. Usually in the morning, immediately after waking up, a simple, understandable and fairly obvious answer appears in your head.

You can use the following tools to capture your goals.

Diary. This is a very convenient tool. A person who uses a diary works much more efficiently than those who neglect it. He doesn’t have a question about how to put things in order (we will soon have an article on this topic on our website). In the diary you can write down goals for a week, month, year, 5 years. It's always at hand.
Vision board. This is a small board on which you can draw, glue pictures, and write. It is hung in a visible place at home. It is better to use it to achieve global long-term goals, such as a car, apartment, travel, etc.

I personally combine both methods.

Set a deadline

Having set for yourself a deadline for achieving the desired result, subconsciously you will begin to plan your actions so that the goal is achieved by the deadline.

You can define a specific date or time period for yourself, for example:

I will buy a car by January 2020;
On January 1, 2020, I drive a new car.

Make a list of tasks

Write down on a piece of paper all the actions that will help you achieve your goal. In the car example, these could be the following tasks:

find a company for transporting cars from Japan;
win an auction for the selected car;
study bank loan offers;
save 20,000 rubles monthly. and others.

The list can contain more than 100 items. If there are not enough ideas for the list, then it needs to be supplemented as new tasks appear.

Form a plan from the completed tasks

A goal is a great desire. Its implementation leads to an improvement in the qualitative and quantitative indicators of your life (lost 15 kg, bought a new large apartment, etc.).

The path to the desired goal consists of small steps - tasks. If you have distributed the tasks in the correct sequence and completed them, then the goal has been achieved.

When setting financial goals, decomposition is used. The essence of decomposition is that, using simple mathematical calculations, the goal is divided into small component parts, the sequential implementation of which ensures the achievement of the desired result.

Let's look at decomposition using an example. You have firmly decided to save 1 million rubles in 3 years. This is 36 months. To find out how much you need to save monthly, simply divide 1 million rubles. for 36 months. It will turn out to be approximately 28,000 rubles.

If your monthly income is currently 30,000 rubles, then the following options are possible for achieving your goal:

increase the period;
reduce the amount;
find an additional source of income to safely save the required amount.

This will be your plan for achieving your financial goals. It should always be based on decomposition.

To achieve goals not related to money, you need to apply the priority method. Once you have written a list of necessary actions, rank it. Carefully consider each item and put one of the letters from A to G in front of it. Label the most important tasks with the letter A, and the most insignificant tasks with the letter G.

Now that you have divided the entire list into 4 categories depending on the importance of tasks, identify priorities in each of them. That is, which of the most important tasks should be completed first. It will be designated as A1. Less important – A2, etc.

As a result, you will have a list of tasks with a clear sequence of execution, following which you will achieve the desired goal.

Take action

The most difficult thing in any business is taking the first step. So, tackle the first item on your list without hesitation. However, do not take on tasks from category B until you complete all tasks A.

Successful people act with urgency. This is how they differ from losers who constantly put off important things, finding excuses and various excuses for themselves.

Target check

This is a step that is best not to be skipped. Answer these questions for yourself:

Do I have the required resources? If not, set a goal to acquire them.
Am I ready to work to achieve my goal? An hour a day is a lot, are you sure you’re ready?
What will I do if I fail? Will I get angry, or will I have fun and go look for my goal?
What will this give me? The joy of victory, happiness? Why am I going to achieve this goal?
Imagine yourself with the end result - do you like it there, are you satisfied with yourself and the path you took?

An effective way to understand whether this is in demand by you or not: live for a day or two as if you have already set such a goal for yourself, but do not take on any obligations.

Double your income.
Improve your skills - learn. Or ask to fulfill new obligations. Or double the number of clients tomorrow, how would you do that?
Watch movies in the original.
Watch the film in the original with Russian subtitles. Learn English for an hour a day. Like? Ready?
Spend a week abroad.
Find out information about the country you are planning to visit. Do you want to visit there? Is it worth the money, or are there other alternatives?
Read also: Loneliness of older people - reasons and how to overcome it
Research the area for your project.
Read interviews with other entrepreneurs on the Internet. Talk to the business owner you would like to be like, listen to his opinion and what it cost him.
Record a song in a recording studio.
Take a trial lesson at a vocal school, it's often free.

Allan Pease gives advice on how to set goals so you can achieve them

If you do exactly as I tell you, you will become much more successful than you ever imagined. Just stand in front of the mirror and look carefully: in front of you is the person who is responsible for what is happening to you.

The last two times I was told that I would not survive. This was 13 years ago, and the doctors who told me this are no longer alive. Interesting, isn't it? People eat the same food, say the same things, and hope for different results. If you want to achieve something you've never had, then you have to do something you've never done. That's exactly how it works.

I once thought it was a great idea to step dance. This point has been there for 20 years. I wanted to learn how to tap dance and thought I would become a star. But it didn't work! I hate tap dancing - it's very hard. If you don't like something, you can cross out this item and forget about it. Before I die, I won't think about the fact that I never learned to tap dance or moonwalk, and that's wonderful.

If you want to achieve something you've never had, then you have to do something you've never done. If a person is thinking about how to become a helicopter pilot, but he has neither education nor money, he will never become a helicopter pilot. This goal has been on my list for 30 years. I have tried to become a helicopter pilot three times already, but I will definitely learn.

All thoughts are jumbled in your head and resemble spaghetti, and when you write down your desires and thoughts, they become more organized. In 1970, an interesting study was conducted in America. His goal was to determine the difference between millionaires and billionaires. One thing was definitely determined: billionaires wrote down the things they wanted to do, but millionaires kept a lot in their heads and wrote nothing down.

Now I drove in Moscow in traffic jams for four hours and didn’t even think about the fact that among the cars there were many Toyotas. I've seen a lot of Lexus and BMW, but not a Toyota. Because this car is no longer on my list.

Your head is something like a satellite navigator. After all, when you use it, you don’t think about how to do it, you think about the purpose of the trip. You just mark point “A” and point “B”, and the navigator itself paves the way. Your brain works the same way: don’t think about how you want to achieve your goal, think about what you want to achieve. The solution will come by itself.

What is the difference between millionaires and billionaires? One thing was definitely determined: billionaires wrote down the things they wanted to do, and millionaires kept a lot in their heads. And it would be nice someday to try, for example, to catch a snake with your hands. I caught snakes with my hands wherever they were found. I caught about fifty. I was bitten once, but it was my fault, not the snake's - I wasn't fast enough.

The biggest obstacle is relatives. They will say: “What, do you want to quit your good job at the bank?” Or: “You won’t succeed, it’s impossible!” you are able to accomplish everything you wrote down. Because if you weren't able to do this in the first place, you wouldn't think about these desires and goals.

What to do if you fail?

Rejoice! An unachieved goal is quite normal. Did you want and dream, but halfway through the journey you realized that it wasn’t for you and gave up? This is an excellent result.

“Failure” of a goal brought you benefit.

Have you dreamed, but it turned out that you are not interested? – now you know yourself better.
Have you worked hard but met an insurmountable obstacle? - you found out that it exists, and that the chosen road is a dead end. Look for another one.
Have you overestimated your capabilities? Achieving your goals requires much more than you expected? – your next assessment will be more accurate, and you are already halfway to such a difficult goal.

We didn’t learn to sing, but we became more musical

Are the following results failures?

Double your income. Income rose only 50%.
Watch movies in the original. You watch the series Friends in the original, but Sherlock is difficult for you.
Spend a week abroad. You went on a mountain hike in your homeland.
Research the area for your project. You have determined that to start you need $50,000 and a partner (whom you are already looking for).
Record a song in a recording studio. You've only been training for 2 months. Vocals are hard work that doesn't bring you joy.