When making new goals in health and wellness or in everyday life there are some simple things that can be done in order to ensure that your goals are met. Hopefully, after reading this you can get some useful information to use to reach any goal you set for yourself. Here are five easy steps that can help start reaching your goals today.

1. Have a Purpose

Having a purpose, a reason, or why is one of the most important things you can do. This is the reason you are working towards your goals. It’s where you will pull strength and motivation from when you don’t feel like putting the work in. If your purpose, a reason, or why isn’t big enough you’ll never achieve your goals. 

2. Write it down

Writing down your purpose and your goals on paper, a mirror, a whiteboard, or anything that will be seen multiple times throughout the day is a great way to make sure that you stay on track. It is one thing to say you want to do something and think about it, but I have found that until you write it down or record it in a place that will be seen multiple times throughout the day, things can be forgotten.  A great resource is the notes app on your phone or other similar apps like Evernote. Might as well put that phone to good use. Screenshot your purpose and goals and make them the background on your phone. That way you’ll see them every day.

3. Make S.M.A.R.T. goals:

S.M.A.R.T. stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time. By adding a time aspect and by creating specific goals, there is now an accountability aspect to it. Without a deadline well there’s no real rush to reach your goals. Honesty and being realistic with yourself is important here.

4. Positive self-talk:

This step requires some personal work on your own. Be your own biggest fan. Understand that everyone is different and just because you may know someone who has achieved a certain goal in a certain time frame or certain manor does not mean it will work for you as it did for them.  Be able to handle setbacks and learn to self-motivate. This is a very hard step and for some, it may require some soul searching and honesty with oneself. Books are a great resource that can be used in order to help find yourself and reshape your thinking or perspective on life. The importance of this step is in the fact that if you don’t believe in yourself, or what you want to achieve, you will have no motivation to complete the task.

5. Don’t be afraid to ask for help:

This is one I personally struggle with myself.  A lot of people are very stubborn and think that they can do everything alone.  The most successful people will tell you they had a lot of help along the way, whether it be from mentors or maybe just a good friend who was willing to help.  Don’t be afraid to admit that you don’t know something and you need help. However, if you never ask or make it known that you want to achieve something, one thing is certain, you won’t get help!  This requires a little bit of an ego check and humbleness that leaves you open to suggestions and open to learning from those who have done what you want to achieve.

6. Don’t Talk about it Be about it:
The last step and most important step is to just do it.  You have to start. If you never start you will never finish!  If you never start you will never know if you can achieve something! If you never start you are putting a limit on your own potential!  You have to just make the leap and go for it! Maybe this requires cutting off someone people who don’t share your goals, or setting a weekly budget for yourself, or not going to the bar that one time, etc.  This step is usually the hardest because if forces you to change! And for most change causes the most fear and the can be the hardest thing to achieve.

Hopefully, with these six steps, progress can be made towards reaching your own personal goals.  These are just suggestions and can be used as needed or can be added to an already common routine.  The change in your life will start with you and it will end with you…

Written By: Nic Bronkall CSCS, LMT