How to Set and Achieve Big, Powerful Goals

If you’re interested in self-development and this isn’t your first read on setting powerful goals, you’ve probably heard of SMART goals. The acronym “SMART” stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.

While this is undoubtedly a great starting place to set powerful goals on your personal development journey, your path is more unique than the acronym can account for. Falling back on the acronym SMART works in a pinch. But for a more in-depth guide that will help you reach your wildest dreams through setting and achieving big, powerful goals, read on!

Here is exactly what NOT to do when setting goals, the concrete steps to take when working towards goals, and the mindset to maintain along the way.

5 Things NOT To Do When Setting Goals

While there are many helpful “do’s” that go into setting better goals, there are also some important “don’ts”. You’re here because you want things to go differently than they have before and to mind more success. Here are 5 things NOT to do when setting goals.

Don’t confuse goals for dreams

There is a difference between goals and dreams. A dream is an imaginary place your mind wanders to that isn’t tied to reality or concrete action. Don’t confuse goals for dreams. You can work towards goals that will move you in the direction of your dreams, but your goals need to stay rooted in reality and what is within your control.

Which brings us to the next point…

Don’t set goals that rely on anything outside your control

Goals are not goals if they rely on things that you can’t directly control and make happen. Every powerful goals needs to be something you can map out and achieve without relying on luck, happenstance, or serendipity.

Don’t set unrealistic timeframes

In fact, don’t set time expectations at all until you have a deep understanding of what’s realistic for your journey.

Chances are, if you’re near the beginning of this chapter in your personal development and you have a massive goal ahead of you, you probably don’t understand the process to get there well enough yet to put a time limit on the steps it will take to get there.

Don’t tether yourself to unrealistic timeframes to accomplish your goals. In the end, this will only end in frustration and a ding to your self-image.

Don’t tie your goals to anyone else

There’s a reason we call this “self-development.” Going back to the point of not tying your goals to anything you can’t control, it’s important not to tie your success to the actions of anyone else.  You need to have full control over whether you accomplish your goals and relying on anyone else for any part of that is just asking for excuses along the way to not get your sh*t done.

Don’t tie your self-worth to the achievement of your goals

Things change quickly. It’s extremely important to remember that your self-worth is not determined by how successful you are at reaching the goals you set. You might change your mind about what’s important to you, you might discover a better goal along the way, unforeseen circumstances might slow you down or stop you. You might fail simply because you’re not ready yet to achieve this particular goal. And that’s okay. You’re not a bad or lesser person if you fail and it will slow you down exponentially if you don’t check that mindset.

How To Set Powerful Goals That Will Get You To Your Dreams

THE CONCRETE STEPS OF POWERFUL GOAL SETTING

Concrete steps are the bones of achievement because they are what give you control over your success and bind you to reality. Part of what makes goal setting so satisfying and so powerful is that it takes the guess-work out of the direction of your life and gives you all the power over your personal development. Here are 5 concrete, actionable steps to focus on to achieve your goals.

Talk to someone who’s already done what you’re trying to do

There is absolutely no better resource in this world than other people. Find someone who’s already achieved what you’re looking to do, or is at least a few big steps ahead of you, and model your plan after them. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel—use any resources you can find.

Break down every step into smaller steps (have small and large goals)

Set both small and large goals throughout the process. Self-development is never-ending and it’s important not to get lost in or overwhelmed by the big picture but to keep in mind the direction you’re heading.

Figure out what needs to be done and break those steps down into tiny, bite-sized steps that you can cross off a to-do list daily. Accomplishing each of those bite-sized steps is a goal in and of itself which is great for morale and maintaining a positive mindset throughout the process.

Make a schedule and stick to it

Remember from the “don’t’s” section not to set time limits before you’re ready to do so. It’s okay to start with an open-ended schedule that you’ll follow “until it’s done.” Just make sure you hold yourself accountable and know exactly what you need to wake up and do each day in order to go to sleep knowing you did your job. And eventually, when you can honestly assess an appropriate timeframe, you can make each of your small and large goals time-bound.

Don’t forget to budget for time spent learning. Most big goals will require a lot of new skills to achieve. Your schedule should account for time spent learning the skills you’ll need to get the job done right.

Create clear mile markers that will indicate the progress you’re making

Again, big goals aren’t achieved over night. After weeks, months or even years chasing a big goal, it gets hard to remember where you started. This relates to the “measurable” part of SMART goals. Make sure you continually set mile markers for yourself along the way that will tell you without a doubt you’ve made progress.

It may be helpful to keep a journal throughout the process so that you can measure and keep track of the mile markers you’ve set and hit.

Re-evaluate and adjust the plan along the way

As you progress through your self-development towards your goals, give yourself permission to evaluate and adjust the plan as much as necessary. You don’t know everything now that you’ll know in a few weeks and you can’t make every decision from where you stand, and that will continue to be true no matter how far you go. Be patient and honest with yourself as you make adjustments that will allow for more success.

THE MINDSET FOR SETTING POWERFUL GOALS

Psychology studies have shown that setting goals is good for self-confidence, persistence, and resilience. A big part of attaining the positive benefits of goal-setting is having the right mindset. Here are 4 elements of a powerful mindset that will help you achieve your goals.

Be honest with yourself about your starting point

Don’t try to jump into the deep end before you’re ready. It’s awesome if you have massive goals that you can barely even comprehend right now—just be honest with yourself about your starting point for working towards those big goals. If you’re tempted to fake it til you make it so you don’t have to start from Ground 0, don’t. You’ll end up exhausted, defeated, confused and unlikely to continue.

Figure out your “why”

Nothing worth having comes easy. Somewhere along the way to achieving your big goals, things are bound to get tough eventually. There will be days when you want to quit and you question why you’re doing this. These are the days when you’ll need to fall back on your “why.” Your “why” ties your goals to your values and reminds you that what you’re doing is deeply and personally important to you.

Check out this article that will help you craft a strong personal why statement to stay on track for reaching your goals.

Expect and accept that you will make mistakes along the way

Again, personal development never ends. You’ll never get to a moment where you brush off your shoulder and say “well, I’m done working on myself!” You will continue to learn new things about yourself and set new goals for the rest of your life. Especially once you see how powerful you become by setting better goals! It’s okay that you don’t know everything yet and that you might stumble a bit from time to time. Except that you will make mistakes along the way and accept that it’s part of the process.

Find pride in what you accomplish throughout the journey

Achieving big and small goals should be rewarding. Make sure you stop once in a while to bask in the pride of your accomplishments! This may be a good thing to include in the journal you started to keep yourself on track. Make sure you celebrate your wins and keep a positive mindset about working towards your goals. What you’re doing isn’t easy, and you deserve to feel proud. Your positive mental attitude about the journey will make staying committed and being successful much more likely.

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