Well, I had a meltdown this week thinking about my life path and whether I’ve been accomplishing goals. Has anyone else had these moments? Ok, I can’t see you raising your hand or nodding in agreement, but I know you have. I know you connect with this.
So, I decided to break out my journal where I keep most of my current projects and goals. I opened up page one and found something AMAZING!
There I found goals that I set in 2018 with a little note scribbled above them that says, “Review my goals daily.” Underneath that note, I wrote down six goals for that year, three goals to accomplish in two years, and three goals to accomplish in five years.
Guess what?! I basically accomplished all of my goals in 2018, save for one. And after two years, I successfully checked off two of my three goals as of April!
More importantly, as I look to the five year goals I set, I already have accomplished one and the other two, I’m well on track to achieve, as well.
Settings Goals
These are not simple, easy goals. These goals require lifestyle changes. The best types of goals do. They challenge you to be different and do things in a new way.
I decided to set goals that challenged me to be better in many ways and learn new things. For instance, one of my five year goals I set was to get promoted to the Director of the department that I work in currently.
When I set this goal, my career took a forward leap. I started to really apply myself and work hard, and I learned a lot about leadership. My eye was on that goal and it happened! I believed it would, and it happened early than I expected.
Another one of my five year goals is to get an MBA. I’m well on that as well, graduating in 2022.
Forgetting About Goals
The best part about all of this is that I forgot about these goals the last few months. I didn’t review them every day. I set them and for a long time I worked on achieving them, but then I lost my way.
My lesson here is to share and explain that sometimes it’s OK to lose your way. It’s OK to get off track and not really know what direction you’re going in right now. But, find your way back!
Find your way to those goals you set and remind yourself of what you wanted to accomplish when you were on the right path.
It’s incredible how the universe works and how creating habits to achieve your goals carries you through time. I made some important routines to achieve my goals, and because I did that and put in the work, I accomplished my goals despite forgetting I had set them.
The key to this is not to just set a goal and hope that life will carry you to the finish line. Rather, decide what lifestyle changes you have to make to get there in one, two, and five years.
Make those life changes, become better along the way and discover that you will accomplish what you’ve set your mind to. You can do it, but you have to do the work.
If you need a little help starting your goal planning, try this method – Objectives and Key Results. It’s a tried and tested method that is used by companies like Google and the one I work at now, but can definitely be applied to your personal goals. Check out this TED Talk that shares how it’s done.
Living Intently You 