Setting goals can give you direction and something to work towards. Goals will help bring purpose into your life and allow you to create your own future. You can set goals in regards to many aspects of your life. A few examples of areas you can focus your goals on are finances, fitness, emotional health and family. This blog is intended to guide you in following through and completing all of the goals you set. This path will help you to overcome all of the obstacles that impede you from accomplishing the goals you set. 

Step 1: Create Realistic Goals

The moment you set a goal you should have complete faith that you can accomplish it. Set a goal that pushes and stretches you. Do not set a goal that you know is impossible to accomplish. Setting a goal that is too difficult to accomplish will discourage you. For example if you want to run a marathon, you will need to start by building up to greater distances. You may consider working towards a half-marathon at first. Another key to goal setting is making your goals specific and measurable. If you leave out specific details it makes skipping over your goals easier. Set your goals with facts and a time frame in mind. Without this time frame there is no sense of urgency. 

Step 2: Break Down Large Goals into Small Steps

For this step consider once again the example of a marathon. You could break the marathon into small steps by having a goal for the number of miles you want to run for month one, month two etc. The goal of running a marathon can feel overwhelming unless it is broken down into smaller steps. Breaking your goal into smaller steps will build your confidence and keep you motivated throughout the process. You could also celebrate completing each step along the path.

Step 3: Remain Accountable

If your goal is truly pushing your limits, you may feel like giving up at times. For this reason it is important to keep yourself accountable. Write it down and tell your loved ones about it. These steps may give you the push and responsibility you need. Your family and friends will also provide a support system. With this support system you should feel no shame in asking for help. Even something as simple as having a relative do a weekly checkup on your progress can have a great influence on accomplishing your end goal. Seek guidance and counsel from those who have been successful at completing their goals. 

Step 4: Be Flexible and Adjust as Required

Assess your progress continuously because goals change and evolve. Maybe your running did not progress as much as you had hoped during the first month. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Simply take your progress from the first month and adjust as necessary. Remember that unexpected things happen in life and change is expected. If you are taking longer than anticipated do not give up. It is more important you accomplish the goal later than never at all. You may go about achieving your goal in a different way. Flexibility can allow you to keep the big picture in mind. It is important to not lose sight of your goal altogether. 

Step 5: Reward Yourself

Rewarding yourself for the small steps along the way will allow you to feel more accomplished. The reason it is important is because of the dopamine that is created in your brain upon accomplishing a task. Too often people make the mistake of only rewarding themselves when they accomplish the final goal. Rewarding yourself along your path to success is a huge motivator. Small rewards will allow your brain to understand the correlation between hard work and a spike of dopamine. Get creative and utilize rewards that are meaningful to you. 

Creating and accomplishing your goals does not always lead to discouragement and frustration. Follow these 5 steps and you will accomplish each goal you set out to do. 

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