We all have goals in life. Each one of us wants to achieve something, whether great or small, at some point in our lives. We have deep-seated hopes and dreams for the future and a burning desire to accomplish some great feats. It’s stitched into the very fabric of our society, woven into the core of who we are, deep down inside. It’s emblazoned in our DNA, genetically pre-dispositioned, not just for mere survival, but also with a yearning passion to thrive.
In fact, it’s part of what’s made us as a culture into who we are. Our species has more than just survived; we’ve quite literally thrived, achieving outlandish results thanks to the wild-eyed innovations that have sparked the possibility to make the seemingly impossible a reality in our lives. Not only have we wished for the moon, but we’ve also shot for the stars.
Clearly, we’ve achieved some tremendous goals in life. Across the planet, we’ve accomplished what was once thought to live only in the realm of human imagination, or merely the topic of science-fiction fantasy. Yet, while our society and culture seem to be making astronomical leaps forward and achieving outlandish goals, as individuals, we find it harder to see things through when it comes to our personal goals.
It’s not easy achieving your goals in life. That much is certain. But couple that with our insatiable thirst for instant gratification and our proclivity to run on the seemingly endless hedonic treadmill — where we’re always reaching for something better than we have today — it’s no wonder that we get frustrated while trying to achieve great things. When failure rears its ugly head and we suffer the ridicule of public humiliation, it’s no wonder why we find it so hard to achieve our goals in life.
Yet, there is a simpler way. The greatest problem that most people face is that they fail to set their goals the right way. And once they do set their goals, their approach is all wrong. The best way to achieve any goal in life is to not only set them the right way, but also to plan and execute their actions in accordance with achieving those dreams over time.
New Year’s syndrome.
Most people associate the setting of their goals with one day in particular — New Year’s Eve. It’s a time for a fresh start. A chance for a clean slate. But those who set goals on New Year’s Eve don’t typically see them through. In fact, according to one study by the University of Scranton, only eight percent of goals set on New Year’s Eve are actually achieved.
That’s a 92 percent failure rate, which is pretty sickening and disheartening when you think about it. But that’s also because most people who set goals on New Year’s don’t set them the right way. You can’t expect to achieve your goals when you go about it all wrong. This runs contrary to any recipe for goal-setting success that’s out there.
Why is that? Because setting goals on New Year’s Eve, or any other day for that matter, can’t be done arbitrarily in the mind. The goals can’t remain in the abstract. They have to be materialized and defined with a high degree of specificity. And they need to be planned and acted upon in the right way.
That might be why 34 percent of people give up on their New Year’s goals after the first month. After 6 months, 54 percent have fallen off track and given up. The odds are stacked up against us because we’re not setting goals the right way. When you follow a proven plan for setting and achieving your goals the right way, you’re more likely to see things through.
The 7 steps for achieving any goal.
Undoubtedly, achieving any goal requires acute self-discipline. It involves a conscious awareness of our actions and the ability to overcome some of the bad habits that might be holding us back. Instilling self-discipline into our lives is no easy task. It requires an unwavering attention to our actions and an unrelenting drive for wanting to achieve something big.
However, moving beyond that, there’s a proven system for achieving any goal. It involves seven separate steps and a system called SMARTER goal setting. SMARTER goals, an acronym, will allow you to achieve nearly anything your heart desires. It allows you to breakdown the process into distinct steps, doing a little bit each day towards the attainment of your dreams.
1 (S) — Get (S)pecific about your goals
The first step in the SMARTER method of goal setting is to get highly specific about what you intend to achieve. You have to ensure that it’s measurable so that it can be tracked, but you also have to put a great deal of detail into what it is you intend to achieve. You can’t just say you want to be rich. It doesn’t work that way.
If you have money goals, they need to involve a specific amount of money. For example, you intend to have a one million dollar net worth in the next 24 months, you plan to be earning $20,000 per month in the next 12 months by building up a service business, or anything else for that matter. But you need to be acutely specific about it.
When you get specific about a goal, it materializes. It moves from the abstract into reality. To do that, it must be written down. It must move from your mind to a piece of paper…