Set Those Goals

I’ve been listening to a lot of audiobooks on mental toughness as well on the psyche of successful people. A very common theme throughout all of them is actually writing down your goals. It sounds trivial and useless but it really works. It has done wonders for my focus for things I want to do. Whether it be long term goals like years, medium term goals like months, or short term goals like a week or a day. Writing them down helps you solidify what you are going to do and gives you a way to plan on how you are going to act on them. For example, a coworker of mine writes down his tasks for the day every morning. He tries to get every task done on the list by the end of the day. He is basically setting goals for himself every day. It helps him remember what the important things are and not get sidetracked. I’ve started doing this and you wouldn’t believe the results I’m getting. Even if it is as simple as getting a load of laundry done. Let’s focus on long term goals. The big aspirations in your life. It’s easy to say I want to be debt free or lose 69 lbs, but until you write it out it doesn’t solidify. It doesn’t allow you to plan. Now I’ve heard that goals need to be S.M.A.R.T several times, even my boss told me to use it. It means Specifice, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This is where your goals become a plan. To be specific you don’t just say I want to get healthy or lose weight, you say you WILL lose 69 lbs (side note, say will not want). That is something that is measurable. You can weigh yourself once a week or daily if you like and keep a chart of your progress. Achievable is being realistic. I could say I want to lose 100 lbs but that would bring me way under my ideal BMI and I’d have to continually starve myself to get there and maintain it. Then make it relevant to why you are doing it. For example, so that I can live longer. Finally time-bound. It shouldn’t be a goal that goes on and on. You need something that you can finish. It is reasonable to lose a pound a week so the time-bound could be 69 weeks. This is what the final goal looks like. “I will lose 69 lbs, at 1 pound a week, for 69 weeks so that I can live longer.” Now that’s a S.M.A.R.T goal. It basically tells me the plan within the goal! Now do you see why writing it out is so important. Because it’s a mouthful! Now that you have a goal or goals written out you need to do something else every day. This is not my idea. I heard it in an audiobook (sorry I don’t remember which). Now you get a notebook and write out your goals every day. You are tattooing them into your brain. It makes it so you don’t forget them. You won’t simply write them down once and never look at them again. If your goals are important to you then you write them down, every day. It only takes a few minutes, so what’s the harm? Finally, keep your goals to yourself. Yep! They are your secret. The reason is you could get goal fatigue. Your character is judged by what you do, not what you say you will do. Let it be a surprise to people when you hit your goal. Don’t forget to celebrate your goals as well!