back to articles

5 Steps to Setting and Achieving Goals Think of something you have a genuine desire to achieve. Having a goal you really want to achieve will increase your chances of being successful. This can be an immediate goal, long-term or both. For instance, you may want to visit France. You have set that for a long-term goal, but your immediate goal is to start learning French. Questions you can ask yourself: • What would I like to achieve? (Or, what’s something I wish you could do?) • What challenge would I like to overcome? • Imagine feeling proud of myself for doing something. What is that something? If you've discovered you want to tackle many goals, that’s great, but it’s better to focus on achieving one thing successfully before moving onto goal #2. Your goal should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Trackable. Using the visit to France, let’s look at examples of goals you could set for yourself: • To go to France the 15th of this month in one year. • To buy at least one book on Beginners French this week. • To take a French class and learn 5 new French words a week. • To speak sentences. • To go to French restaurant and order in French. • To speak on French in France. 2. What is the Purpose of the Goal It is important to know why you want to achieve something. The added benefit of identifying your goal’s purpose is so there’s something to remind your child of why you went after this goal in the first place on those days reaching the goal seems impossible. This will give you the motivation to keep going during those challenging times. When you understand the purpose behind your goal, you will have a greater “buy-in” and are more likely to be successful. For instance: • Why does it matter for you to achieve X? • Why do you want to do X? • How can X help others? How can it help you? • What’s the greatest benefit of you doing/achieving X? These questions encourage critical thinking. Your responses can be that you want to set a certain goal for yourself (self-enhancement or self-improvement), for others, or both. Various studies have found that individuals are more successful when they have a self-transcendent purpose (going beyond the usual limits). Participants were more likely to persist longer on a boring task than giving into a tempting alternative. (Trying to lose weight. On your own it seems like a struggle, a goal that may never happen. But as part of a group that meets weekly that will donate $1 a pound lost to children in need makes losing weight more interesting.) Examples of goal purposes: • I want to write a cookbook on the best and easiest ways to lose weight. • I want to volunteer at the hospital. • I want to drink more water every day because it’s good for my body and helps flush out toxins. 3. Establish a Time Frame Once you know what your goal is and why you want to achieve it, you can set a time frame for when they want to meet their goal. Is it a goal to be reached in the immediate future, short-term, or long-term. Be sure that it is a realistic period of time for meeting that goal, too. Time frame examples for goals: • Learning 20 new French words in one month.• Writing one chapter a week for my cookbook.• Walk 30,000 steps a month (2500/day - 3/days/week) 4. Create a Game Plan Using a Calendar or Worksheet The next step is making a game plan by breaking the goal into actionable and manageable smaller steps. One of the biggest reasons why individuals do not achieve their goals is because they focus on the the outcome and not on the process. Your process should include small steps you can manage one at a time to reach the destination, and for each step you overcome, there’s an opportunity to celebrate your success. For instance, after learning the 5 French words at the end of a week, which was your goal, you should celebrate. Every time you meet a goal, your self-confidence increases. It’s ideal for you to use a worksheet or calendar every time you have a new goal and then fill it in so the goal plan is written down. Having a goal plan on paper acts as a reminder, and it also helps keep you accountable. If you want to make it fun, consider mind maps, vision boards, and goal-setting prompts. Once you start your journey to reaching your goal, you need to track your progress. Put your goal plan somewhere it’s a visual reminder. Or use one of the many online tracking printables. There are also goal-tracking apps like ClickUp, Strides, Weekdone, Way of Life, and GoalsOnTrack. Tick off each milestone you reach, and then celebrate. Support them when they need it – encourage them to remember why they chose the goal and cheer them on. What Do If You Want to Give Up? When you want to give up (because it’s too challenging, you’re bored, or you want to go after a different goal), you can: • Reflect on your goal journey so far and revise where needed to make the goal more achievable. • Remind yourself of your goal’s purpose. • Brainstorm solutions for the obstacles that are in the way. • Give yourself positive messages – “I’m working hard to achieve my goal.” • Share your own goals and journey and challenges with others. Final Thoughts on Goal Setting Goal setting is a vital skill you can learn and master. There is no such thing as “too young” or “too old” when it comes to reaching for something you want. Children can be taught how to set goals by doing certain chores. While older individuals may want to learn how to water paint or do woodworking. Consistently creating goals for yourself will eventually become second nature to you. Plus, you will have developed the skills you need to persevere and go after what you want in life with a much higher chance of being successful. Success creates feelings of self-confidence and raises self-esteem. Okay! Time to set a goal!

back to articles