Goal Setting – How to Set Goals You’ll Actually Achieve. Prioritize What’s Important

Goal setting

Prioritize Goal Setting

Goals are difficult on their own. Add conflicting priorities, pushy people, shiny objects, and entertaining distractions to the mix and goals can start to feel impossible. Make the process easier by consciously setting yourself up for success by learning strategies to prioritize your goals.

A long list of unrelated, potentially unachievable, goals will only sabotage your best efforts. Don’t put something on your list because it ‘should’ be there. Only include goals that you are passionate about and are aligned with your core values.

Discover ways to set goals you’ll want to achieve. Tailor them to your passions, personality, and unique outlook. It’s not ‘cheating’ to customize your goals and make them perfect for you. And it’s not selfish to prioritize what’s important to you.  

Get Rid of Goals That Don’t Make the Cut

Eventually, you need to prioritize. Too many competing goals drain your energy. One of the biggest blocks to achieving goals can often be the other goals on your list. Your goals are competing for your time and attention.

Each goal you add to your list takes away from the ones that are already there.

If you are having trouble achieving your goals, you need to eliminate some from your list (or at least pause them). Rethink and reorganize the things that are truly important to you. And then pick 1 or 2 goals to focus on.

When you give goals your complete attention, you’ll start to see some movement and progress.

Learn How to Say No

Learning how to prioritize your goals means learning how to say no.

Declining commitments that don’t further your goals is crucial to your success. Saying no to distractions gives you room to focus on your goals.

Saying no can be difficult if you’re not used to it. Here are some tips that can help.

Just Say No

Don’t provide excuses or delay your answer. If you don’t want to do it, or it doesn’t further your goals, a firm but courteous ‘no’ will suffice. Be assertive, saying something like “I’m sorry I can’t do this, but I will let you know if that changes.” You are setting ground rules but also demonstrating a willingness to review at a later date. 

Stand Your Ground

You will probably get pushback from the people in your life when you start saying no. These can lead to feelings of doubt and guilt: Doubt about the value of your goal and guilt around letting people down.

One way to turn this around to reframe it. You’re not saying ‘no’ to other people and opportunities, you are saying YES to your goals. It is empowering to prioritize your goal and stand your ground.

Put a Value on Your Time

It’s easy to brush aside a couple of hours here or there. But when you divert energy from your goals and put it towards tasks that don’t help you achieve them, it’s actually costing you something.

You can even literally price it out. How much are you ‘earning’ from lesser priority tasks and how much are you gaining from saying no to them? 

Eliminate Distractions

Sometimes it’s not other people who are knocking us off course – but ourselves and our environment.

Eliminate distractions in your workspace. Limit hours on your phone or install app blockers that control how much browsing you can do.

Renew your commitment to your goals by removing the competition.

Create a Vision Board

It’s not only helpful to put your goals in writing, adding images can yield powerful results and help you prioritize your goals in your day-to-day life.

A vision board contains images and short one-liners that represent your goals, keeping you focused and motivated. 

Represent each one of your goals with an image and add them to your board. You can create a physical board or a digital one, but just make sure you put it somewhere visible.

Accomplishing goals isn’t easy and can take a lot of time and commitment. Customize and prioritize your goals and cross the finish line.

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