Goal Setting

I am an avid list maker and goal setter. Making lists and checking things off brings a calm to my body that I can’t even explain. I make shopping lists, daily to do lists, monthly to do lists, yearly goal lists, book reading lists… you name it and I probably have a list for it. And this works for me, because I don’t get upset at myself for the things I didn’t cross off. I focus only on the good feelings of what I did get to cross off. It’s fulfilling and satisfying in every way.

However, there is one list that I’ve always struggled with. My big goal list. This list is different than my to do lists. My goal list is the big stuff. Lose 15 lbs, buy a house, write a book, get married, etc and so on. It’s my list that rarely ever gets anything crossed off on it. This list gives me dissatisfaction. It brings me down. I look at it regularly and then put it away and procrastinate because it feels insurmountable. It feels like things I will never achieve.

So today I asked myself, why? Why is this particular list so unachievable? What sets this list apart from all my other lists? And it hit me… this list is broad. It isn’t specific. All of my other lists are very specific. “Vacuum the living room. Clean room and gather donations. Take donations to church.” etc and so on. I think in order to achieve the bigger goals we have to first break them down in to smaller ones.

For example if you want to lose weight you can’t simply write down “lose weight”. You need to break it down in to smaller, measurable steps. For me, I want to lose 15 pounds. I had to change that goal to look more like this:

1) Lose 15 pounds.

A.) Cut my calories by 200 a day

B.) Jog for 20 minutes 3x a week

C.)Do yoga 2x a week.

D.) Sleep 8 hours every night

E.) Drink ½ my body weight in ounces of water every day

F.)Dance more. Every day.

G.) Re-evaluate my progress in 6 weeks and re-adjust accordingly.

Having a clear, laid out plan for that goal makes it so much more valid mentally. I can visually see it and go “Okay, this is how I’m going to achieve this.” And it works. I spent a year trying to lose 15 pounds and couldn’t budge a pound. I made a clear cut plan and stuck to it and I’m now down 8 pounds.

My big goal of writing a book? It’s been a lifelong goal for me. I’ve wanted to do this since I was old enough to read. I’ve never done it. I’ve never even actually tried to do it. So I changed the way I approached it. Currently my plan is not to write a book. It’s to write for 30 minutes a day 3 days a week. And you know what? Since I’ve adopted that plan I’ve actually been writing closer to 30 minutes a day 7 days a week. I’m creating a habit that will eventually lead me to achieving my dream.

So what am I getting at? This: If you want to achieve a big dream or goal you NEED to break it down. You can’t just say “this is my dream” and expect it to magically happen. “A dream without a plan is just a dream.” So break it down. Ask yourself what steps you need to take in order to make that dream come true. Break those steps down as much as you need to and be as specific as possible. Then tackle each one as they come until you get there. Have faith in yourself and the process. You can achieve anything you choose to. You got this, my friends.