How to Set Personal Goals (And Achieve Them)

Every year on the first day of January, a bunch of people will set out to make life changes.  Many of those people will give up on those changes before January is even over. 

We don’t need to wait until the start of a new year to set new life goals.  Making changes to your life can be done anytime of the year.  Setting your goals and figuring out how you will achieve them is easy, you just need to take the time to make the plan.   

Whether you’re looking to start eating healthier, living a cleaner life, reducing your stress, enjoying parenthood more, having a happier marriage or even leaving a career you hate for one that you love, or just doing more of the things that you enjoy doing (like traveling), it all starts with setting the goal.  And you can do it any month of the year.  

Last year one of my New Years resolutions was to write down something positive about every day.  You’ve probably seen this idea floating around Facebook too.  You’re supposed to write out a good thing about each day on a small piece of paper and put it in a jar.  Then at the end of the year you can read all about the great things you did that year.  

Of course, I didn’t have a jar, so instead I created a word document on the computer to write it all in.  Some time around March, I noticed that word document on my computer and opened it.  I had only made it to January 3rd.

Well, at least all I wasted was a bit of time and not money on a gym membership I would never use. 

This year I’m not making any New Year’s resolutions.  That doesn’t mean that I’m not making any new changes in my life, I’m just not doing it because it’s a new year.  Really, why is it that we only decide to make big changes when It’s time to by a new calendar?

Why Set Personal Goals

I lived an unhealthy lifestyle for years.  I knew I needed to make changes, and thought about it all the time, but I never did anything differently.   I wasn’t happy, but I didn’t do anything to find a way to be happier.  I had no idea what I actually wanted to achieve in life.

I always dreamed of living a better life, but that was all it was.  A dream. 

Sound familiar?

That’s why you need to set life goals.

Writing out your personal goals, and figuring out the steps you need to take to achieve them, is what makes the difference between a dream and a plan.  Goals help to shape the direction of your life and give you something to look forward to.  When you achieve those goals, you will be able to see how far you have come and be proud of what you have accomplished in your life. 

Setting goals will give you the motivation you need to make your dreams a reality.  When you take the time to write out your personal goals you will be accountable (even if only to yourself).  These written goals will help to keep you focused so you can finally start living the life you have been dreaming of. 

How To Set Life Goals

I’ve been working on making big changes in my life for the last five months.  I’m on a continuous journey of life changes, constantly setting new goals, creating new habits and finding ways to life a happier and healthier life.

But back in November, when I was working on writing my first blog post, I realized that I needed an actual plan.  I had been working on all these changes, but I had never actually taken the time to figure out what all I wanted to change.  I realized it was time to set some life goals for myself. 

So, I opened up a mind map program on my computer and started to write out what I wanted to change in each area of my life.   

A mind map is an easy tool that you can use to help you set your personal goals.  Start out by listing each area of your life that you want to make changes in.  Once you have all the areas of your life listed, you can focus on each one and figure out what changes you need to make to them. 

I’m sure you already have some ideas of things you need to change or things you want to achieve.  Start out by just listing everything that comes to mind.  Once you have listed everything you can think of, use these questions to help guide you to figure out if there are any other changes you need to make to start living your ideal life. 

Look at your past first.  

• What are your happiest memories?  
• What are you most proud of accomplishing?
• What are some things you have done that you wish you had done better? 
• What things do you regret not putting enough effort into? 

Now look ahead and imagine you have lived your ideal life.

• What did your ideal life look like?
• How did you spend your time?
• What did you do for fun?
• What career did you have?
• What did you do once you retired?
• What where your biggest accomplishments?

Finally look at where you are in life right now.

• What areas need improvement?
• What brings you the most joy?
• What do you value most?
• What could you start doing more of that would make you happy right now?
• What do you want to learn more about?
• What have you always wanted to do but you were too afraid of or never had the time for?most?
• What could you start doing more of that would make you happy right now?
• What do you want to learn more about?
• What have you always wanted to do but you were too afraid of or never had the time for?

Take your time with this step.  This is your life you’re planning, so don’t expect to be finished in an hour.  Take a few days so you can really give it some thought and the effort it needs. 

A goal without a plan is just a wish.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Planning the Steps to Achieve your Goals

A mind map full of things you want to achieve in life is a great first step.  But if that’s all you do, you won’t find yourself any closer to achieving any of those life goals you have set.  Once you have your list of personal goals, it’s time to come up with a plan.

Once I was happy with all the goals on my mind map, I made a chart and wrote each goal on it.  Then I broke those goals into the steps that I would need to take to achieve them.  Some goals only had one or two steps, like scheduling in some regular me time.  Others had to be broken down more into substeps, like starting a blog. 

When you plan out how you will achieve each goal, keep each step simple and short.  Break those steps down as much as you can so that each step is something you can accomplish in a short amount of time. 

For example, if your goal is to start a new business one step would be to learn how to write a business plan.   The first step for that goal might be to find resources to read about making a business plan.  If one of the resources you find is a book, instead of listing reading the book as a step, break it into substeps of reading each chapter instead. 

Keeping the steps to achieve your goals small will keep you from getting overwhelmed when trying to make big changes.  It will also help you to stay motivated when you see how many steps you have already crossed off your list. 

Should You Set A Timeline?

When I made my chart to plan out the steps for all my life goals, I included a column for a timeline.  I went through and set a deadline for each of the steps to my goals.  My list of goals and steps was pretty long, about 8 pages, so I made another list with just the steps I wanted to achieve in November.  Then I made one for December too. 

Of course, then life happened. 

By mid-December, I realized that not only had I not even looked at my December goal list, but I hadn’t accomplished everything from November yet either.  While it’s great to want to make all these changes, I was trying to do way too much, too fasts and had greatly underestimated how much time making all these changes would take.

Now, instead of listing a deadline for each of my goals, I just focus on a few goals at a time.  Once a goal, or some of the steps for that goal, have been achieved I look at my chart and chose the next one I want to focus on. 

This works for me, but if you’re someone who tends to procrastinate, setting a timeline might be better for you.  Just make sure that you’re being realistic about how long each of those steps will take you.  Allow yourself to be flexible if something takes longer than you had planned, your timeline can always be adjusted as you go. 

Another option is to list all your goals, or the steps for those goals, in the order you want to accomplish them in.  Then you can focus on one or two things at the top of your goal list at a time.  If you find a long list of goals overwhelming, write the goals you are focusing on in a shorter list.  Once you have crossed something off your shortlist you can add in another from your long list. 

I’ve stopped trying to rush to make all the life changes I have set for myself.  There will always be new goals to set once I accomplish the ones I’m working on now.  While I’m not making any New Year’s Resolutions for my self this year, I will still be working towards achieving the goals I have already set and continue to find ways to make positive changes in my life. 

Making big life changes isn’t something that can happen overnight.  And you won’t be any more successful at doing it just because it’s a new year.  There is no reason to wait until January to start making the changes to your life that you know you need to be making.  You can set personal goals, and make big changes, any time of the year.

So, have you made any New Years Resolution this year?  Did you take the time to write out your personal goals and come up with a plan to achieve them?

Let me know on my Facebook post and follow me on Facebook to see what else I learn on my journey to live a healthier and happier life.