What is Goal setting? Tips for doing it!

We hear and see it all the time "SET YOURSELF UP WITH GOALS!" "if you want it, set a goal" "succesful people set up goals" This is all true but....

Well how do you set up goals that you can accomplish? I may sound like a commercial, but I'm talking from experience.

but the problem I see and hear from people is "I never work out, but I should, I'll start tomorrow and this week I'll workout everyday!" or "I'll run five days this week and eat healthy"

First thing, if you don't already do it, whos to say your going to do it now, 5-7 days a week?

So heres what I do:

1. Write down what YOU want/ long term goal (example, be healthier, lose weight, gain muscle, wake up early, be more calm at work, etc etc.)

2a. Write down how YOU want to feel during the process (under control, not stress, loving life, etc etc.)
2b. Write down/visualize how YOU'll feel when you accomplish the goal (Really picture yourself skinnier, happier, more awake, etc etc.

3. Write down small goals that are daily goals or weekly that will get YOU to your long term goal (this week, I will wake up early on tuesday, or instead of getting up at 6am, I'll get up at 5:50am tomorrow, I will work out on Tuesday and Friday 20 minutes max, today I will pack a lunch instead of eating out,)

4. Grab a calender, memo board, and post them. Post your long term goal when you want to meet it (2 months, 3 months, etc.) give a big circle and then write down goals for the week or day to help get you there.

All this has to do with is starting with SMALL goals, and feeling better about yourself daily.

5. At the end of the week, give yourself harder goals to meet or stick with the same with one or two things added, BABY STEPS!!! (ok, I woke up 10 minutes early every day this week, I'll try 20 minutes tomorrow and see how it goes, or I walked 20 minutes today and felt great, tomorrow I'll walk then get back and do push ups!)

Make sure you are choosing a goal YOU really want, not what your mom is telling you what to do, or your spouse, etc. Pick a goal that you know will make you happy in the long run.

In a nutshell, SMALL Goals = Accomplishing Long term goals

I would like to know what you guys have done in the past to reach one of your goals, so feel free to post!

thanks for sharing that!

Wonderful post! Thank you!

I like #5 the most. It's where you learn more about yourself. You'll learn about your strengths and your limits. Before you know it, you're already better than you were 2 hours ago.

Hi Butternut,

Some list you got there, wise thinking! I'm so depressed for the time being because of two really hard triggers that pushed me out of the borders that are manageable for me some time ago now.

Before that I have had success with making a daily to do list that includes everything from eating my breakfast to go to bed at a decent time. I used the same plan each week and made special plans for days when I knew had to be different (being invited to a party as an example).

Why should it be important to write a plan for going to a party? Well if one has social anxiety, it might be of some help to imagine small things, that might happen and do calming exercises in advance. That calms down before the party and helps at the party.

One of my problems is a very slow switch in arousal (energy). If I feel like a failure at the party that will follow me home and destroy my sleep and my opportunity for functioning well the next day. If it is the opposite way, I will be so happy that I cannot sleep and have my next day spoiled because of that.

So, why all this talk about everyday problems when you wanted to know about long-term goals? ? Well that's simple to explain. If one suffer from one or more emotional disorders, one have to plan for how to cope with one's own personal triggers along the road to be able to have the energy for working to reach the long-term goal.

Since I used a daily plan to cope with the ordinary, I will (when the plan is working) only have to make some room for my new goal inside my ordinary plan. That might mean to take out something less important to give place to the new goal.

At the end of the week I do not push harder if I have failed. I then reduce the little goals so it is possible to overcome them the next week. First when I'm sure that now I'm ready to move on, I make the small steps more difficult.

Doing it this way has helped me to accept that sometimes there are setbacks and still be at track in spite of the setbacks.

We all have our personal ways to react to daily triggers, so I suppose that to find ones triggers is a personal task for each individual.

My crucial "things" to reach a long-term goal are almost similar to yours: Writing down and evaluate.

If what I'm writing here might be a help to others, it will gladden my heart.

For the time being I'm below the level where I'm able to function as I usually do! Long-term goals are for the moment out of question.

It's very easy for anybody to have a goal that they'd like to achieve, but the most difficult aspect is to stick to it by being persistent and consistent. The point is that it's only a few people that will actually make it to the finished line.