9 Steps to Hit Any Goal
Tim Perreira
Walking across America for men’s mental health | Writer, speaker, & entrepreneur | Jiu-jitsu enthusiast
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Most people's minds are consume with what they don't want about their current life.
They just wish things were different.
They ruminate on the negative and accept them as un-changeable.
But in order to get what you want out of life, you have to think about what you do want.
You have to make the change yourself. Make sh*t happen.
??More pursuit.
??Less avoidance.
You have to make the conscious decision to go after it.
Because avoidance never sparks action.
Examples of Pursuit vs Avoidance:
"I wish I wasn't overweight" VS "I'm going to get back in shape"
"I don't want to be lonely anymore" VS "I'm going to make an effort to date again."
Sounds simple, but the subtle perspective shift makes all the difference. Decide what you want out of life, put a plan in place, and go after it fiercely.
Often, we just need a little guidance and structure for planning the attack on our goals.
Here're my 9 steps to reach any goal ??
Build a Plan ?? Stay Consistent ?? Adjust When Necessary
1) Determine Your Core Values
Your values are what drive you whether you realize it or not. If you're unsure what your values are currently, look at the daily decisions you make.
They'll tell you exactly what you prioritize.
Are you...
We don't realize it, but so much of what we do is to appear successful or happy. Not to actually do what makes us happy + fulfilled as our own unique being.
And the heartbreaking result is that we lose touch with our sense of self along the way.
It's fucking exhausting to constantly try to live up to what we've been conditioned to value.
Ask yourself...
What're the top 3-5 things most important to you?
Perhaps they are...
Family? Deep relationships? Health? Adventure? Adrenaline rush?
Career growth? Personal development? Inner peace? Love?
Spirituality? Integrity? Freedom?
Think through what you want your values to be and not necessarily where they are right now. Though, they could be the same.
Next, we'll pick a goal that directly aligns to one of your newly defined values.
Example Wellness Value:
Health + longevity
2) Set Goals That Align With Your Values
Your daily actions are either in alignment with your values, or they're not.
When you don't have clear goals in place, you have no idea what actions to take.
You're just aimlessly doing the next shiny thing that pops up.
Use any goal framework you'd like (SMART, Working Backwards, BSQ, OGSM, etc), but remember, it's important to find something that is simple to understand, directly aligned to one (or more) of your values, has an identifiable path forward, and works for you.
You'll want to be able to measure your progress in some way. Even if it's a subjective goal (ie Build deeper relationships with my best friends), create benchmark questions tied to numerical values that you can track against.
Benchmark Q examples:
These types of subjective questions paired with a scale ranking, allow you to measure progress over time.
Next, identify the skills you need to develop in order to get you closer to your goal.
"Plans are useless, but you can't afford not to plan."
Example Wellness Goal:
I'm going to lose 25 pounds by the end of August (when I go to St Martin to tan and drink Pina Coladas all day!).
3) Identify Skills Needed to Hit Your Goal
Now that you have a clear target to shoot for, look at what you need to learn to help you accomplish the goal.
In the example of building deeper relationships, your skills could be "To be present or to listen without the intent of giving advice"
The skills should be directly aligned with your goal and realistically, you'll stack multiple skills to help get you there more quickly.
Example Wellness Skills:
4) Start a Small Action to Help Develop Skill
What is a simple, small action you could take today.
Maybe the action that aligns with your skill of "Being more present" is to put your freaking phone away when with friends.
It doesn't have to be a massively complex action to make your list, it can (and should) be the tiniest first step to get you going in the right direction.
You'll find 2-3 simple actions that you can do to help develop the skills needed to hit your goals.
Remember, direction > speed.
Now you have a framework for an action plan to hit your goals.
领英推荐
Goal ?? 2 Skills ?? 3 Actions per Skill = 6 Small Actions You Can Take Today
Example Wellness Actions:
5) Take Inventory of Current Output
We're in such a state of sensory overload that we never take time to check what's going on under the hood.
This is what I call Taking Inventory.
It refers to tracking both your inputs and outputs.
First, we look at your outputs.
It's what gives you information about your baseline.
When we know our baseline, we then turn to look at our inputs.
Then, we adjust those inputs to change our outputs.
The most impactful TEDx I've seen is a statistician who used her own body's data to avoid being induced during her 3rd trimester.
It taught me that we HAVE to be masters of our body (and mind) in order to be the best version of ourselves.
But most of us just walk around not ever knowing, or worse... assuming. Puke.
Learn your starting point to better understand the impact of your decisions.
Example Wellness Outputs to Measure:
6) Take Inventory of Your Current Input
Inputs come in many forms.
When you pay attention to how they could show up, you can better choose which to get more of.
Inputs fall under the actions category.
Everything you input is either getting you closer to your goals or further away.
When your actions aren't aligned with your values, you experience discomfort.
Discomfort comes when what we want and what we do are not aligned.
Our actions don't match what we want for ourselves or what we value.
Then we get frustrated or unhappy when we don't have what we want in life.
So it's important to be disciplined with the quality of our inputs.
Example Wellness Inputs to Measure:
7) Adjust Inputs
You now know your baseline and what you've been pumping into your system.
Now, tweak your inputs (actions) to better align with the skills, goals, & values you've set for yourself.
A simple heat check on an action is to ask yourself...
"What value is this aligned with? Is this getting me closer to my goal, or further away?"
Example Wellness Input Adjustments:
8) Examine new outputs
Measure the outputs you tracked at step 5 to see what changed and what didn't.
Example of New Output:
9) Repeat
??
10) Bonus...
Don't be afraid to fail.
Actually, assume that you will fail. That way, you're ready for it.
And when it happens, just go back to step 7 and proceed from there.
Direction > Speed
Consistency > Intensity
Remember that change takes time, hard work, and consistency.
While discipline is crucial for long term progress, it's not realistic to be 100% disciplined all the time.
Cut yourself some slack if you deviate and just get back on track at the next opportunity.
When it comes to actions, my rule is to never miss twice.
Missed the gym today? I'm going tomorrow.
Ate a bunch of junk for lunch? Back on track for dinner.
If you need help thinking through your Values, Goals, Skills, and Actions shoot me a note, I'm happy to help.
Tim ??
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Investor | Brick-and-Mortar Growth Expert | Advocate for the Hospitality, Retail and Restaurant Industries | Hot Pepper Enthusiast
3 年Super insightful article. My #1 tip would be to set achievable yet challenging goals.??
Emotional Fitness coaching for your life's pivotal moments.
3 年Very valuable info in here. Thank you for sharing. I'd add in one more concept to be aware of and that pertains to emotions. Often the way we feel can get in the way of taking action, whether it's making a list, doing something or reflecting on progress made. If you feel stuck and are not sure why, maybe there's a feeling in the way. Learning to regulate and master your emotions will boost and maximise your capacity to reach your goals.
Got ADHD? Pay What You Want for my products. (ADHD at Work course coming soon)
3 年Beautiful breakdown! Love me some values and making decisions based on those. That’s really brings on those feel good chemicals??????
I help strategic tech sellers become Autonomy Architects—those capable of transforming their sales career into a vehicle for early corporate retirement to launch their passion projects.
3 年Excellent steps to leveling up life!