Every one of us dreams of a life we want to live and the person we wish to become. Creating and pursuing goals means that we choose to take action and make our dream life a reality.
Whether you already accomplished some life goals or you’re just getting started, congratulations! You chose to show up for yourself and make a positive difference in your life, and that is already worth celebrating.
There are many ways to realize your goals, but here are 7 essential strategies to help you actually achieve your goals while staying consistent and committed.
1. Visualize the Future Self
Our goals are reflections of the person we want to become and the life we want to live.
Goals are important milestones, but what we actually want to achieve is a lasting transformation in our identity and lifestyle. Think about it: Nobody wants to achieve a goal only to slip back into negative habits a few weeks later.
Goals are steps we take in life toward creating the version of ourselves we wish to become. It’s not just about achieving that goal, but about the effort, dedication, and self-love you will pour into the process that will transform who you are. It’s about the new version of you that is created by overcoming your old self.
The real goal is to become a person who will maintain the progress, the person who has the right mindset and continuously invests their effort into something they care about.
Take a moment to really visualize the person you want to become. Take a piece of paper or open your notes and start describing the version of you that has already achieved your goals and dreams.
- What does your daily routine look like?
- What habits do you practice?
- How do you speak to yourself and others?
- How do you feel about yourself?
Whether it’s becoming a more disciplined, healthy, successful, or confident person, visualizing a future version of you can be deeply inspiring and help you understand what you need to change. Once you have a clear vision, start to progressively align your actions with that dream version of you—and step by step, you will become them.
Read my list of New Year resolutions you can set and achieve this year!
2. Set realistic goals
The logic is simple: setting overly high expectations, especially at the beginning, is likely to leave you disappointed. You are fully capable of reaching your desired goals, but you have to understand who you’re up against.
Achieving your goals is a battle between you and your mind, between your old self and the version of you you’re creating. Depending on the goal and the starting point, this can be tough, but it’s most definitely worth it.
It is completely possible to exercise 5 times per week, eat only healthy meals and read 50 pages per day, but when setting goals, we should consider what is realistic for our unique situation. Our mind needs time to adjust to change, which is why consistency matters more than anything else.
The best way to set realistic expectations is to create many smaller and achievable goals, especially at the start. This not only makes us reach but allows us to exceed our expectations, which makes us feel more accomplished and inspired.
This strategy works because no matter the size of the goal, achievement releases feel-good hormones, such as dopamine, serotonin and endorphins, that boost happiness and motivation.
Remember that growth in any area is not linear, so be patient and get back on track if you fail. The key is consistency, not perfection.
3. Start Small and Build Progress
Once we set realistic and achievable goals, we will naturally start to exceed them, and progress will follow. However, we can continue to build progress by raising our expectations in a way that suits our unique situation.
If your goal is to improve physical fitness, you might be tempted to say, “I’ll go to the gym four times a week and stick to a strict diet,” but this could overwhelm you, especially if your habits were very different just a few weeks ago. Similarly, if your goal is to spend less time on your phone, it’s unrealistic to think you’ll cut your screen time from 3 hours to just 1 hour a day. Instead, set realistic expectations, like reducing to 2 hours and then gradually down to 1 hour, to prevent feelings of failure.
Start small, focus on consistency, and do more when you feel ready. It’s much harder for your mind to adopt a completely new routine than to adapt to small changes over a period of time. Besides, you are committing to a lifestyle change, not just an end result, and that is a long-term goal.
That being said, don’t let the strategy of ‘easing your mind’ into growth become your excuse for inaction. Achieving your goals still needs discipline and commitment, so use this strategy to achieve sustainable, lasting and positive changes in your mind.
4. Create and follow a plan
Benjamin Franklin famously said,
“Failing to plan is planning to fail.”
For growth of any kind, planning is key.
The reason is that achieving your goals is much like managing any other project. You have a starting point (your current state), you have a goal (your desired state) and you have your resources with which you will reach your goals (time, effort, money, etc.).
Research shows that goals are 42% more likely to be realized when we write them down. This is true, not only because goals written down manifest, but because a person who cares enough about their goals will write them down, make a plan, and strive to achieve them.
Writing down goals is a simple action but it shows a lot about commitment. It shows that the person genuinely wants to achieve something and cares enough to take the time to write it down, even if it doesn’t make an instant difference for them. Writing down goals shows commitment to the long run.
When creating your plan, break it down into simple, actionable steps. You can create a list of priorities and schedule simple tasks to accomplish every day.
For organizing your tasks and staying on top of your goals, I highly recommend using a to-do app.
There are various models of these apps, and most of them offer a fun, simple way to organize, assign and complete your daily tasks. This way, you can stay on top of everything you need to do and feel a sense of accomplishment every time you click ‘Done’!
5. Minimize the distractions
In the battle of us versus our mind, distractions are our enemy.
Alongside managing our mind, we must also manage the distractions that stand in the way of our goals and dreams.
Our world is full of distractions, particularly with technology and social media. Our smartphones have become a huge distraction to our focus and motivation, more than we realize. For this reason, minimizing screen time should be a goal in itself.
When dealing with any distraction, minimizing the exposure and availability of the source is crucial. In case our environment is distractive, we can take proactive steps to optimize it, creating a supportive and positive environment for growth.
6. Truly Commit to Your Goals
How we treat our goals can tell us a lot about how determined we are to live the life we dream of.
Commitment to your goals is much like any other commitment. It’s a decision to invest time, effort, and energy, even when you don’t feel like it or when things get tough. When the excitement fades and reality sets in, commitment will keep you going.
If you truly want to achieve your goals, you can’t do it half-heartedly; you have to devote yourself fully.
Do you want this life more than you want your bad habits, your addictions, or your comfort?
If your answer is yes, you are already on the path to meaningful change.
If you aren’t willing to make an effort, you subconsciously choose to stay as you are.
It’s a hard truth, but truly, “What we’re not changing, we’re choosing.”
Choose to commit to your goals and to yourself, knowing that the journey might be difficult, but the person you will become is worth everything.
7. Celebrate your achievements!
It’s easy to get caught up in the bigger picture and overlook the progress you’ve already made, but every time you choose effort over comfort, you made a crucial step in your journey. Even when you fail, and it will most likely happen, know that it’s simply a part of your journey. We cannot win every single battle against our minds, but we can still be winners.
Celebrating your wins, either with (healthy) rewards or simply acknowledging and appreciating yourself, sends positive signals to your brain, which then gets satisfaction and motivation to achieve more.
Conclusion
Wherever you are in your journey, remember that you have all you need to achieve your goals. Simply choose to commit to the process, and remember that life-changing goals change our lives not by their outcome but by the process and the progress we make by achieving them.
Continue to grow, improve, and invest your energy and effort. In the end, you will be more grateful for the person you became in the process than for all the amazing goals you achieved.
The life you will create on this path will be even better than the one you dreamt of.
What is one small step you can take right now to move closer to your goal?