2021, new year new me, right? It’s the month where most people tend to make goals but usually don’t know exactly what they’re going for. Achieving goals may often be much more difficult  than people realize. We may have the desire to change something in our lives whether that be to eat healthier, save money, but implementing those changes involves a lot more than just motivation. If you already are motivated, this information will help you get started on achieving your goals.

Tip 1: Know What’s Your Goal

A major part of achieving goals is actually knowing what those goals are. When people first make a goal they go for huge concepts or very vague concepts like ‘I want to have more money’, ‘I want to live a healthier lifestyle’, or ‘I want to be happier’. What they don’t realize is that those goals are very vague and would be very difficult to know what steps to take, when you’ve done enough, when your close to your goal but need to make a few changes.

As you are setting your goals it’s important that your first step is to try to:

• Imagine where you want to be. What does it look like? What specifically are you doing? (For example, has there been any changes in the way you do things or has something been added?)
• Research what  good things can come out of your goal. This will keep you motivated as you are striving to achieve your goal.
• Ask yourself simple questions. Like ‘Am I where I want to be? How will I know I reached my goal? How will I know I’m getting know where?’ and try writing the answers to these questions.
• Create a vision board for yourself. This will keep you reminded and will motivate you to complete your goals.

Tip 2: Make Your Goal Specific

When making goals most people make them very vague. So, because these goals are very vague they usually never get around to actually completing the goal. You want to make your goals very specific so that you know what exactly you are trying to achieve. Otherwise you may complete something that wasn’t even apart of the goal or you will never do it.

Tip 3: Break It Down

The secret in achieving your goals is to break them down into smaller ones. This will keep your goal do-able and you’ll be able to reward yourself along the way of each step.

When breaking down goals consider the following:

• First, find the large goals that you want to meet. Then look at each step it would take to get there. Try to identify the steps you will need to take.
• If possible break down those steps too. You want to keep breaking down your goal so that it’s something you can achieve within a month.
• Remember not to make the goals to easy because then you won’t be motivated to strive to complete the goal.

Tip 4: Enlist Help

It’s key to have someone who can offer support and motivation while you work towards your goals. Enlisting support from a close friend, community, or even a family member will make a big difference. Having someone who knows what you are working towards will motivate you to achieve that goal.

Tip 5: Reward Yourself

Rewarding yourself when you complete a step of your goal or just the whole goal is the best thing you can do for yourself. If you reward yourself when you achieve aspects of your goal will keep you motivated and will get you to want to continue working towards your goal. It’s good to stop and pat yourself on the back once in  a while and when rewarding yourself it does not have to big in any way. You can reward yourself with something you would enjoy and try to tie into your goal. For example if your goal was to workout maybe buy yourself some new workout clothes to reward yourself.