Five Goal Setting Techniques That Saved Me From a Cycle of Failing

5 Goal Setting Techniques That Saved Me From A Cycle of Failing

It’s my BIRTHDAY and it’s sort of my personal New Year! Like most people, I usually take time to reflect on my life on my birthday. Am I where I want to be? Why did I fail? How did I manage to succeed even with all the challenges I faced? I’m always trying to get clarity so I could do better. Now, I am no life coach or professional but over the years and a cycle failing in certain areas of my life, I learned a few techniques that work for me and I wanted to share five goal setting techniques as they may work for you too if you’re struggling to achieve your goals.

Set Quarterly Goals

When I was younger, I used to set goals for the entire year and I didn’t know where to start. I would begin the year focused and strong but over the months my motivation would taper off, sometimes I would forget what my goals were or I would just think let me wait for the next year to start all over again. Now that I set quarterly goals it’s easier for me to keep my eye on the prize.  Now that I set quarterly goals in my personal life and professional life, I can track my progress. I still fall short of certain goals but when I assess them, it’s usually a timing issue and I can readjust and keep working towards them the following year.

Make long term plans too.

I know this seems like I’m about to contradict myself but hear me out. Some goals just cannot be achieved in one year. For instance, building a profitable business takes more than a year for the majority of small business owners. If your goal is to profit in your first year of business you would probably fail. Maybe you want to go on a vacation to a destination that’s very expensive and you will need to save for a few years or you want to purchase a home or relocate to another country. I’ve mentioned this book before but (affiliate link) Where Will You Be In Five Years is a really helpful workbook to get started on setting long term goals.

Ensure you’re setting S.M.A.R.T. goals.

This was one of the major areas where I was failing, I wasn’t setting S.M.A.R.T. goals. S.M.A.R.T. goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely. Don’t judge me but my dream car is the Mercedes Benz G-Wagon, it costs $220,000+ so putting it down as a 2019 goal would not be a S.M.A.R.T. goal for me in my current tax bracket. I can work towards it and I will never rule it out as impossible but it’s not a S.M.A.R.T. 2019 goal.

Don’t keep your goals a secret.

It’s tempting to keep your goals a secret especially if you fear you will fail but saying them out loud, sharing them with people you trust will make you accountable. This will motivate you to push a little harder and your loved ones will call you out if you’re doing things that are not aligned with your goals. I’m currently saving to purchase a home (which is ridiculously expensive here in NYC but that’s another post) and I’ve been open to my friends and family about this goal. You would be surprised by how excited others and encourage you.

Visualize Your Goals.

I read The Secret years ago and one of the things that I’ve taken away from the book is the power of visualization. I visualize myself achieving my goals and the feeling I will have, who I would tell, how my family will react. It makes the tough days when it seems like nothing will work out easier.

What goal setting techniques do you use?

SAVE TO PINTEREST

5 Goal Setting Techniques That Saved Me From A Cycle of Failing

You may also like this post:

Four Ways to Become a Happier Mom in 2019 

Four Ways to Be a Happier Mom in 2019

Shop my favorites!
catacunizc