When it comes to accomplishing our goals we’re encouraged to reach for the stars and set big hairy audacious goals. Although it’s great to be ambitious when we set goals like this, we get so overwhelmed by how we’re going to actually manage to accomplish such things that we don’t bother to take action in the first place. As a result our goals simply remain unrealized dreams.
With a few changes in the way we do things and the adoption of some simple mindsets we can make progress towards our goals much faster.
- Bite Off Less Than You Can Chew
Most people never take action or stop half way to the goal line because they bite off more than they can chew. Eventually the goal they have in mind goes from being the pursuit of a dream to a daily chore. As a result they lose the motivation to work on a goal and before they know it the goal is yet another thing they didn’t follow through on.
By starting with bite sized pieces, our view of how much progress we’ve made shifts dramatically. Let’s say you want to write a book. Rather than concerning yourself with finishing the whole book, focus on finishing the first chapter or even the first page. It’s far less daunting and you will actually feel a sense of accomplishment as opposed to feeling like you’re goal is so far off.
- Take Action Daily
The only way to get any sort of result is to take action towards a goal. By taking action every single day you create momentum. As momentum increases, the results taken from your action will become much more substantial, and eventually you’ll be at a point where you actually can’t stop because you’ve reached the point of no return.
- Celebrate Small Victories
When you assess the progress towards a goal you have choices. You can either focus on how far you have to go or look at how far you’ve come. When you do the latter, it tends to motivate and inspire you. When you do the former it demoralizes and demotivates you. We’re so caught up in getting to where we want to go that we forget to enjoy the journey and celebrate the small victories along the way.
- Learn from Setbacks
Setbacks and failure are a part of accomplishing anything worth doing in life. In almost every story of massive success that you’ll come across, there are MAJOR setbacks that took place. Setbacks are usually opportunity in disguise and we have to remember that sometimes we’ll take 2 steps back in order take 20 steps forward. If you look back over the course of your life you’ll notice the serendipitous nature of setbacks.
- Keep Charging Forward
Many people tend to give up on a goal when they feel stuck or as though there is not light at the end of tunnel. One of the best ways to get past this is to adopt that attitude belief that when you feel the most frustrated and most ready to give up, you’re on the verge of a major breakthrough. It would be a shame to make so much progress towards a goal and abandon the pursuit in your final hours. Often, accomplishment occurs on the final hours of a goal.
- Take a Break
We live in a world today where people seem intent on moving a million miles an hour. As a result people suffer from anxiety and diseases that didn’t exist before we got ourselves in such a hurry. It’s important to make a point daily to take a break from everything and do something without any purpose other than for the enjoyment of whatever you’re doing. Don’t walk for the sake of exercise. Just walk for the sake of walking.
- Detach from the Outcome
Our need for instant gratification is so strong that when we don’t see a result form something we’re working on immediately we become tempted to abandon its pursuit. But consider the actions you take the seeds that you plant in order for your goal to come to fruition. If you pull those seeds out of the ground to check on the progress of their growth you’re essentially starting the process all over again. So, let nature take its course and stay detached from the outcome.
Treat your goals as part of the game of life and don’t take everything so seriously. If you do that you’ll find yourself not only enjoying the process but making much more progress.
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Written on 10/04/2011 by Srinivas Rao. Srinivas is the author of the Skool of Life, where he writes about surfing, personal development, and things you never learned in school but should have. If you’re ready to to become a student, check out his FREE course on the 7 most valuable lessons they never taught in school. You can follow him on twitter @skooloflife. | Photo Credit: caitlinator |
