Every failure in life comes down to a mistaken or poorly thought-out strategy. Sometimes we fail simply because we set off without knowing where we’re going (“I’ll get there, even if I don’t know where I’m headed”). In life we need to set ourselves goals: ambitious ones in some cases, but always realistic and achievable.
Today, with the help of Aida Baida Gil, author of the website Coach de la Profesional, we’ll try to help you lay out some steps to reach your goals faster, and above all to set yourself clear, well-defined targets.
1. Identify what you really want
Before you start, you need to identify what you really want to do in life, because in many cases we tend to do things out of an old instinct: pleasing others. What your parents, your partner, your cousin or your siblings want, what they approve of, isn’t necessarily what you really want. Look for something you enjoy, something you feel passionate about, and the struggle to reach your goal won’t feel like a burden in your daily life.
2. Find the right moment: today
Much of failure lies in putting things off. If loan interest is the death of savings, postponing your dreams ends up making you comfortable where you are. The moment to fight for your dream, for a change, isn’t when you’re ready, isn’t when it suits you, isn’t when you have the energy to start; the right moment isn’t the 15th or the 20th. The right moment to start is today.
3. Define your goals
For your goals to be valid and achievable, they must be:
- Specific: what, when, how and where. “Exercise more” isn’t a specific goal. An alternative could be “do 30 minutes of yoga three days a week”.
- Realistic: setting out to run a marathon when you’ve never exercised in your life wouldn’t be realistic; aiming to “run for 40 minutes on Mondays” might be.
- Feasible: aiming to earn a million euros in six months when you’ve just started your business doesn’t seem very feasible (although if you think you can, go for it). Ideally, break these big goals down into smaller, feasible ones, and little by little you’ll reach the target you set yourself.
- Measurable: you have to know when you’ve achieved your goal. “Earn more money” is a poor example of something measurable; an alternative would be “earn 1,500 euros”, for example.
- Time-bound: setting yourself a deadline will help you focus and work harder to achieve your goal. Following the previous example, you could replace “earn 1,500 euros” with “earn 1,500 euros in three weeks”.
4. Don’t underestimate the time or energy you’ll need
Sometimes we underestimate the time and energy an activity will take because we don’t allow for possible setbacks, interruptions and hiccups. The trouble is that this tends to be hugely demotivating, because we run into real life, and life is a continuous exam you sit every single day. You’ll lose some battles and win others, and both outcomes are good for your learning. You simply have to expect it and keep going.
In business, don’t underestimate the importance of capital reserves either. As we’ve discussed on other occasions, many entrepreneurs start out with just enough money, thinking everything will go smoothly first time, and that isn’t always the case.
These are some sound tips for achieving your goals. And always remember that if you fail, that’s not the end: a person isn’t measured by how many times they fall, but by the energy with which they get back up and carry on fighting.
Inspired by: 6 reasons you’re not reaching your goals (in Spanish).
Further reading
- The mindset of an entrepreneur
- You can be a successful businessperson
- Life is risk: if you’ve never failed, you’ve never lived
- The secret of success lies in a good accelerator and good brakes
Featured image: Paxson Woelber, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
