Five Steps to Goal Attainment

Remember the model of making SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realist and time-limited) goals? It’s a strong foundation for success, but how do you take it a step further and ensure you’ll follow through on those great goals you’ve set for yourself?

Let’s take a look at five steps for goal attainment:

1. Find a challenge you’re passionate about. Make it compelling. If you’re bored with your goal, you’ll forget about it before you come close to achievement.

2. Share it with others. Good intentions are great, but they won’t necessarily get you across the finish line. Making your goals public creates accountability. Talking about them can also give you clarity on what you want to gain.

 3. Creative positive emotional connectors. Simply put, when you focus on the positive outcomes of attaining your goal, you’re more likely to achieve it. Dig in for results that excite you. Think: “I will have more freedom and spare time to pursue my hobbies” versus the more negative associations of “I will be less stressed out.”

4. Make it visual. So much of the way we think, feel and are motivated is tied to images. Basically, we think in pictures. Associate your goals with a positive visual of what its achievement will introduce into your life. Think: a desktop image of a coveted vacation spot to motivate that savings goal.

5. Celebrate the steps along the way. Take note of the small achievements involved in reaching a larger goal. Meditate on these and your future success. Celebrate even your small successes.

Have some other great tips that are keeping you on track with your 2014 goals? Share them with JD Coaching & Consulting in the comments section or on our Facebook page. We’d love to hear from you!