How To Achieve Success – 6 Steps To Achieving Your Goals Every Time

Are you bad at setting goals? How to achieve success in setting and reaching your goals comes down to following some clearly defined steps.

Many people confuse a new year resolution with a goal.

A resolution is usually a spur of the moment decision but without any depth. About nine out of every ten people who set a resolution give up.

A goal is something you plan. There are steps along the way and mini goals you achieve on your way to your target.

A big goal is good but without a bunch of small steps along the way it will soon become overwhelming.

In this article, we have six steps you can implement immediately if you are unsure where to start in setting and achieving your goals.

How To Achieve Success By Setting Goals

Before we give you the six steps on how to achieve success in reaching your goals, understand this…have your goal clearly defined before you start.

Unless you do then this exercise won’t help you.

Defining your goal can be a difficult thing to do. It’s the same as asking a teenager at high school what they what to be in life. Most will struggle with a definitive answer.

If it’s something you’re dreaming about that’s not good enough. If it’s something you are merely hoping you’ll achieve one day then clear your mind and start again.

We are assuming your goal is clearly defined.

Here are six things you need to implement to achieve it.

Avoid Limiting Thoughts

You’ve set your goal but you are having doubts. That’s normal. You need to change your thought pattern.

Tackle these bad thoughts head on. If you’re thinking how can I achieve it, instead think I’ll get there step by step. Whatever it takes. I’ll concentrate on my first small goal and then that will give me a springboard to reach my next target.

Your mind is going to play tricks. Whatever force is working behind the scenes, negativity seems to always show up when you are thinking positively.

Always re-enforce what you are going to achieve until it becomes natural.

Success breeds success and when you have your first victory, your confidence levels will naturally rise. This is the moment you know you can do it.

Just get to that first step and you’ll be amazed how negativity starts to dissipate.

Find A Mentor

This was almost the number one necessity when setting out to achieve a goal.

It’s so important however, many of the goal-setting lessons we see pay little attention to its importance.

A mentor is like taking out insurance.

No, it won’t guarantee you success but it will give you every possible chance.

The main benefit of a mentor is having someone there who will keep you on track. They’ll remind you of why you’re doing this.

A mentor who acts as a conscious is extremely beneficial.

They can pull you out of procrastination phases with a few choice words.

Let’s face it, we all need some help with anything we do in life.

Why not use a mentor in your goal achieving conquest.

One final tip – choose someone you respect immensely and hate to let down.

Even go as far as fearing them to some extent.

Choosing someone whom you crave respect from is like having a “mentor on steroids”.

Schedule And Focus

This is another extremely important step. Having a schedule or a work plan is vital.

Scheduling specific times during the day when you are going to be working on your goal will set you up for success.

First, figure out when you are at your most productive.

If it’s the morning then that’s your productive time. In the afternoon, choose it.

If it’s midnight to dawn like myself, commit to it being your best time to be working on your project.

If you are working from home, working during the time of the day when you are most productive is common sense.

And don’t forget to have a designated work space.

Shut out all distractions during this period and yes, you will probably hurt someone’s feelings.

But you are focussed on something that could set you up for the rest of your life.

If your friends and family don’t understand then are they really rooting for you?

That’s another article for another day. Just remember, your on a mission.

Stick to your schedule and plan and stay focussed.   

Small Steps Ellie

In the movie Contact, Ellie Arroway got some timely advice from her father. He told her “small steps Ellie”.

The same applies to your mission. The key in how to achieve success reaching your main goal doesn’t lie in trying to hit it with one giant leap.

It’s a process. You set a group of small goals along the way.

You concentrate on your first one and complete it. Then you go for the second step and achieve it.

Then the third, fourth and fifth – however many you need to bridge the gap towards your main goal.

Here’s an example for network marketers. Make a list of each of your steps. When you start your business your first step could be sponsoring your first person into your business.

Your second step might be reaching the first level. Your third could be to personally sponsor two people in a week.

When you write these down you are confirming your plan. As you reach each of these small steps, confidence levels rise.

It’s an amazing feeling to suddenly realize that you’ve been so focussed on hitting each of your targets along the way that your main target is within touching distance.

That’s the beauty of setting small steps and ticking them off.

What seemed a daunting task when you started is being reeled in towards you with each small success along the way.

Just remember…”small steps Ellie”.

Have A Back Up Plan

The truth is, it’s not going to be plain sailing on your journey. There will be hiccups along the way.

Having a back up plan will lessen any disappointments that come up.

Smart people know how to achieve success.

One of their secrets is having a back up plan.

Before you started this article, was a backup on your radar?

Probably not but now you know so there’s no excuse for not having one.

A back up plan simply means having an alternative in handling issues when they arise. Life will get in the way.

If you have kids and your husband takes the kids to school be assured, there will be days when he won’t be able to.

Either you take them or you arrange someone else to do it. This is something you’ll know beforehand.

Look at your future calendar. Tick off the days when you know your workflow will be interrupted.

Prepare for them and have a plan in place for when they do.

This may seem a benign step to many but believe me, you’ll thank me when this moment occurs on your goal-achieving journey.

Pay Yourself Along The Way

Each time you reach a small goal reward yourself.

When I was on a major goal-achieving mission several years ago I rewarded myself by having a movie session.

Yes, sounds lame to many of you but what can I say, I’m a movie lover.

I would write down what I would reward myself with as I start each new step.

It could be a day at a movie theater or my preferred option, renting a bunch of movies and watching them at home.

In fact, it was my day. I’d switch the phone off and just settle in for the day.

The spin off was that by the time I’d watch the last movie I was so rested that I sometimes sneaked in an hour or two on my business.

Whatever it is you’re striving for think of the one thing you love to do.

It may be something minor or it could be something big.

Just make sure it doesn’t take you away from your mission for too long.

You still have work to do.

By rewarding yourself each time you have a success, it breaks the monotony of your tasks.

Last Minute Advice

My favorite quote is “action leads to motivation”. Use it to inspire you on your journey. Write it down and put it up where you can see it around your home.

Put it in every room.

Life is going to get in the way, there’s no doubt about that.

Are you going to use this as an excuse to why you have to abandon your mission.

The key on how to achieve success in any endeavor gets back to how badly you want something.

Feel your goal. Imagine being at the finish line and feeling how good it is.

You’ve done it. It was worth the hiccups along the way.

And remember, use your mentor when things come up and try to derail your efforts.

This is when a good mentor really shines.