How To Finally Set Goals That You Actually Achieve And Plan Them

It’s that time of the year again where everyone is excited about the new year and having a fresh, new start.

the energy is high and I love the idea of starting new. it is time to set your goals for the new year and plan them.

but remember that doesn’t have to be just a new year thing you can do it any time of the year (so, if you’re reading this past the new year; know that you can always start now);

each day there’s an opportunity to start new, create, and do what we feel pulled to do.

I know there’s a voice right now in your mind telling you ” to wait what if it didn’t work, what if you fail, what will everyone think of you,

you’ll be disappointed and miserable” because of you;

the voice starts to give you questions of doubt and fear to blind you from taking a step toward what you must do. and right for you that you deep down feel

goals especially big ones that are out of your comfort zone but you know deep down those are the ones you must follow to live the life you dream of.

this voice is present in my mind right now while writing this

” it’s telling me you don’t know that much to offer anything, who you are to give others advice, you don’t know much about goal setting

(when in reality I’ve been searching about this topic every year) look at you..etc”.

I learned to acknowledge what it is, remember that it is part of the process of going out and achieving my goals and building my dream life,

work on my mind to go after what I want using tools (such as affirmations, journaling);

practice taking action on what scares me one at a time, remembering that if I don’t I’ll regret not taking action

HOW YOUR BRAIN WORKS IN REGARDS TO GOALS

Fear and self-doubt are present in everything you try to go for. they are a natural part of going beyond your comfort zone.

it’s the proof that you’re going beyond your comfort zone because everything outside your comfort zone will give your brain a signal that you’re re-entering a new territory that is unfamiliar to you

and if it’s familiar you would not feel fear or self-doubt. 

your brain constantly trying to put you down and keep you from doing something scary even if it’s not life-threatening.

that is a default thing because it’s trying to protect you from discomfort. it’s designed to seek pleasure, avoid pain and be efficient by thinking the same things again

and if you lived a life dictated by fear and self-doubt and going for instant gratification it will take effort, mind work to start to break these fears one by one;

they won’t go completely but I believe it will get easier to choose based on the bigger picture instead of fear. to choose based on growth and curiosity

knowing this about how our minds work gave me the relief that I am not weak, loser or failure of a person no matter what thoughts I have.

I hope it does the same for you too

Journal your thoughts about fears and self-doubt and everything in between.

grab pen and paper and start writing everything that comes to your mind when you’re thinking of doing a specific goal.

WHY YOU MUST NOT LET YOUR FEARS AND SELF DOUBT WIN AND START SETTING THOSE GOALS

the pain you feel from not doing something that you really want to go for;

it burns you from inside, crushes your soul, makes you seek comfort and distraction that’s the pain of regret,

it doesn’t feel good, does it? , it’s Very painful, isn’t it?

that is the pain you and I sure have experienced before.

if you don’t do what you want and feel right for you regardless of whether it’ll work or not YOU’LL REGRET not give a full-on try at least

you can’t have guarantees before you start and even after you start you’ll have to believe it’ll work or you’ll learn something valuable from it.

the work that you need to do is on your mind to believe it until it manifests by taking action

THIS EXERCISE will help you take action and go after what your gut is telling you to go after.

Imagine this is the last day, hour, a minute of your life and you’re leaving this world feeling this immense pain in your heart for not going for it whatever that is for you. it’s pretty painful, is not it?

(there’re tears in my eyes writing this. it is painful I know I have been running from doing anything in my life because of fear and self-doubt

that’s why I feel so much pain in my chest, I know how regret feels).

what if it’s the other way around where you went for it whether it worked or not that’s doesn’t matter because you’ll feel proud, happy, and peaceful

because you believed in yourself enough to go for it, you gave yourself the chance,

you knew you’re worthy, you’re enough and you deserve to dream, try and succeed.

My process of setting goals and planning them

1- Start by deciding on a time to reflect, set goals and plan them, put them on the calendar and add reminders.

2- Make it easy to do by dividing the work for days; I recommend a week no more but of course, you do what feels better for you.

3- Assign what you’ll do each day, for example, 2 days to reflect on last year, 2 days to write all of your goals, 2 days to plan and

the last day to review what you set and reflect on your ability to do them by asking yourself-” is it too much for you to take?

what thoughts come to your mind?  are you seeing yourself achieving all of them?”.  just don’t go for too many,

choose the number of goals that feels right to you because if you had too many that would overwhelm you and lead you to not do any of them.

choose some realistic and some that are beyond your comfort zone(impossible) that will help you because that voice will come again later in the year and start surfacing the doubts and fears.

they’re part of the growth and do the mental work to not let them stop you from dreaming big and achieving more.

it’s exciting to write your goals and plan them but what important is to feel confident in achieving them. you believe you can achieve them

4- Start by reflecting by answering these questions, what are you proud of?, what didn’t go well (mistakes you made) what did you learn (lessons)? what are you willing to leave in 2019?.

then

celebrate and declare the year complete

by writing your gratitude for everything the year gave you to empower you and to help you in your journey to fulfil your vision and purpose

declare the year complete and that you move forward to the next year and beyond with

fresh, clean, blank canvas full of infinite possibility ready to do and create that which needs it in order to fulfil your vision and let go of all that does not serve you

5- Write your goals, make them measurable, in the present tense, definite not vague, have a deadline if it applies

6- Plan your goals, divide your big goals into projects(milestones, small) then divide them into smaller tasks. ( full details in the workbook)

7- Ask yourself “what do you need to give up for your goal?” you need to sacrifice something whether it is money, time, energy..etc in order to achieve that goal. write that down as well

8- write your “why” the negative outcome that would you get if you don’t achieve them and the positive outcome that would you get from achieving them

8- Keep your goals where you can see them that will help activate your brain to find ways to achieve them

Don’t forget to download your workbook

Here are some resources that will help you get in the right mindset to write your goals with more helpful tips

• how to conduct your own annual review by Chris Guillebeau
• why your 2018 goals didn’t manifest as expected by Kathrin Zenkina of manifestation babe
• how to set goals and actually achieve them in 2019 by Erin May Henry 
• 2019 Goals & Theme, Plan With Me, New Year Resolutions by Aileen
• setting yourself up for a successful 2019 by Cara Alwill