Goals are dreams with deadlines.
― Diana Scharf.
Goals are desires, dreams or aspirations with a deadline. If you say you have a goal and it doesn’t have a date for its attainment, then what you’ve got is called a desire, dream or an aspiration but it’s definitely not a goal.
A lot of people have goals but few actually achieve their goals. Instead of explaining why people fail to achieve their goals, in this article, I will focus on the steps you must take to turn your goals into reality.
If you have set goals in the past which you have failed to achieve, then this article for you.
A lot of things are taught in schools and universities but how to achieve your goals isn’t one of them, which is frankly a shame.
Every human being alive should be taught how to achieve his or her goals if we are serious about creating a society of successful people.
How do you achieve your goals? Let me rephrase it; how do you go about turning your desires, dreams and aspirations into reality? Well, if you read on, you will find out.
Goal achievement is not rocket science. Am sure you have done it before without even being aware of what you did, but for the sake of clarity and structure, here is how to achieve any goal:
Write It Down - And Attach A Deadline
A lot of people have “goals” that lives in their heads. If your goal only exists in your head, then you don’t have a goal. You have a desire, a dream or an aspiration, but it’s not a goal.
For your desire, dream or aspiration to become a goal, you MUST write it down on a clean, blank piece of paper.
Writing down your goal isn’t enough, you MUST also write the deadline for achieving it next to it. Remember: Goals are dreams with deadlines. It’s only after you attach a deadline for the attainment your desire, that it becomes a goal.
Be Clear And Specific
If a man knows not to which port he sails, no wind is favourable.
― Seneca.
After many years of being in the personal development world, I can confidently say that most people do have a problem with achieving their goals, what most people have a problem with, is knowing what they actually want.
Most people can not define what they want to the smallest detail; this’s what’s actually holding them back. Don’t be one of these people.
If you want to buy a brand new car, you don’t go to the car dealership without having a clear picture of the car you want to buy. You won’t turn up at a car dealership and say: I want a car. Saying that alone means you don’t know what you want and since you don’t know what you want, the car salesman won’t take you seriously.
If you want to achieve your goal, you must be as clear and specific as possible.
For example; writing down “I want my own house by the end of 2021” is wrong but writing down “I will have a 5 bedroom house in Orange County, California, USA before the end of the year 2021” is right because you are being specific about your goal.
Obviously, you can be more specific by adding other features of the house but knowing the size of the house, the location and the deadline for its attainment are good enough.
Create A Plan
So now you know what you want and you even have a deadline for achieving it, where is your plan for achieving that goal?
You will be surprised at the number of people who have goals but don’t have any plan for achieving those goals.
You must create a plan for your goal. As soon as you write down your goal and give it a deadline, you must create a plan for it immediately.
Work On It Each Day
Focus on your goals, not your fear.
Focus like a laser beam on your goals.
― Roy T. Bennett.
After creating a plan for your goal, the next thing is to ensure that you work on it each day until you achieve it.
Every single day you wake up, make sure you did something that will bring you closer to your goal.
With all the life commitments we have and all the things going on around us, it’s easy to get distracted from our goals.
Don’t let your goal fall a victim to life distractions and your other commitments. To stop this from happening, you must focus on your goal every day and you focus on your goal every day by including it in your daily schedule and routine.
Be Flexible On Your Plan, Not On Your Goal
When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal.
― Napoleon Hill.
As you start to work on your goal each day, it becomes necessary to be flexible on your plan, not on your goal.
If you notice that your current plan isn’t taking you closer to your goal, you have the freedom to change the plan – but don’t change your goal.
A lot of people get stuck or hit a “brick wall” while trying to achieve their goals simply because they refuse to be flexible on their plans.
Don’t become dogmatic about your plans. Be flexible about your plans and be open to better plans or ideas that help you achieve your goal.
Believe That You Will Achieve Your Goal
The biggest destroyer of goals is not actually laziness or lack of clarity, the biggest destroyer of goals is doubt.
Doubt sucks all the energy out of your goals. It sucks the life force out of your goal.
When you set your goal, you must believe that you will achieve it. You must believe wholeheartedly that you will turn that thing you’ve written on a piece of paper into reality.
Believing in yourself and in your ability to turn your goal into reality is important at the beginning but it’s mightly important when things are not going to plans.
You must believe completely that your goal will become a reality and refuse to listen to any opposing voice.
Conclusion
If followed, the steps given in this article will turn any goal into reality.
Goal achievement is not some mysterious thing. It’s not rocket science. It’s knowing what you want, when you want it and working on it daily until you achieve it.
If you have struggled to achieve your goals in the past, it simply means you’re falling foul of one the steps in this article. Just read the article carefully, review your goal and plan, and you will identify where the problem lies.
Thanks for reading and please share this article on your social media pages and accounts. Someone might find it useful.
Have a blessed day.
Mr Benjamin.