How to Achieve ANY Goal You Set – My 5 Step Proven Process to Getting Things Done and Accomplishing Your Big Goals

How to Achieve ANY Goal You Set – My 5 Step Proven Process to Getting Things Done and Accomplishing Your Big Goals

If you’re like most people, you set lots of goals but rarely meet them. According to researchers, 60% of people make New Year’s resolutions, yet only 7% of people actually achieve those resolutions. Whether you’re planning a goal for the year or for a new business, my 5 step proven process will help you get things done so you can accomplish even your biggest goals.

You can remember my process with the acronym G O A L S. Simple right? Well, to meet your goals, you must -

Get Clear (on what you want), 

Outline Tasks, 

Affirm Yourself, 

Level Up, and 

Sail on. 

Keep reading to learn exactly how to do these things. 

Get Clear On What You Desire

First, you need to get crystal clear about what you really want. Once you know what you want, narrow it down even further until you’ve come to the things you really want to do now.

Start by listing out all your heart’s desires in several categories of your life (spiritual, relationships, financial, personal development etc).  Don’t over think this.  Write down what comes to mind, from broad bucket list items to more immediate goals. Then select the one to three goals that you want to focus on for the time period.  Do not set yourself up for failure by overestimating what you can realistically achieve in a given time frame.  You can also decide to break up larger goals into smaller subsections to tackle.  For example, you may really want to start a business that helps provide educational resources for underprivileged children. Before you start your business, you’ll need to research and prepare a business plan. You can set researching the business and preparing a complete business plan for it as an initial goal.  As you get clarity on a specific direction for your business, you’ll also find clarity on what additional goals you need to set to make your business happen. 

When creating a goal, make sure it is SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Based). When you set SMART goals, you set yourself up to succeed. A deadline will help you work toward your goal in a set amount of time. I personally prefer 90 day goals. It’s the perfect amount of time. Not so long that it diminishes the urgency to execute but long enough that you have the time to actually accomplish some substantial goals in that timeframe. You can get a lot done in 90 days, while still having time to manage hurdles that come your way. 

When you’re clear about what you really want and what your goals are, write them them - somewhere visible - and commit to doing them. If you get into the habit of making goals without reaching them, you set yourself up for failure. When you make a goal, no matter how big or small, make sure to commit to reaching it.

Outline Tasks

After you’ve created a goal, outline the tasks necessary for you to reach your goal. If you use your ideal end result to reverse engineer the path to reaching that goal, you can create an effective strategy for yourself. 

A great strategy is to avoid ambiguity and break down each task into the smallest, complete task possible.  For example, ‘Write Business Plan’ is too broad.  Instead, “Research and decide on business model”, “Research and decide on business planning tool,” “Complete Rough Outline of Business Plan Sections” etc. are more manageable ‘self-contained’ tasks that you can focus on and check off one at a time.  Likewise, instead of the task ‘Hire New Team Member’, create the following tasks: ‘Create Job Description’, ‘Upload Job Listing’, ‘Block Out Time for Interviews’ etc. 

Be strategic in the things you do in reaching your goal. The Pareto principle says that 20% of the things you do should give you 80% of your progress toward your goal. As you plan your tasks, make sure that the time you spend working toward your goal is not spent in vain. Be mindful about what to work on and in what order. With ineffective planning, you’ll spend a lot of time working without actually getting anything done. 

To some extent, we all outline tasks in our minds. When you go to the grocery store, you may mentally work through the most efficient way to get all of the things on your list. Mentally creating a plan of attack is great for smaller tasks like getting your grocery shopping done. However, you should take the time to outline the tasks for bigger goals on paper. When you write down the tasks required to meet your goal, you create a roadmap to follow in the days and weeks ahead. The more detailed you are, the easier it will be for you to complete your outlined tasks.

As you outline tasks, determine which tasks need to be done by you and which ones can be delegated. For example, if you’re creating a website for your business, you can save time by hiring someone to build your website. Although you could learn to do it yourself, it will save you time and stress to delegate that task to someone else.

Affirm Yourself

This is the critical piece of the goal achievement equation that a lot of people miss. As you work toward your goals, you need to realize that your mindset (and subconscious) is a critical component of your success and so you must pay attention to and harness it.  You may have heard the phrase ‘Mindset is Everything’. It is so true. It may not be everything but it is at least 90% - if not higher - responsible for what we do and what happens in our lives.  In fact while most people focus on will power and other activities on the conscious level, it is the subconscious mind that is instrumental in helping you achieve your goals. The conscious mind can only take you so far.  Think of it this way:

Conscious Mind = Goal SETTER

SubConscious Mind = Goal GETTER

The subconscious mind is the part of your mind that does the majority of the work in actually achieving your goals.  If we apply the Pareto principle (see prior blog posts for definition) this is where we should be focused. Yet it is under-utilized as most people are completely unaware of this.  Don’t be like the majority of people and leave it to run on auto-pilot.  

I will be delving deeper into this topic in another blog post but for now, I will say this - affirming yourself by correctly understanding and tapping into the power of your mind is crucial for achieving your goals and dreams.  

The subconscious mind is the primary source of human behavior.  It is responsible for a lot of what happens in your body and your life.  It consists of the things below your awareness level that drive your habits, self-image, thoughts and your deeply held beliefs. 

You need to do the work necessary to renew your mind so that you can expand your success boundaries (potential for success). Too often, we underestimate our own potential. Instead of telling yourself that you can’t do something, allow yourself to grow to reach your potential and meet your goals. 

A huge part of affirming yourself is taking the time to build better beliefs. Our beliefs often dictate our emotions and actions, which in turn determine our results and outcomes. When those beliefs work against our productivity and success, we need to take the time to build better beliefs. 

Affirming yourself requires you to establish good habits. Your bad habits may be working against you. When you take the time to learn better habits, you set yourself up to succeed. If you have a habit of procrastinating, for example, create a time for yourself to work on tasks. Every time you work instead of procrastinating, you work to undermine that bad habit. Eventually, getting things done in a timely manner will be your new habit.

Create a support system that will affirm you as you work on your goals. When your spouse, children, and close friends support your goals, they can help motivate you. A good church community can be a part of your support system. When you regularly gather with others who share your faith, they can remind you of your place in God’s plan.  

As a person of faith, your purpose, power and personhood are deeply rooted in God’s direction for your life. Take time to pray about your goals and to understand His will. When you pray about your goals and the work needed to reach them, you put your plans in the most capable hands there are: God’s. Regularly spend time in Scripture to feed your mind and affirm yourself with its Truths so that you are transformed by the renewing of your mind.  With a renewed mind we have the Spirit of God and the “mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16) and you can be sure that your gift is being affirmed and fueled by the One who gave it to you. 

Level Up

Assess your current self in relation to the person you want to be, then close the gap between the two. Strength and personality assessments can be helpful in determining your potential and your personality. When you take the time to really know yourself, you are better equipped to make yourself into the person you want to be. Tools like the StrengthsFinder, DISC, Myers-Briggs, and Enneagram can be helpful in uncovering truths about yourself.

Take the time to continually grow. Read books that will give you the tools you need to succeed. Make an effort to build better habits and invest in relationships that will push you to be better than you are right now. As you grow, remember that the goal is progress, not perfection. No matter what else is happening in your life, make sure that you’re always growing. The books you read and the relationships you make can set you up for growth. 

Invest in your own leadership abilities. When you first start your business, you may not be leading anyone but yourself. But as you grow, make sure that you learn the skills needed to be an effective leader. 

For example, if you struggle with time management skills, invest in learning how to increase your productivity. By taking the time to learn and grow, you prepare your future self to handle the demands of managing a business and running a household. 

Sail On 

“You can’t change the wind. But you can adjust the sails to reach your destination”

Take time to periodically review your goals. When planning your short-term goals, look at how they play into the long-term goals you’ve created for yourself. When you regularly revisit your goals, you’re more likely to meet them.

Track your progress. The second part of this system was to outline your tasks. One thing that’s great about outlining your tasks is that you’ve created a way to measure the progress you’re making toward your goal. When you track your progress, you will know if you’re on target to meet your goal. 

Having a weekly check-in is one thing you can do to regularly review your goals and assess your progress. Whether you write in a journal or talk to an accountability partner or Coach, having a regular check-in time is a great way to make sure you’re on the right track with your goals. On weeks where you’ve not made much (or any) progress toward your goals, evaluate the reasons why you’ve showed little progress. If that week’s roadblock is something you can prevent in the future, put a system in place so that your time is freed up for meeting your goals. Continually review and adjust as needed. 

As you create and reach your goals, make sure that you’re continually growing. Growth will be an essential part of sustaining your goal-setting and goal-getting. There will be some periods where you’ll grow more than others, and that’s okay. The goal is to always be growing.

Do you want to get more done in less time in your business and at home? Download my daily planner to help you track the progress on your goals. Maximize your income without sacrificing your family and well-being. Learn more here.