The Secret to success but first goal setting.
We know what it is, we have all tried it and I am willing to bet we have all, at least once in our lives, felt unsuccessful in achieving it.
But the question is, what is preventing us from experiencing success and achieving our goals, 👏 every 👏 single 👏 time 👏 ?
Keep reading to learn the single thing you need to start doing and 3 simple ways you can do it.
The Secret, that is not so secret
I can tell you my honest belief is that our goals, no matter how well intended they are, are just too big and too broad. Most people, including myself and the many clients I have worked with, focus on what they want to achieve, not on how they are going to achieve it.
Great, you want to eat healthy, get fit, sleep more, stay hydrated, run a marathon, sail the world or kick type 2 diabetes (these are all achievable by the way). What we are failing to ask ourselves is this: what do we need to do to achieve it?
The Single Thing…
The single most important thing you need to do once you have set your goal, is to identify bite sized, achievable behaviours. Ones that you can action now, that will lead you to your overarching goal.
Once you have identified these behaviours, turn them into habits!
What are habits and how do I get them?
A habit is defined as a new behaviour done over and over until it becomes so ingrained in our brains it is a habit. Basically, if you do it enough times, you will start doing it without much thought.
Ask yourself these 3 simple questions.
When considering what behaviours you need to action now, I want you to ask yourself the following, in the following order…
What existing behaviours or habits can I replace to help me achieve my goal?
What existing behaviours or habits can I introduce to help me get closer to my goal?
What existing behaviours or habits do I need to eliminate in order to reach my goal?
I have listed them in this order because it's far less challenging to replace a habit, a little more challenging to introduce one and the most challenging to remove one altogether (cold turkey).
How it looks in Practice
Initially, putting this into practice will very much be trial and error, but it's important your bite sized behaviours are, well, bite sized. This will set you up for success. You will quickly master them, because they will seem easy. Once mastered you can evolve and build on them. Let me share some examples to give you perspective.
Goal: Eat Healthy
Habit: No more sugar sprinkled on top of my cereal instead I will have fruit on my cereal
Goal: Get Fit
Habit: When I go to the supermarket, I will park in the far away car parks to build up my daily step count to X.
Goal: Sleep Better
Habit: I will go to bed 15 minutes earlier and instead of scrolling my phone in bed, I will read a book.
Goal: Drink More
Habit: Have a drink bottle with me at work, or in the car every day.
Final Say
Challenge yourself to get specific with your goal setting. Be honest with yourself during this process. Do not be afraid to adapt and change your bite sized behaviours. As you practice and reflect you will quickly realise what's working for you and what’s not.
Find the happy medium and enjoy the process! It's amazing what you can learn about yourself.
I guarantee if you set small, achievable, actionable behaviours they will become habits, over time you will experience success and you will achieve your goals.
If you would like some support, guidance and accountability, please get in touch here