In order to truly achieve anything in life you need to set goals.
People set goals for all sorts of things on a daily basis. From what you want to accomplish in a day to what you need to accomplish for work to the small things you need to do in a day to day basis to keep things running smoothing.
You may not even know you are creating a list of goals when you generate a short list of things to do, but you are.
Short term goals combined together ultimately lead to the accomplishment of long term goals.
Short term goals help us stay focus by creating easy to manage steps to help us get to where we want to be. For example, if your goal was to buy a house, that would be the long term goal.
The short term goals along the way might be as follows:
1. Find a cheaper apartment.
2. Reduce overall spending.
3. Save 10% of income for a new home.
4. Pay off outstanding debts to boost credit rating.
On a week to week basis you stay on track with the small things you are doing to prepare for buying a home.
Goals are important in life and in business because they give us something to aim for. The long term goal is often a reward for all of the hard work that is put in along the way.
Business owners also choose to develop short and long term goals in order to grow their business in an effective way.
When you are a business owner, your small goals are often formulated in the way of a business plan while the average person organizes their short term goals in the way of a daily, weekly or monthly to-do list.
Reaching small goals will help anyone feel accomplished with their life.
Even when the progress is little, it is a step towards the right direction.
Weight loss goals are a perfect example of this. Four pounds lost in a week may not seem like very much when your goal is to loose 100 pounds, however it is a healthy amount of weight lost and is one step towards reaching the bigger goal.
New Years Resolutions are similar to goals, the problem with both of these is that people have a hard time sticking to them after a while. Goal planning is not easy, but every step is worth it.
4 Simple Strategies for Sticking to Your Goals
To stay motivated while you are trying to accomplish a goal(s), consider the following:
1. Sphere of Influence
Who are the people you spend your day to day with? Are they supportive of what you are trying to accomplish within your life?
If not, they are not needed in your life.
Half of failed goals are a result of the environment around them.
You must have faith in yourself and what you want to accomplish in order to reach those small goals and find the success you are looking for. When someone said they were going to develop the television, telephone and airplane most people thought they were crazy.
However, today millions of inventions grace our daily lives because one person had a list of short term goals that ultimately turned into a bigger goal and was not stopped by negative thinking or people who did not support his dream.
2. Daily Affirmation
Affirmation notes are helpful in boosting confidence in oneself.
You can post inspirational quotes and sayings on the dashboard of your car, the door as you walk outside, your work computer, the greeting on your cell phone and on the bathroom mirror.
These little reminders help keep the positive thinking alive and remind you of the big picture that you are reaching for.
3. Reading
Any successful person will tell you that reading is key if you want to find any level of accomplishment in your life.
Continually reading books that are filling with emotion and scenerios where people are going after their dreams will only help you stay focused on your goals.
There are hundreds of motivational books at your local bookstore.
The truth is that once you start reading and feel that rush of motivation flush over you, it is hard to not pick up another book or even read one book over again.
4. Dream Building
The final most important aspect of goal setting is dream building.
This is where you surround yourself with the things you hope to have one day. Create posters to hang on the fridge of everything that you want.
Include daily affirmations, notes on what each goal is and a date you plan to accomplish it by. All goals should have a date to help keep you focused.
Another method of dream building is to explore tangible items.
For example, if your goal is to build a business and obtain financial freedom so you can own a big house and nice cars, then head to the next open house at a fancy listing or test drive the sports car of your dreams.
Conclusion
Just feeling the wind in your hair and the life like opportunity to achieve your dreams will help keep you focused throughout your week.
Wanted to add how you set your goals and stick to them, do in the comments!
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