The Goal Series: How to Make Successful Goals, Part 1

The Goal Series. How to Make Goals that Stick.

A quick Google search of the word “goals” will give you thousands of articles from, “what are goals”, “how to make goals”, “10 steps towards achieving your goals”, to “don’t have a goal, here’s one”, and “are you tired of your goal?” This topic is honestly saturated.

A quick scroll through Instagram or any social media platform with the hashtag #goals will generate any goals you can think of such as #realtionshipgoals #housegoals #hairgoals #leggoals #vactiongoals #bacongoals (yes I have seen that). As crazy as some of those #goals can get, the word goals constantly surrounds us.  Has the word “goals” become so typical that is has become watered down lacking any structure and impact anymore? 

It seems the term goals has become like cotton candy all pretty, colorful, and fluffy but lacks any substance and something you can sink your teeth into. Goals seem to be a picture we see of a celebrity or an Insta famous person and we want to be them or we wish we could have whatever they have. Goals in this social media world now sound like “I wish” and “If only”and “must be nice”.  Therefore, I feel it is crucial to not only talk about goals in a deeper manner but to talk about goals in a practical way in which you can apply to your life.

In this series, I am going to be discussing 5 principles that are key to successful goals. Are there only 5 things to have successful goals? Not at all and 5 is honestly just the number of bullet points I grouped together. Disclaimer! These points are what I call ingredients to a recipe that I have learned and observed with goals. Life is a learning process. Some recipes may look differently for others and recipes are sometimes modified. I simply want to pass on what I have learned thus far.

1.Whatever goals you make in life, do it for the right reasons.

I remember when I first started college; I was excited to start a new chapter in my life. I was a 1st generation college student, so part of me wanted to prove to my family and the generations after me that I could do it and that it could be done. That is not a bad reason right? Part of me wanted to go to college to have good employment opportunities. That is a good reason as well. I was most excited, however, to have the opportunity to learn. I truly had an interest and desire to learn and further my education. I was intrinsically motivated towards my goal of earning a college degree.

Psychologists Dr. Deci and Dr. Ryan coined the term intrinsic motivation, which means you do something for the sheer pleasure, desire, and interest in something, not necessarily for some reward or external outcome. Intrinsic motivation was one of the many factors that kept me going through the ups and down of college. It also shaped my decision to truly major in what I wanted to learn. I did not make the economy situation sway me on what I decided to major in either. Gasp! I am sure people would disagree with me on that but in the end I had to go with what was in my heart.

One of the most important checks on making sure your goals are for the right reasons is to remember that time is valuable. Time is one of the most expensive concepts. We cannot get time back. We can only keep moving forward therefore make sure you are spending your time wisely on your goals and doing them because you really have a desire for them.

Next, make sure you are not setting your goals based on what everyone else is doing or what someone else thinks you should do. This is even true with the people that we love the most like our family. Have you ever heard of someone or know someone whose mother is living through the daughter or a father living through his son? I sure have. It happens a lot. Sure there are people in our lives that have sound wisdom and good intentions, which we should not dismiss, but make sure you are not forgetting your own goals in the process. This is your life to live with a positive future ahead.

Finally, ask yourself if your goals are not only to better yourself but to help those around you. You could have multiple reasons for your goals like earning  money or owning a home. Those are not bad reasons. If your only living life for yourself, all the riches and honors in the world cannot fill the void that will come from distancing yourself from caring and helping others. Sure being financially stable and having nice things are not necessarily bad goals. My point is that if your goals are only focused on external outcomes, it will not last.

If I had based earning my college degree on solely external reasons, I would have quit and burned out easily. I stayed in college because not only did I love learning but I wanted to help people in any capacity my degree took me. In the end, making goals for the right reasons will not exempt you from disappointment and even regrets along the way. It does means that you can hold your head up high in confidence knowing that not only are doing what is in your heart to do, but you are working towards your goals to better the world around you. No one can take that away from you. In fact making goals and working towards your goals with honesty, integrity, and love for those goals will keep you going. What happens when you lose that intrinsic motivation towards your goals and you forget the reasons why you started? Stay tuned for next week on part 2 of this 3 part goal series on, “How to Make Successful Goals”.


Take care,



FOLLOW NAOMI ON SOCIAL MEDIA



            


25 thoughts on “The Goal Series: How to Make Successful Goals, Part 1

  1. Lovely tips, Naomi! Love your motivational blog posts, keep up the good work!

    I was told that we need to make SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time), didn’t know that there are other insights to goal-setting 🙂

    Love,

  2. OOOH I’m so excited for this series! As a personal trainer, I can definitely relate to what you said about goals in this post. I especially like what you said about how having your goals help someone. I recently created a Charity Miles team for clients and fans and love hearing from them how motivating earning money for charity has been. Can’t wait for the next post in this series 🙂

  3. This is a wonderful post. We have to be open to the fact that goals evolve as we progress through life. Being a slave to time and comparing ourselves to others hinders that progress. You shared great tips. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

  4. My job is going through a performance management change in which we need to write SMART goals. Goals that are attainable, measurable and have a timeline. While a tad more difficult to right, I like have a clear light at the end of the tunnel for my goals! I enjoyed your tips for writing goals!!!

  5. This was such a great and inspirational read! I have so many goals but I never stop to sit and write them down and reflect on them. Thanks for the encouragement!

    xo
    Alice

  6. Love this!! Especially the point you make about setting goals not because it’s what you THINK you should do based on everyone else’s opinion.

  7. I’ve always been a very goal oriented person, but I love how you’re diving into the deeper meaning behind our goals (fulfillment). Great read!

  8. this is soooooo true!! Goals have turned into something entirely different. ( I love the #bacongoals part haha!) GREAT post!

  9. Love this, Naomi. I am guilty for basing my goals and degree choice on the current economic state and what people were predicting its future needs to be when I was younger. I found myself unhappy and unfulfilled later in my career, despite a great job and great money. I wish I had the maturity level and the forward-thinking mentality that you have when I was your age. I am now pursuing goals that involve helping others as those are the goals that most fulfilling. Awesome post. Keep up the great work! xo

Comments are closed.