I’d like to consider myself somewhat of a Master Goal Setter. This may be due to my type-A personality, overwhelming need to always have a plan, and perfectionist tendencies. I’m already thinking about the best ways to stay involved and social when I retire (I’m 23). It can be a lot.
I recognize that there are some of you out there living on the opposite side of the coin: taking life one day at a time, no thoughts or concerns about the future, perfectly happy living in the moment. You might actually have time to stop and smell the roses. On second thought, maybe you should be writing a self-help article for me?
Realistically, we should all be striving to live somewhere in the middle of this metaphorical coin. And while I’m always trying to learn how to better live in the moment and become more balanced, I’m proud of the things I’ve accomplished in life thus far, and I truly believe that with the right plan and work ethic, anyone can achieve anything that they want.
There’s a big step that comes before crafting the master plan. Setting the GOAL. Here’s a few concrete ways I like to incorporate goal-setting and accountability into my everyday life. I hope you find something here that you can easily incorporate into your daily routine.
1. CONSTANT VISION
For your goals to stay in your focus, they need to be written somewhere you will see them everyday. My favorite thing to use to keep my goals all up in my face is the Stickies application (this is available on Macs, an alternative is 7 Sticky Notes for Windows).
Stickies are basically editable post-it notes for your desktop; they stay “stickied” on your home screen. You can customize color, font and transparency to your preference. On the right-hand corner of my screen, I always have a comprehensive list of ALL of my goals, big or small. They’re broken down into multiple categories such as Educational, Professional, Health, Financial, Relationships, etc. This list encompasses goals of all sizes and timelines, from owning a home on the water one day to finding a fall internship. (Woo!) Any time I think of something I’m passionate about accomplishing in any area of my life, I add it to the list.
I also have a sticky for my big, overarching to-do list. This breaks my to-do’s down into sections for individual areas of life or projects. I find this more manageable than one crazy, long, unspecific list. If I finish all of my to-do’s (that’s funny), I can look over at my goal sticky and think about what I can add to my to-do list that will take me closer to achieving the next goal.
One final important sticky of mine is my “You Are Incredible As You Are Now” note. Here, I list all of the things I currently am doing or things about myself that I am proud of as a reminder that I do “enough.” I stole this idea from one of my friends in the middle of a hectic, stressful college semester. It’s very easy for all of us to get down on ourselves and feel as if we haven’t accomplished enough yet. But all that matters is that you’re moving forward! I think everyone can benefit from having an uplifting reminder that they are already enough. Keeping these positive affirmations present will help your motivation levels in the best way.
Obviously, you don’t have to use Stickies for this. Actually, Apple has said they will not be updating the application or creating it for mobile devices, so there are probably better options out there! This is just the one that works for me. The important thing is having all of your goals written in one place that you see often.
2. MAKING IT A HABIT
My next favorite thing, which I use for achieving short-term goals, is my flat monthly calendar. This part could also be done in the month section of a planner or in a digital calendar.
Each month, I decide on a few tasks I want to aim to do every day. Choose these tasks based on something you want to achieve in the near future. I break them down into categories, and usually include a personal task, professional task and a health task. For example, last month I aimed to journal, apply for at least one job, and eat at least two servings of vegetables each day. If you have a project you’re trying to get off the ground running, make it your goal to work on it every day. For me, each category has a shape or symbol, like a triangle, star or squiggly line. Each day that I complete the task in the specific category, I draw a really small symbol on that day on my calendar. So, at the end of the month, I can count all of the tiny squiggly lines and see how many days I ate my vegetables!
This acts as a record to hold you accountable (you’ll feel bad if you only get 3/31 days) and show you the progress you’ve made. Again, it’s just as important to be proud the things you’ve already done as it is to keep doing them!
3. ENVISION IT
This one is a little more straight-forward and a tried and true method. Vision boards are super fun, and something for the more creative types who may not be crazy about all of my structured list-making methods.
However, here at Radius Online, the employees have added a fun twist to their vision board that I love. They add a sticker on top of their goal image when they accomplish it instead of removing it altogether to make room for the next thing. Did I mention yet how important it is to be reminded of what you’ve accomplished already? 🙂
4. ACHIEVE YOUR DREAMS BY TALKING TO PEOPLE
Finally, the best way to hold yourself accountable for your goals is to mention them to people. I’m not saying to tell your mom to call you every morning and yell at you until you go to the gym. Simply bring your passions and goals up in conversation when it’s appropriate. This serves a few purposes. First, it makes you interesting. People like people who like to do things. Second, it’s more embarrassing when you don’t do that 5K at Thanksgiving if you’ve told 10 people that you were striving to finish it. And lastly, you may meet someone who has a similar goal, inspire someone to take one on, or make someone think of you for an opportunity in the future relating to that goal. Basically, you could make an awesome connection.
Lastly, I’ll leave you with this: FEAR. I believe that this pesky four letter word is the sole thing holding many of us back from achieving our goals. There is a healthy place for fear in our lives. It keeps us from swimming in the ocean at dusk, sticking forks into electrical sockets and drinking milk if we’re lactose intolerant. However, there is no room for fear in the space where your dreams and ambitions lie.
The amateur novelist J.K. Rowling once said, “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that might as well not lived at all. In which case, you’ve failed by default.” Base your self-worth not on your ability to succeed at everything, but at your willingness to try anything. If you get over the mental battle and learn to approach goal chasing with this mindset- one that embraces failure and recognizes it as a chance to learn- you are already on your way to achieving that big dream.
Happy goal chasing and fear facing!