How often do you accomplish your goals? The answer varies from person to person, but each person agrees that they want to accomplish their goals. When asked why they don’t accomplish all of their goals, people often reference distractions from the outside world. However, we all have 24 hours in a day and our fair share of distractions. What allows some people to get their goals accomplished while other people in the same setting have difficulty?
The answer is their approach to goal achievement. The way you approach anything in life determines how efficiently you will perform that activity. A successful approach to goal achievement can be embodied in a six step strategy.
Step #1: Identify A Specific Goal
Step #1 may sound like an obvious step, but not everyone identifies a specific goal. Many people have a vague idea of what they want to accomplish, but vague is not specific. Instead of saying you want more blog traffic, ask yourself how many visitors you want to get by the end of the year. Do you want 10,000 blog visitors every month by the end of the year? How about 100,000?
While the specific goal you set for yourself must be realistic, the goals must also require a leap of faith out of the comfort zone. If you think you can possibly accomplish a goal by going all-in, then you most likely chose a realistic goal that will take you out of your comfort zone.
Step #2: Make It A Priority
When some people accomplish the first step for one goal, they like to perform the same step several times and create multiple goals. Although it is okay to have multiple goals, each goal takes up time. Think about it this way: 90% of the time, it is easier to accomplish one task in one day than it is to accomplish 20 tasks in one day.
If you have one primary goal that you know is more important than the other goals, then make that goal your priority. You can only have ONE priority, so choose wisely. That ONE priority must get at least 50% of your attention throughout the day.
Step #3: Plan Out Your Approach
The next step is to plan out your approach. How are you going to accomplish your priority, and how will you respond to the distractions around you? This summer could have easily been stressful for me because (as always) I wanted to do so much but knew I had a limited amount of time. I wanted to finish writing one book early so I could market it and create an advanced training course unlike anything I have launched before.
The stress quickly evaporated when I created a plan that brought to full clarity what I was trying to accomplish with my two products. I also created a list of all of the things that distracted me from my main priorities (they were not my priorities at the same time. When I finished the book, I moved onto the training course). Once I created the list, I devised several solutions which made it possible for me to achieve my goals in the summer.
Planning out my approach saved me from stress because I removed the fog around me. I discovered how I would accomplish my priorities by the end of the summer. The days of guessing were over.
Step #4: Implement That Plan
Step #4 also sounds like an obvious step, but the ease of implementation depends on what your plan is. If your plan is highly detailed, then you have a better idea of what you must do every day. It took me almost an hour to craft my plan for the summer, and the plan barely took up an entire page in my notebook. Regardless, I gained more clarity than ever before which made implementing the plan easier.
Step #5: Make Changes Along The Way
Just because you set a course of action for yourself does not mean you can’t digress from that course of action. If you find a better opportunity or think of a better product idea, it is entirely okay to shift your focus or make some room for other things in your plan.
However, I heed one warning. Don’t get attracted to shiny objects. It is easy to look at a new trend and think, “Well, if I get involved in that trend and really work on it, then sure enough I am going to make it big.” The problem with this thinking is that most people don’t make it big by following one trend. Even worse, this thinking results in trend chasers—people who constantly go back and forth between trends without establishing an authority on any niche.
It is important to make changes along the way, but you must also ask yourself how these changes affect you, your plan, and your brand.
Step #6: Keep Your Eyes On The Prize As You Do The Work
I always keep my eyes on the main prize. When I wrote my book, I always thought about it reaching the hands/tablets of thousands of people around the world. When I did videos for my training course, I always thought about it becoming a massive success.
Why does keeping your eyes on the main prize help you accomplish your plan? The vision gives you more motivation and allows you to realize what you are chasing after. Each time you implement a part of your plan, you are getting closer to that big prize. Let the joy of obtaining the big prize empower you as you accomplish your goals.
In Conclusion
Accomplishing your goals requires a plan and an effective strategy. Once your accomplish your goals with a plan and an effective strategy, replicate the entire process for your future goals so goal achievement becomes a habit.
Which steps of goal achievement have you been implementing? Which steps do you plan on making a part of your goal achievement? Which step do you think is the most important? Please share your thoughts and advice below.
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