As a health and wellness coach, I’ve worked with hundreds of clients after they’ve decided to pursue a health goal. I’ve also worked with many business associates who’ve set goals for their business or finances. For the many wellness clients and business associates I’ve worked with, I’ve learned there are common denominators for those who are successful in achieving their goals. I’d like to share what those are in hopes they will assist you in successful completion of your goals.
Write it down
To give a goal its best chance for achievement, write it down. I have a three-page Canva sheet which I utilize in December each year to map out my goals and plans for the following year. This includes new short-term goals as well as reaffirming or revising longer term goals already on the sheet from the year before. I know that any goal I have must be written down to vastly improve its chance of being realized. Writing the goal down also serves as the first step in creating a defined action plan with specific objectives that serve as stepping stones towards the goal. I have a daily planner and in my planner each month I refer back to my goals and update the necessary objectives to make sure they’re achievable each month. Breaking the goals down this way makes them less daunting and more manageable. And then each week, I'm chunking them down into week size goals. And each day I've got specific things that I complete to ensure I’m on target to meet my weekly goal. This process all begins with simply writing down the goal.
Tell someone
Telling someone about your goal will solidify your resolve to achieve it. If you’re the only one that knows about your goal, it becomes a lot easier to give up. We don’t mind letting ourselves down as much as letting someone else down. So the simple act of sharing your goals with others will make it more likely you’ll see it through. The act of sharing your goal will look different for different people. Some of my wellness clients when they start their new health journey might take a picture of their box of products when they arrive and post it on social media saying “Hey, just wanted to put it out there that I'm on a mission to lose 25 pounds.” Often their friends will post messages of support and encouragement which not only inspire, but also reinforce the client’s resolve to lose the 25 pounds, especially when things get tough. This type of accountability is powerful. When you put your goal out there for people to see, the power of accountability helps you begin to believe it and manifest it. You become accountable to doing what you told people you would do. Others might be more private in sharing their goal, but nonetheless still harnessing the power of accountability. Perhaps just sharing with a close friend, relative, or colleague provides enough accountability to power you.
Visualize. Visualize. Visualize.
The power of visualizing your goal cannot be understated. Many psychology books have been written on this subject. What will it look like when you achieve that goal? How will you feel? So whatever it is, whether it's a health goal, a business goal, whatever it is for you, whether it's an accomplishment goal, running a marathon, etc., you must create visions to help your mind see what it looks like and feels like. Your subconscious mind cannot distinguish between a vision and reality so give it a vision and your subconscious mind will begin working for you in powerful ways. I never envisioned myself as a marathon runner but when I decided to do it, I began visualizing running 26.2 miles and having someone putting a medal around my neck. I didn't want to win a marathon or even place in a marathon. I just wanted to complete 26.2 miles and I would close my eyes and visualize it over and over.
Take action…. done is better than perfect
Take action, learn, and grow. So many people set goals and then spend too much time getting ready to get ready. Many goals and their associated action plans will evolve as we learn from the actions we take. We figure out what works and what doesn’t and why, and then we apply that knowledge to revise our goals and action steps. A written goal is nothing more if we don’t take daily action. This is why it’s so important to chunk our goals down into daily actions that constantly move us closer to our goal. And the actions don’t need to be perfect, they just need to keep us moving in the right direction.
Reflect. Revise.
Take time to reflect and determine if your actions are the right ones. Is what I'm doing today moving me closer to my goal or is pulling me further away? Are you taking enough action towards your goals? Are you taking the right actions or do you need to change things up?
Celebrate
And then when you achieve your goal, celebrate it!
I hope you crush your goals in 2022. If you need any help or accountability let me know!
