“Life is a marathon, not a sprint”—but who can wait until the 26th mile to savor the joy of accomplishment? Without regular milestones to mark progress, it’s easy to get discouraged and give up.
Whether your long-term goal is to tour Europe, become a technical writer, or help your child with Down syndrome get into college, the secret of long-term success is creating a “map” to your goal. Follow that map, and you’ll be surprised how much simpler things become.
New Year’s resolutions are on everyone’s mind this time of year. With or without official “resolutions,” here’s a template for setting and achieving goals.
(See also: BridgingApps Planning and Goal-Setting Apps.)
- Be clear on your goal from the beginning. Make your goals SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-based. Very few people reach any goal without knowing where they want to be, when they mean to get there, and what “there” will actually look like.
- Plan backwards from your destination. What will be the last step to achieve your goal? The step before that? The step before that? Write each step down, working back to where you are now. Once you know the first step you’ll take from here, put it on your calendar for the near future.
- Decide on your time frame after mapping your journey. Once the steps are laid out, you’ll have a better idea how long things will take. You may realize that your “one-year goal” is a better fit for three years—or six months.
- Plan “milestone celebrations” to reward yourself as each step is completed. Choose personally meaningful rewards—anything from a “brag” on social media to lunch at your favorite café.
- If any “progress step” will take longer than a month to complete, break it into smaller steps. You’ll stay better motivated with more frequent milestone celebrations.
- Remember that shared celebrations are the best kind. Even if your favorite rewards are solo activities, always keep someone updated on your progress. Congratulations (and accountability) are great motivators.
- Plan a bigger celebration when you achieve your final goal. If you rewarded earlier progress with a bubble bath or a manicure, your ideal “completion reward” may be a day at the spa.
- Practice a “success is inevitable” attitude. Whether talking to others or to yourself, avoid filling goal-related conversations with “ifs” and maybes.” And say, “I’m doing this,” not “I’m trying to do this.”
- But stay flexible and resilient. Almost everyone underestimates time and challenges on the path to major goals. As you journey forward, keep alert for signs that your course needs adjusting.
- Remember that time spent on worthwhile goals is never wasted. It sometimes does happen that a goal is never achieved—at least not in the form originally visualized. That doesn’t mean you’ve “failed.” Rather than despairing, focus on what you’ve learned—about meeting challenges, about your real desires and dreams, about spotting opportunities. Then put those lessons to use when planning new goals.