How To Achieve Your Goals In Five Simple Steps

Life without order can be chaotic, and the best way to create order is to set goals. Goal setting can be the key to having success and happiness in your life. Everyone already knows how to set a goal, most people do it every year with News Years Resolutions, however it is sticking to and achieving the goal that can become difficult. In order to attain the goals you set you must know exactly what you want out of it, be passionate about it, and have a solid plan of action. While you may find yourself facing many obstacles along the path to your goal, you can use these 5 tried and true methods to help you achieve the success you want and deserve.

1. Know exactly what you want. The first plan of action in achieving your goal is to actually know what it is! It is not as simple as “I want to lose weight”, you must define your goal, make it realistic, and breathe life into it. This is how you separate a true goal from a pipe dream. You need to know exactly what your desired end result will be and how it will look when you get there.

Do you want to make $10,000 profit in your business this year? Do you want to save up $5,000 each year to buy a new Mercedes? Do you want to pay off your mortgage within the next 3 years? The more specific you are with your goals, the easier it is to target them and make them work for you. Simply dreaming that “one day” you will pay off your mortgage, buy a flashy new Mercedes, or make some profit on your business, will not help you in envisioning and achieving your goals. Sometimes, success for a person may be the feeling of being able to achieve these goals, not necessarily the object itself. That’s perfectly fine – it doesn’t matter what your goals are, as long as you, the goal setter, are mentally clear about what it is you want, because then that’s the only way you can focus and make it work.

2. Be willing to pay the “entry fee”. Success takes dedicated planning and effort. In a way it’s like building a house. In the beginning all you have is a rough concept. Then you develop a complete set of plans – and you immediately move closer to success. The same is true of creating a better lifestyle, or to get better grades. But there’s always an “entry fee” to be paid for success.

For example, trying to get into a specific college may mean less time for things you like to do, such as going out with friends. Likewise, wanting to become more organized may mean you have to get rid of some of the clutter in your life. All goals come with sacrifices but they are easily surmountable if you have defined exactly what you want and mapped out as we did in the first step. This step can be hard for many people but it is important that you allow yourself the time and willpower to get past it and make the sacrifices needed to achieve your goal.

3. Focus on your goal. In order to achieve your goal you must make it a priority to focus on it every day. I am sure you have heard the phrase, “old habits die hard”, and it is said for good reason. Old mental habits are hard to break and without constant and clear mental focus on your goal they can easily overwhelm and take over. If you find yourself about to fall into your old habits, stop and make a clear mental note of what you want, how what you are about to do does not help your goal, make the correct action, and move on. With this daily repetitive action and focus, you will be that much closer to breaking your old habits and making room for the new goals in your life.

Re-commit to your goal every day. Don’t let your goal take a back seat to the daily tasks and distractions that will try to take over. Life will try to get in your way. Just get, and stay, on course every day. Focus on your goal, and on your success!

4. Be passionate. Studies have shown that passion can be a key tool in your success. This is because intense desire and passion for reaching your goal can easily override the old “failure messages” we are all used to that are stored in our brain. With firm objectives and passion you can overcome these messages and create new ones. What’s more, having passion for your goal will tie into all aspects of your life and success. Your passion will carry you through any obstacles in your way and will help you stay focused every day.

5. Take consistent action. In many ways, actually taking action can be the most difficult step. Successful goal achievement is built by taking one small action after another. So the word of today is action! If you commit to take at least one small action each day, your actions will add up and make a difference. So avoid sitting back waiting for that time when everything will just “magically happen.”

You can create whatever you want in life. The secret is to determine exactly what you want, then pursue it passionately. But remember – in the end, only action counts! You can’t just dream about it! You have to do it!

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