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 Goal Setting 101

If you're the type of person who is making a New Year's resolution to "work out more" or "eat healthier", then this post was made for you!  This guide will help set up some realistic goals, and make sure that when you finally achieve them, they mean something. It even includes tips on how to stay motivated so you can keep your resolutions for more than just a couple days after the new year.

Though I'm sure you're very well aware of what a goal is, I'll share with you my definition of one anyway. A goal is something you want to achieve in your life, whether it's within the next few months or a decade from now. It's something that is BIG to you and matters a great deal to you in some way or another. It may be something that if achieved will make you feel fulfilled, or even happy (obviously there are goals which are not related to happiness at all). It helps to break down this huge concept into smaller tasks which can be accomplished one step at a time. 

I've created a planner on my blog that works great for setting up goals and tracking them. You can get a cheatsheet that explains how to make the planner here. You can also see the Goals and Trackings page on my blog which will give you access to all the goals I've completed, as well as ones I want to complete in the future. 

The reason creating these goals is so important is that when you set them, if you're not sure exactly why you want to achieve them, you'll probably not be able to follow through with it once it gets uncomfortable. 

I learned this the hard way a few years ago. I was working at a four year college, and had come across an article by a lady who was working at the YMCA using SMART goals to stay motivated, which included visualizing what it would be like to achieve each goal after meeting it.

There was no reason for me to want to be successful with my stay-at-home mom work other than because I wanted time for myself. But once I started on this path, I lost sight of what made it fun in the first place. I pushed myself too much and it resulted in burnout, which left me feeling hopeless and unloved. 

I did quit my job at the end of that year, and in hindsight I'm extremely glad that I did. Although the pay wasn't great (it was only $14 per hour for a stay-at-home mom after taxes), it gave me time to create something for myself (my blog). That's what kept me motivated throughout the rest of my stay at home mother career, which lasted well over 10 years. 

If I had written SMART goals for that year, and had come to see my blog as a part of that, I would have known that it was important to me. I also would have known why it was important, which is the most important part. This would have helped me focus on the things that really mattered instead of doing so much just to try and reach my goal in under a year (which ended up not happening anyway). 

When you set a goal like this without knowing exactly why you want or need it, you'll find yourself questioning if it's worth all the effort. So now is when you sit down and write down your reasons for wanting certain goals (I've made a template for writing these here). And if those reasons are too big, break them down into smaller steps.

For example: 

"I want to be successful at home because I love being able to stay home with my kids and enjoy my life." 

"I want to be successful at home because I can afford it, and I like the challenge of working for myself." 

"I want to be successful at home because it's been a goal of mine since I was a child, and as an adult working in corporate America it was hard finding balance between work and family." 

It's very important to know exactly why you want or need each goal. This way you can stay motivated when it gets difficult at times. 

Another important thing to do when setting goals is to plan out how you'll achieve them. This can be done when working on a new goal, or once you've already achieved a current one.

For example:

"I want to run 10 miles per week." 

"To run 10 miles per week I will need to run 2 miles 5x per week, or 3 miles 4x per week."

"This plan will work well because I enjoy running on the treadmill and it is something I can do every day after work and/or after my kids go to bed for the night. I like being able to log the miles on the FitBit app so I can track my progress."

You can copy and paste this plan into a document if you want to, or you can use a planner to make it easier. 

There are other ways to set up your plans, but these tips should be helpful. If you're having trouble with setting goals then I'd like to invite you over to my blog and check out the Goals and Trackings page. 

For more information about goal setting and how to set them up for the most effective use, check out the video below. I'll also be covering some other ways to set goals and track them in a future post in this series. 

Once you've completed your goals, make sure to celebrate them! I have a goal planning template here that you can use when planning celebration events. As well as a Goals Newsletter you can sign up for on my blog here which will allow you to get tips, advice, and more each month which may relate to your goals.

Lastly, if you found this post helpful, please share it with others so that they can get the full benefit of the content. You can also sign up for my free 7-day mini goal plan here to help you create a comprehensive goal plan that will last you well into the future. 

Don't forget to sign up for my free newsletter below! I send out a newsletter containing new posts and relevant information every week which may relate to your goals. I also post lists of articles related to your goals on the Goals and Trackings page on my blog (which contains all of my completed goals, as well as ones I want to achieve in the future).

Conclusion

As you can see, it's very important to set goals and track them. In fact, it's essential in order to reach the success you want in life. 

You can set goals by working off of a pre-made goal plan such as my free 7-day mini goal plan here (as mentioned above), or you can create your own goal plan for your own needs. It's kind of like organizing a book report for school; there are certain steps that need to be completed but you have leeway on the specific way you achieve them.