You know what drives me crazy? The toxic cycle of setting unattainable goals. But, after years of "collecting experiences" and struggling with different issues, I feel like I'm finally moving away from this cycle and on to something different, a place that’s more fulfilling and calm.

I chose this topic as my second article because 2021 is the first year that I started without any yearly plans or unattainable targets. No must-haves or must-dos. Instead, it felt like the perfect moment for a change. It just felt right!

A friend and I decided to become success buddies. And this drops us directly into the hotness of this topic, the ability we all need to acquire if we don’t already have it: goal-setting. My friend P and I decided to take each other's plans seriously. We started reporting our weekly goals every Monday and having a short feedback call every Friday. And you know what? It’s only our second month, but it’s already pushed us toward our current goals. They might be tiny steps, but they’re tiny steps in the right direction, what do you think?

In this post, we’ll look at the reasons for setting goals, how to stay committed, how to make progress, and the importance of not being stuck on a certain goal. Finally, I’ll share seven steps of goal-setting to help you get your life and tasks under control and out of your precious way.

A goal is defined as your set target – your desired end, so to speak, which may be quantitative or qualitative – and will definitely affect your subjective well-being. Goal-setting is defined as a form of self-motivation. It’s a way to evaluate your progress and compare it to a set standard.

Setting goals will definitely improve your performance at any task. It will allow you to direct your attention toward tasks most relevant to your set goal. It will help you be motivated and prioritize your time and to-dos. Finally, if it’s chosen well, a goal can increase your enthusiasm and give you the persistence to reach your desired target.

Without commitment, the goal-setting procedure is just a time-consuming gimmick not worth your effort. If you feel like lying to yourself, why not look in the mirror and do it that way, instead of taking your time to create goals you’ll never reach. I know this sounds very harsh, and I’m not in a position to judge since I failed to reach my set goals more than once (today for that matter and yesterday as well). And yet goal-setting may be the key to our issues!

Be warned – it won’t be easy. It’s about trial and error, failing and moving on, and resetting your goals again and again.

To strengthen your commitment, create an implementation intention and put it on repeat. How do you go about doing that? First, you need to be aware that an implementation intention is similar to a habit or a highly routinized skill. You create a mental link between a specific future situation and the intended goal-directed response. This means you will set the when, where, and how.

An example might be: Tonight after dinner, I will do research on motivation at my desk at home. To make these skills automatic, you need to keep pairing the relevant behavior with your environmental stimulus. Shortly: Put it on repeat and do it again and again.

Why should you even consider setting goals?

Commitment commitment commitment

Do you know your goals? Your dreams come true?

01

Examine your results, extract 3 to 5 specific goals, and name and describe each one.

Go back to what you’ve written.

02

Why do you want to pursue them? How attainable are they and when would you like to reach them?

Rank your goals in order of importance.

03

I want to hear a “hell yes I can!” If not, go back and double-check your beliefs – is this really something you want?

Now split the main goals into smaller sub-goals, achievable goals that look promising to you – can you do it?

05

What kind of impact would it have on your life? On the lives of others?

What would achieving each goal mean to you?

04

I want to see you setting weekly targets and planning them out for the next week.

We go even smaller!

06

Sign your own personal goal contract and maintain your commitment. If it would be helpful, find a success buddy, like I did. It’s one of the best decisions I made this year, and it’s only the beginning!

Now...commit.

07

To help illustrate this concept, let’s say you decided on being creative as the key goal with the highest priority. Why do you want to be creative? Let’s say you want to become visible, an opinion-leader and grow your social media following.

How would that change your life? It may provide you with opportunities for growth, networking and being published in magazines. It may allow you to feel proud, fulfilled and become a happier person and while so become a more content family member.

So - what does being creative mean to you? Which steps can you take every day to achieve this goal? One example may be creating a content plan for your Instagram or Pinterest profile, you may wish to set up days and specific hours for research and actual hands on creating. Don’t forget to write it all up into your schedule and start doing!

If there’s one thing you do today please let it be this:

What is the one task you’ve been thinking about and hating on? Yes, the one you just thought of! Let me tell you: This is cluttering your mind and taking your focus away from way more important tasks. Get it done now! You can’t because it is too big? Okay, that’s fair! What’s the next best step to get closer to the finish line? Share and commit! We want to support you! I want to support you! Let’s get these beastly tasks out of our way so we can have a freer mind – less frustration and more satisfaction!

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