3 steps to accomplishing your personal goals
“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!”
― Benjamin Franklin
That quote by Mr. Franklin has long been one of my favorites. Ole Ben was a very wise man, and that could well be one of his wisest sayings.
Time is always moving forward. Truth be told, you're headed somewhere whether you realize it or not. If you don't create a roadmap for yourself, there's no telling where you'll end up.
The good news is when you're ready to accomplish your goals, you can guide your path in any direction that you want it to go.
Here are three simple, actionable steps to take to guide your life in your preferred direction:
1 - Identify your goals
This sounds like an obvious step, but few people concretely identify their goals.
For example, a common goal that many people have is to retire early, and comfortably. It's a nice idea, but it’s way too vague to be of any use.
To turn a "dream" into an achievable goal you need specificity…
What does early retirement mean to you? Is it retiring at 40? Or perhaps 50?
What exactly would a "comfortable retirement" look like for you?
In regards to the above sample goal, what dollar amount would you want to have in your investment accounts by the time you reach retirement age? Avoid generalizations.
Another example: If your goal is to lose weight, write down something specific like "lose 20 pounds in three months". Keeping things concrete will help keep your goals realistic.
Once you have your concrete goal identified, put it in a place where you will definitely (and repeatedly) see it.
A few years ago, "dream boards" were popular. Dream boards are simply poster boards on which people would attach representations of their goals like short phrases, photos from magazines and other items.
I know it sounds silly, but visual aids are a powerful reminder of your goals. Keep your goals somewhere where you will see them at the start of every day to keep them fresh in your mind.
2 - Map out the steps you plan to take in order to ultimately achieve your goal
Having a concrete, achievable goal is a good first step but it means nothing without a game plan. Pull up your word processor and map out the general steps to your goal. For example the steps toward early, comfortable retirement might be to save money, get a promotion, invest wisely and pay off your mortgage.
Once you have the broad strokes down, identify the concrete actionable steps you’ll need to take to get you to each milestone.
For example, the first step towards early retirement might be to save money. Your actionable steps might be to write down your monthly income, identify key areas of waste or over-expenditure and calculate a feasible amount to save every month that will get you to your goal.
Again, be sure to write everything down. Don't leave even the small steps to chance. Once you've completed a task, tick it off and keep a record of all of your accomplishments.
3 - Revise your plan monthly (as needed)
Once a month, sit down at your desk or kitchen table and check on your progress.
What concrete steps have you ticked off this week? What took longer than expected? Are you going stir crazy because you cut out too many leisure expenses in an effort to save?
Don't be afraid to change things that aren't working, but always keep your end goal in mind.
After your monthly assessment, write a paragraph or two about what you did to accomplish your goals. When you're feeling frustrated you can look back over your accomplishments and boost your self-esteem.
Once you have everything written down and mapped out, you'll be able to eventually accomplish your goal by following your written roadmap.
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