How to set your goals & reach your dreams?

We all love a good plan. Most of us start with the right intent. We set goals, and a few among us even go a step further and create a vision board or plan a roadmap. Sadly enough, many of us never follow through with the plan. More often, the magnitude of the goals intimidates us. In turn, the fear turns into frustration, and we finally give up and think of ourselves as failures. And the added challenge is the commitment to the plan. Regrettably, many of us expect magic to follow after the plannings and outlines. For many of us, the rebel in us decided to create an undisciplined lifestyle. That, by itself, makes it hard to adhere to a plan.

Here are some of the most important factors I would like you to think through. Take a few moments and reflect on these questions.

1. How can you make this change?
2. What type of change, large or small?
3. How can you plan to create a lasting change in your life?

The key to creating a habit is active participation. So when it comes to your habits, you must plan to create an environment that will allow you the freedom to do what you have committed to. A lot of this has to do with what you feed yourself mentally and emotionally.

Most people go for an economical solution in their search for answers. More often than not ignoring the mental and emotional aspects of setting and achieving their goals.

Think of something that works best in your life when it comes to creating habits. I would like you to ask yourself how you can incorporate these practices while you set out to achieve your goals and make those dreams a reality. What behaviors can you work on till they become part of your subconscious? The more you find ways of integrating these behaviors into your life, the easier achieving your goals will become.

Let me ponder on an example of a habit that I made intentionally for myself, writing. I always knew of the value of writing. For many years I just assumed I was not a real writer. I had no passion for it, and therefore I had not written much. 

As I grew older and began my work as a soft skills trainer, business coach, and educator, I started to see the value of this in my work, in who I was as a person, in how things changed for my learners. I started implementing small habits into my day that supported my goal to be a more skilled writer. I created a simple way to reach a goal. For example, I set the mark to write an article of 500 words. I would grab a post-it note, list down thoughts and ideas that I want to include in my write-up. Whenever I had a few minutes free, I would pull out my notes and keep writing. Keep at it until I finish half an article in one sitting. 

What does this mean to you? The answer is twofold. First, let us break down the larger goals into smaller achievable milestones. Achieving smaller milestones is the best motivator. Reward yourself for achieving each smaller goal as they help you keep your eye on the prize. 

The second is consistency. Constant action will help you get to where you need to be. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. Continuous efforts help build habits. That, in turn, will help you set goals. Achieving these goals will, in turn, become the point where dreams become a reality. That is key to success.

Go on and give it a try. You will have fun, I am sure!

Deepak

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