“If you don’t know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else.” 

“People are not lazy. They simply have impotent goals – that is, goals that do not inspire them.”

– Tony Robbins

1. Select “your” goal.

Yours is the one that motivates you, lifts you off your couch. Goals can be different. It may be as simple as “spend next summer holiday travelling around Italy”. Or as ambitious as “Being the best in my area”. Or it may be some kind of deep calling that relates to identity, or a life mission, for example, change a profession, become a parent, move to another country. Sometimes life circumstances may give us magic kicks. In any case make sure this goal is based on your core values and desires, not imposed by your parents or society.

For example, the goal “I want to lose weight” can be formed by the pressure of the glossy magazines, slender and judgmental colleagues. Or it can be truly your desire to get an active lifestyle, or to improve your health, or live up to 180 years (like bio-hacker David Asprey). Then it is better to reformulate the goal as its wording must inspire. A coach can help you efficiently determine whether your goal is true or false. Success comes when the goal ignites, sparks more energy than the discomfort of getting out of the comfort zone in order to achieve it.

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2. Make sure you have no inner resistance.

You can set any goals, for example, to earn 10 thousand dollars a month or a week. But if the belief “Big money causes big problems” or “I am not worthy of big money” lives in your head, then your efforts will be wasted because the subconscious mind is much more powerful than the conscious. Coaching or self-coaching can help identify the belief or beliefs that contradict your goal. The goal of this step is to replace limiting belief so that your subconscious mind works like a tailwind rather than a headwind.

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“A goal properly set is halfway reached.”

– Zig Ziglar

3. Make the goal specific.

Unclear goals lead to unpredictable results. “World Peace” is one of the examples. Formulate your goal as specific as possible. There are a variety of tools: SMART, PURE and CLEAR, etc. Their task is to make your goal clear, comprehensive to your mind. Set a deadline – as it is one of the best motivators.
For example, “I want an apartment” is better to reformulate into “In three years I want to buy (a list of parameters that are important for you, for example) an apartment in Tuscany, with the sea view, around 80 sqm, not lower than the 3rd floor”
In addition, I recommend making the goal statement attractive. Either this is in words, or a picture or a collage that empowers you every time you look at it. It is this empowering desire that is the fuel for your actions.

4. Create an action plan.

Formulate the main steps. Help your mind understand the specific actions you plan to take. After all, your mind is great at finding solutions. The plan for “Open an Online Book Store” goal consists of specific steps related to the website, suppliers, staff, branding, pricing, advertising, promotion, etc.

When the goal is far away, the stages of the plan turn something illusory in the future into specific activities, specific tasks that help to maintain a steady headway as well as to track these processes. In addition, the steps allow you to foster an important mechanism of reward for the mind that is difficult to overestimate.

From my experience as a coach and master of the Enneagram, I know that everyone needs a plan of different levels of detailing. A very specific, detailed plan can discourage some and inspire others. Listen to yourself. The plan should be a tool that effectively helps achieve the goal, rather demotivate you. It is also good to review it on a regular basis.

“Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress.”
– James Clear

5. Focus on the process, not the results.

I would single this out as the key factor. A plan, even incredibly thought through, will remain a plan if you do not integrate the specific actions of this plan into your everyday life. It is one thing to “write a book” and quite another to “write 2000 words every day.” Paulo Coelho works every day for at least a few hours, regardless of inspiration. Therefore, he publishes at least 1 book every 2 years, having sold more than 65 million copies of his books around the world.

Instead of reverently looking at an attractive goal from afar and wondering how to reach it, you can take regular steps, no matter how small they may seem. Keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Taking into account your individual approach to time management, include the processes of small steps on the path to your goal into your daily routine. Better yet, make it part of your everyday habits. Then you can smoothly start the process, avoiding exhausting decision making about that requires a lot of energy from your brain. By the way, forming new habits is not so difficult if you know how.

6. Track your progress.

I took this idea of debriefing from the air force pilot who had successfully imported this professional habit into his business career. Doing without analyzing and correcting your actions is not productive. Regular inspections help to make sure (1) that you are moving towards the goal, (2) if you went astray, adjust your actions in relation to the final goal and midway objectives.

Celebrate the small wins, the tiny triumphs, the everyday victories so that they will take you to your goals.

– Unknown

7. Create an accountability system.

Rewards are another great incentive that pulls you toward your goals. For example, if you want to read 12 books a year, you can come up with a reward for reading one book each month. From my coaching experience, I know that reward is very individual. The key is that it has to be significant to you.
The punishment system is another magic kick. What will happen if you do not do what you planned today? What will you lose, besides the fact that the goal is not getting any closer? What would you like to avoid by doing the planned action? For example, I would hate admitting to my supervisor that I failed to do something he asked me to do.
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8. Tolerance for mistakes.

When moving towards your goal, you will most probably male mistakes. This is a natural process because any goal includes actions that you have never done before. And, as I like to remind my clients, we learned to walk thanks to our falls. It is important to accept that achieving a goal is not a linear process, but a fascinating process, including one’s growth and development through trial and error. Therefore, step 6, tracking the progress, is very important to adjust after the failure. Fear of mistakes is of no use in this process, as it slows down or even stops. Unleash the power within you overcoming your fear.

Your business and work

How to improve my business? My career?

What are my true desires about my work?

What is my life vision? 

How do I enjoy my work?

What do I do to feel fulfilled at work?

Your private life

How do I successfully balance all areas of my life?

How to live a happy and satisfied life?

What is missing in my life? How to get it?

How to become the designer of my own life?