For goals to be really achievable, being specific is the key to clarity and success. Being specific means that as you work on setting your goal, you review what you want to change or add or even subtract as you become clear about what you want to achieve.
Ideally, you will want to break down larger, long term goals into smaller parts, aiming for at least five small, achievable goals.
For each goal, I would suggest considering three action steps or activities that would lead to achieving the goal.
Planning and preparation will lay the groundwork for success and it is easy to get so caught up in planning that you may experience “paralysis by analysis”….. and need to revisit the KISS principle (Keep It Simple Sweetheart). Once you have overcome any hurdles and created a workable plan, then you can focus on your productive actions.
What do you need to do daily, weekly, monthly?
What is achievable or easily attainable?
Evaluate each step as you take consistent action. Create a list of the most productive actions you can take.
What are you doing to move yourself forward to achieving that first goal, then the next and so on? You may even find that bolder actions will bring about bigger results.
Take a weight loss client for instance. Three action steps they could take would be:
- eating less – tracking calories/kilojoules and portion sizes
- exercising more regularly – starting off with gentle exercise and increasing intensity with each goal achieved
- creating a deadline – don’t create stress by setting an unrealistic timeline – the cortisol will help keep that weight on – detach from the outcome and daily weigh ins and have Plan B in place if there may be events out of your control.
To be continued…….
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