How to achieve your goals?

I’ve always wondered why and how to achieve your goals? Why do some people manage to reach their objectives and not the others? Why is it that some people are able to build empires when most people are struggling? We all have 24 hours a day so what’s the difference?

How to achieve your goals by using focus

We usually recommend people to never chase two rabbits because in the end you will not catch either one. Have you seen how many people brag about their multi-tasking skills? I started to question whether they were really productive or not.

In a previous article, we saw that one of the top successful habits of millionaires is focus. I learned to focus on one single task and kill any sidetracking activities. But a single-laser focus gets things done. Once I finish the first task, I’ll focus on the second and then the third and so on. Eventually, we can always break the biggest task to smaller ones. Going small works and it is a simple approach that yields in massive results. The key is to focus on each small task. Josh Billings said “Be like a postage stamp –stick to one thing until you get there”. With today’s distractions, we can’t really focus and have a deep work, enjoying the flow-state when nothing else matters but the task we work on.

Get an accountability partner

Back in school, we always did our homework fearing that the teacher would punish us. I don’t know if the method is effective or not. But I know that the teacher used to hold us accountable. Our fear at that time helped us get the job done as we might be criticized otherwise. An accountability partner can be a friend who is at the same point we are.

That partner and us want to work on ourselves and we can set together the common goal. A couple of years ago, I wanted to regularly go to the gym. I made a huge investment but ended up going there only for the first weeks only. On the second attempt, I followed my roommate who has already set his work-out routines. He rarely lacked motivation. But he confessed how he wants to give up sometimes and we agreed on supporting each other. Although we didn’t always go together, each of us had to report if he went or not. Either of us can criticize he who didn’t respect his words. This time the lack of integrity was greater than temptation to give up. Not only can you give up but also your friend, especially if your demotivation affects his commitments. This reciprocal relationship helps build motivation and reduces the risk of disengagements. Surrounding ourselves with other people helps us to motivate ourselves . It’s much of a struggle when we are alone and left with nothing but our thoughts.

Just take actions and enjoy the process

When asking how to achieve your goals, wouldn’t it be better to stop asking and just take the first step? And even when we finally decided to take a leap of faith, here is the trap: we get all excited at the beginning of a project but then we end up demotivated. Sometimes, we want to feel this excitement again by starting another project but then again the same scenario keeps repeating. We learn a lot at the beginning of the learning curve. This is why we feel that enthusiasm. But reality hits in when we plateau. The skill we want to master, the task we wanted to finish takes more time than we thought.

Rather than giving up, realize that we can fall in love with the process itself. The real juice of life is to feel the present moment, enjoying life as you slowly lace your shoes, put on your sportswear, playing the latest trending track and head slowly to the gym. Your goal is to get fit but it takes some time. We get frustrated because we want immediate results without even following the essential process required. In whatever we do, let’s focus on the process and slowly the results will come.

And finally, I would like to suggest Stephen Duneier’s TED Talk about How to achieve your most ambitious goals. Until next time!