How to Achieve Your Goals: Step-by-Step Planning & Staying on Track
You’ve got a Most Alive Goal. You’re feeling pretty alive about it. You’re ready to start going after it.
Now how the heck do you make sure you achieve your goal?
There are two keys to goal achievement once a goal is set:
Break goals into manageable, actionable steps.
Stay committed.
People seem to struggle with ‘how’ to break goals down and to figure out ‘why’ they just can’t stay committed. I’ll cover the ‘how’ and' ‘why’ for both, but focus on those respective core challenges.
How to Break a Goal Down Into Steps
Quickly first, why bother? Because it’s timeless wisdom, it’s proven science, and it just makes sense.
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.“ - Lao Tzu, 6th Century BC, and “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” - Unknown (I bet you can think of more)
"Of all the things that can boost emotions, motivation, and perceptions during a workday, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work." - Amabile and Kramer, 2011 (this was in the last blog, very good!)
“If I want to get from one side of this room to the other, I have to move across the space in between. Along the way, I must move through each point along the way. Until teleportation is a thing, this is just how it works.” - me, just now
But how to break a goal down seems to be the bigger issue. So here are two methods I use:
Fill In the Gap. Write two bullets on a digital device: your current state and your goal state. Then, add a bullet in between for every step you can think of that needs to happen to get from the first to the second. They’ll change later as you progress, that’s fine. What you need is a step-by-step map that makes sense to you on how you could get from here to there. It really takes the cloudiness out of it. Then start with the next-up bullet, return to your list when done, and update it as needed. Repeat.
The Progress Question. Wherever you are, whenever you’re stuck, ask yourself, “What can I do next to try moving towards my goal?” If you’re really, really stuck, ask someone you trust that question. Whoever you get the answer from, do that next step. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Notice how it doesn’t say, "the best step” or “what step should I take?” That’s very intentional. There isn’t a best, right, or should at this point. “More is lost to indecision than bad decisions.” - Gino Wickman.
Using either of those two, you’re set up for progress and momentum. All that can derail you is stopping.
Why Can’t I Stay Committed to Anything?
Could be lots of reasons. (Super helpful, Dan, thanks.) GIVE me a minute, yeesh. Let’s take a look at some common ones I’ve experienced myself, and with my clients. How serious are you about your goal? Do all 5 and I bet you’ll stay committed. (Email dan@most-alive.com to propose an actual bet, I dare you.)
Level 1: Tune into your motivation. Any time my clients set goals, we talk about why it matters to them. Let’s bring that commitment struggle right up front. “Why bother with this?” They usually get pretty into their answer.
Try it out: spend a few minutes writing why your goal matters to you. If it doesn’t inspire you, pick a new goal. If it does, check back in with it regularly, and when you feel commitment slipping.
Level 2: Visualize achievement. We also usually spend some time picturing what it’ll feel like when they achieve their goal. Doing this also helps demystify success, giving our brains a chance to experience it. When we can ‘see’ the path, we can more easily stay on the path.
Try it out: meditate for a few minutes on what it’ll feel like to achieve your goal. What emotions are there? How do you feel about yourself? How do others feel about you? How does it benefit people you care about (including you)?
Level 3: Visualize failure. A mouse will run toward cheese, but it’ll run even faster if a cat is chasing it toward the cheese. If you did the Level 2 Visualization, you’ve got your cheese. Now it’s time for your cat.
Try it out: meditate for a few minutes on how it’d feel not to make any changes, not to take any action, not to make any progress on this goal. It’s a month, a year, a decade from now, and you’re still in the same spot. How will you feel about yourself? What will others think? What’ll be the impact on your loved ones?
Level 4: Make it easy on yourself.. I’ve had such great success implementing research on habits, particularly from Atomic Habits by James Clear, into my life. I’ve had chronic back issues for a decade plus and found an app about two years ago with exercises that help. I’ve done those exercises damn near every day for the last year after implementing the proven habit-building tips from that book.
Try it out: read Atomic Habits, OR email dan@most-alive.com for a cheat sheet. Who doesn’t love a shortcut?!
Level 5: Don’t do it alone. This study shows that sharing a written goal, plan, and progress report with a trusted friend increases likelihood of success. This abstract shows that it might be most effective if we share with someone we perceive as “higher status” than us, or whose opinion we consider important.
Try it out: share your written goal, plan, and progress (don’t skip this part!) with someone whose opinion matters to you.
Level Billion: Hire a Strategy Coach and get all of this!
Most of the time, all that stops us from reaching a goal is that we stop going after it. This is also timeless wisdom, proven science, and makes sense:
“The person who [is persistent], discovers that “Old Man Failure” finally becomes tired, and makes his departure. Failure cannot cope with persistence.” - Napoleon Hill
“Grittier students are more likely to earn their diplomas; grittier teachers are more effective in the classroom. Grittier soldiers are more likely to complete their training, and grittier salespeople are more likely to keep their jobs. The more challenging the domain, the more grit seems to matter.” - Angela Duckworth
Imagine someone who never quits, but instead finds new ways to keep trying, keep going. They’re going to get there. It’s just a matter of when they lose interest or motivation (or when they die; that one’ll stop you pretty quick, too).
So if you’re ready, try the above. And if you want help sticking to your goals, I’m waiting.
Dan Greco
Owner and Strategy Coach at Most Alive
Email dan@most-alive.com
Website most-alive.com
Instagram @mostalivellc
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