Four Steps to Actually Achieve Your Goals in 2024

If you have ever set a goal for yourself only to quit when things get tough, you are not alone. We all have been there and done that. Setting a goal is one of the easiest things to do; the difficult part is achieving it. 

Take the New Year’s resolution as an example; according to research, more than 50% of people tend to give up on their annual goals within the first month of goal-setting. Many people also find themselves in an endless loop where they keep setting the same goals one year after the other. 

Here are some effective strategies that can help you actually get things done and achieve your goals. 

Be Realistic

The first rule is to set realistic goals, which means that you should avoid setting a broad and obscure goal. Instead, you should aim for something very specific. For instance, instead of having the goal of writing a book, you should jot down the exact genre that you would like to write, such as a crime thriller. 

Apart from setting specific and realistic goals, you will also want to ensure that your goal is achievable and that it is according to your circumstances. As tempting as it might be to be ambitious, it is crucial not to let go of reality and to be pragmatic with goal-setting.

When it comes to setting goals, you will also want to understand the importance of visualization. Visualization can help you make your goal crystal clear in your mind because if you cannot see yourself being what you want to be, then what is the point of trying in the first place?

Visualization is Key

One potential challenge with setting long-term goals is that the human brain is wired in a way to prioritize short-term goals that induce instant gratification. This aspect perfectly explains why you would prefer eating sweets and scrolling on social media instead of focusing on the things that will actually get you closer to your goals. 

Goals that exist further out into the future feel less rewarding. This is where the importance of the power of visualization comes in, especially when you have goals that are for the future, such as buying a house and setting up an emergency fund.

You might want to create a vision board and include all of the essential details that you see for your future self. Don’t feel shy to add edited pictures of your plus version that you anticipate to be in the future. By doing so, you will see an ideal future image of yourself, which is actually much more emotionally activating than simply thinking about possible future scenarios. 

Track Your Goals

When it comes to reaching your goals, you will want to leverage two aspects—the first is a sprint breakdown, and the second is tracking your goals. Once you have decided on a particular goal, you will want to create a plan and track the progress over time.

This aspect is super essential, and it is nearly a sure way for you to tell that you are indeed on the right path and that you are steering towards the right direction. For instance, if your goal is to get a book published, then you will want to start with a plan, which, in this case, will be an outline. Then, you will want to break your bigger goal into smaller milestones as a way to ensure that you are giving yourself small rewards for your consistent accomplishments. 

In the case of book writing, your smaller milestones could be to write a certain number of words or one specific section of your outline. You will also want to stay one step ahead and assess the next move carefully, such as looking for the top literary agents in NYC if you live in NYC and have completed your first draft and you are ready to send out query letters to find a prospective match with a literary agent who will be willing to represent your work to one of the best publication houses in the world. 

Nonetheless, you get the point: to achieve your goals, you will want to track your progress to stay motivated and consistent. Motivation comes from within, and you are more likely to stay motivated when you see yourself completing one milestone after the other. 

This aspect also leads us to the importance of breaking a bigger goal into smaller and essentially more manageable chunks. Subsequently, you will want to create a timeline for when you want to accomplish each of the tiny milestones that are part of the bigger goal. 

This way, you can make sprints and several adjustments as needed along with tracking your progress. 

Not Fearing Failure

We humans are exclusively designed with flaws, which is why there will be times when you are going to fall short of your goal. You might not be able to fulfill what you set out to do. For instance, if you have set for yourself the daily task of writing one thousand words every day, and you might get specifically late one day, which might cause you to write only three hundred words because you might be equally committed to going to bed early and getting your eight hours of sleep. 

Now, this aspect might cause you to have doubts and think that you have already failed at a certain task; however, this kind of thought process is actually unhealthy because even if you are only writing three hundred words on that particular day, it is still called process as you will be moving an inch closer to your goal.

So, here is what you will want to do: you will not want to give in to the temptation of failing with abandon; instead, you will want to make the most of any given situation, even if it is moving a single inch until it is moving in the direction of your goal. No matter how tiny the movement, it is still considered progress, which is essential for success.