When it comes to goals, less is often more. So whether your goals are about health, work, financial or personal growth, it’s important to space them out so that they’re achievable and realistic.
There are entire sections of bookstores and websites dedicated to the topic of setting goals. So how do you set these so that they don’t affect your daily life and become all you can think about? A key piece of advice is to try not to do everything at once. If you’re splitting your energy and attention between achieving multiple goals every day, you’re going to burn out quite quickly. Try these three tips to help you.
Set one big goal with lots of small steps. Figure out your main goal and split this up into a series of smaller steps that you can take every day to get you closer to achieving your dreams. Looking to lose 10kg? Create a list of daily and weekly goals that will help you get there. Every day, plan to eat a healthy meal or pack your lunch instead of grabbing something on the go. Every week, set a number of times you need to work out – whether it’s a visit to the gym or going for a walk after dinner, focusing on achieving these smaller steps will help get you to your goals without them seeming like impossible tasks.
Set goals for different areas of your life. Trying to stop smoking, lose weight, run a half marathon and get all your health checks done in one month is impossible and will likely result in your entire day revolving around your health, leaving other important aspects like family and finances in the dust. Rather pick three areas of your life you’d like to improve and set your intention to focus on these. Whether it’s a series of goals that helps you clear your mind, improve your body and nurture your spirit, or finding three hobbies you love (one to make you money, one to make you happy and one to make you creative), make sure that you’re tapping into different sides of your life to keep you inspired.
Set a realistic timeframe. A popular quote for goal-setting is: “A goal without a timeline is just a dream.” Giving yourself a set deadline by which to achieve a goal allows you to focus on what you need to do every day to achieve it. But make sure that you give yourself adequate time to achieve your goals. Trying to lose 10kg in a month is both unrealistic and unhealthy. Rather focus on losing 500-800g a week. Psychologically, it’s more achievable and you’ll be less likely to experience the pitfalls of backsliding.
Remember, goals are there to keep us on a track of self-improvement, making sure we’re living our best lives. They aren’t supposed to become daily chores that we have to perform in order for us to be successful. Set goals that help you live the life you’ve always dreamed of, not what others perceive to be important.
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