How To Achieve Your Goals and Stay Motivated
You have everything you need to achieve your wildest dreams. And you know it!
That’s why you’re here!
You are a natural dreamer. It’s easy for you to picture what you want. And that’s what achieving goals is about.
By
Mavis Martin
You’re a dreamer and a doer, a natural goal-getter!
Then why do so many of your dreams turn into wishes? Wishes that don’t come true! Achieving goals is often restrained by one simple, avoidable mistake…
The simple answer: Fear
Fear is often disguised as being overwhelmed. The Fear that dresses up as laziness. Fear that whispers, “You could just start tomorrow, you know.” Or “That isn’t realistic, anyway.”
Your fear is a villain. It will covertly sabotage all your pursuits. Mercilessly! Until you feel so far from your dreams that you give up. Fear is in it to win it.
How do you confront this villain & become the hero of your own story? What is so difficult about achieving goals?
Perform this one Jedi mind trick on yourself to succeed:
- Conquer Fear
- Stay Motivated
- Achieve All Your Dreams
What’s the trick? I’m so glad you asked. Drumroll Please…
Forget The Dream, Fall In Love With The Process!
This doesn’t mean ignoring your dreams. I’d never advocate giving up the dream of looking good in a bikini!
But, if you strategically shift your focus from the dream to the process, you’ll reach your goals without realizing it.
Put The Dream On The Back Burner
You don’t have to remind yourself constantly of a dream. If your dream is to look great in a bikini for summer vacation: I bet you instinctively see your bikini body when you see a vacation commercial. Or, if you want to be a successful singer, just listening to Adele’s new album should do the trick.
You don’t have to remind yourself! Instead, write down your dream. Use it as a reference point. Hint: Routinely take time to dream about your dream! Cherish this time! But don’t obsess over it! Don’t worry! You won’t forget it!
The Thousand Pieces of a Dream
Break down every dream into “action steps.” List every step, including where you are now and where you want to be. This is the juicy part! This is where you encounter the magical transformation that needs to happen.
Once you break down the transformation, it becomes less magical and more real. I don’t know about you. I can’t do magic. But I can be real all day, every day. Hint: Start backward from your dream to now! Be specific about each step! Be realistic about where you are now!
Example: Wear a bikini on the beach!
- Get a bikini wax the weekend before the beach trip
- Visit the tanning salon
- Schedule the final weigh-in; take measurements
- Do only yoga this week; focus on toning
- Run 5 miles three days this week
- Take a H.I.I.T class twice this week; burn that fat
- Don’t have a piece of cake at Georgia’s wedding this week
- Don’t buy chips or ice cream when you go shopping today
Achieving Goals Involves Setting a Timer
Statistics show that achieving goals and deadlines are closely linked. You are more likely to achieve a goal if you give yourself a deadline. However, there’s nothing like a deadline to invite overwhelm!
Don’t set a time to accomplish the dream. Set a deadline for the first few steps of your process. How long will it realistically take you to accomplish step one? When will you be done with step two?
Plan your timeline out this way! Hint: Work with only a few goals at a time! Only move on after you’ve hit those marks!
Commit To Your Partner
Focus on each step as if it were the dream. Devote yourself to step one because it is as, if not more, significant than the last step.
Not eating that donut now can feel as good as dancing in that bikini will! But it’s up to you to assign that importance to step one!
Respect each step! Hint: Think of it this way. You wouldn’t have planned it if it wasn’t a necessary step. If it’s necessary to your journey, then it’s important!
Send Yourself Flowers
Since you are treating each step like the dream, then you should celebrate them accordingly! Give yourself a small gift. Go incrementally. Plan a nap. Get a manicure. Buy that Adele song on iTunes.
Hint: Make sure your gift doesn’t negate your accomplishment. Don’t gift yourself with a bar of chocolate as a reward for not eating a donut. You know you were thinking about it!
Write Love Notes
When something great happens, you want to remember it. Achieving goals is about experiencing positive memories. After you complete a step, write it down. What did it feel like to accomplish that step?
What did you gift yourself with? Engage joyously with your now! Hint: Have some fun with it! Write to your past & future selves! Let your brain connect your past, present, and future.
Example: Right now, I am so proud of myself for not eating that piece of wedding cake. You know, I remember when you (your past self) used to have cake every night! I bet you (your future self) eat grapes to satisfy your sweet tooth! I’m not there yet! Ha! But I’m cake-less tonight!
Don’t Keep The Secret
For certain steps, assign an accountability report to it. You might celebrate quietly when you don’t eat the cake. But, plan to call a friend after you’ve completed a bigger step. Go public!
Hint: Pick a supportive friend. You don’t even have to tell them about the process. Just celebrate that moment with them.
Your Mind’s Eye
Image boards are highly effective when bringing your dreams to life. But, remember, you are now engaging with your action steps as if they are the dreams. Start collecting images for each step. Feed your mind’s eye with reminders of the process.
Hint: Take full advantage of your smartphone here. Snap some shots that you can mentally attach to a step. Use apps like Pinterest to gather images.
Enjoy That You Are Gettin’ It Done
You should feel a sense of pride as you go through this process. It’s set up so that you are constantly achieving and being rewarded.
Why? Because we continue to do the things that make us happy. When you follow this method, it will shift all your focus to the process.
The more you focus on the process, the more you will fall in love with it. People become enamored with what they focus on.
The dream will be a by-product of the transformation that occurs as you move from step to step. Committing fully to the process will only enhance your experience!
Note: In this article, I didn’t mention “trying to stay motivated” once. That’s because motivation, like the dream, is a by-product of doing the process wholeheartedly.
Forget the dream! Fall in love with the process! Be so focused on the action steps that you don’t have the energy to wonder whether they motivated you!
Now Go! Make Your Dreams Come True!