Goal Setting – It’s all about the journey not the end

As 2020 comes to an end, it is important to make an overview of what was accomplished and reflect on what was not, setting priorities for the upcoming year – the so-called new year resolutions. When doing this, it is important to avoid feelings of frustration, stress or anxiety for what was not yet achieved, instead analyze what failed – and why -, and how can you act differently in order to go through with your goals.

There are some strategies that you can put in practice in order to help you better organize your thinking process and define ambitious but also achievable goals that can lead you to do more, and better. This process begins by realizing the very meaning of creating a goal, the importance of celebrating all the small victories and the importance of being SMART.

1st – Celebrate the small victories

A goal is an end, or a destination we aim to reach. This implies a path that separates the place we are “now” and the place where we want to be. Taking this path requires focus, discipline, but also, and above all, motivation. No matter how often we write or imagine what we want, if we never really put our “hands to work” to make it happen, our objectives inevitably fail to be achieved. If we remain stuck in the plan and fail to put the same strength in achieving, things won’t just happen, and we’ll end up unmotivated and, ultimately, we might just be drawn to a snowball of frustration. My advice is: start by accomplishing something small, a single win may not seem enough at first, but as soon as we achieve what we consider to be a ‘small victory’, we start attracting other ‘small victories’ consequently. These constant accomplishments bring us the motivation we need to continue the journey and end up achieving ever greater results. From here on we can generate another snowball, but this time, a snowball of successes!

2nd – Think SMART!

Even in the smallest of battles, it is important to set SMART goals:

• S (Specific) – Specify as much as possible your goal, so that you will be able to identify, from the start, what difficulties and opportunities you will have to deal with in order to achieve it;
• M (Measurable) – Can you measure your goal either quantitatively or qualitatively? Define how. This will help you monitor your progress over time;
• A (Achievable) – Define goals you can actually achieve. This is where the snowball effect comes in, and you have here the opportunity to define whether you create frustration or small victories;
• R (Relevant) – Always choose something that is relevant to you, only by doing so will you be motivated to achieve it;
• T (Time-based) – Choose a time frame, or a limit. This will help you staying focused and avoid falling into the mistake of leaving it ‘for tomorrow’, for a long time.

3rd – Enjoy the ride

When it comes to getting somewhere, as much as we know the way, and as much as we plan it, uncertainty happens. When it does, resilience is crucial. Think about this as a trip, if the road you were on has been cut off, don’t stress, don’t judge, simply make a change, adapt to the current situation and give yourself the space to look for purpose or meaning in that challenge. We always have something to learn on the way so never forget to keep an open mind and enjoy the ride.

Do small, smart, always enjoy the ride, and you will attract big.