Wondering How to Achieve Goals?
Create an Action Plan--Then Execute

Want the secret of how to achieve goals?

Here it is.

There isn’t a secret.

People who know how to achieve goals understand that the key is planning a way forward -- an action plan -- and carrying it out, no matter what.

They identify the necessary action and then they take it.

How can you do the same thing for your goals?

Begin by comparing your starting point with your goal. How far do you have to go?

• Is your goal to learn a language? Are you a complete beginner or trying to become a fluent speaker in one you already know something about.
• Do you need a new job? Do you have a resume and a target position so you can focus on landing interviews? Or are you still deciding what is the right next step for you?
• Are you trying to change your relationship with money – by getting out of debt or saving a nest egg? Exactly how much money stands between what you’ve got now and the amount you’re targeting

When you know what you’re facing you create the action plan by breaking it up into manageable chunks. These should be pieces that are manageable for you. Meaning it is possible to achieve them in the real world and also that it is possible for you to achieve them in your world – ie the world of your already existing responsibilities and obligations.

Each of these manageable pieces then becomes a mini-goal in and of itself. Progress happens as you complete a succession of mini-goals that add up to the original goal you had in the first place.

Let's look at the process of how to achieve goals in action.

Consider a man whose goal is to incorporate regular exercise into his life. Let’s call him Bill. As Bill turns to creating an action plan he has two pieces of information:

• He knows that he currently doesn’t exercise at all.
• He know that experts recommend 5 hours of vigorous exercise per week for people in his age group.

The action he needs to accomplish to achieve his goal is to add that 5 hours of vigorous exercise into his schedule.

Following the above principles Bill rejects the alternative of just penciling the 5 hours a week into his schedule, perhaps by getting up an hour earlier. He recognizes that it is probably totally unrealistic to go from no exercise to a schedule of 5 day a week exercise by just deciding to do it and starting in one morning. This is especially true given his already full schedule.

Instead he thinks the task could be accomplished in a few smaller steps. Bill decides on the following:

• Identify the type of exercise he’ll do.
• Be sure the facility or resources he needs to do that exercise are readily available.
• Get started and work up to a regular routine of 1 or 2 hours per week.
• Gradually add 1 hour per week to his workouts until he is up to the 5 hour a week goal.

Bill does, in fact, use the first few days after he’s created his action plan to work on the first step. He considers working at a gym with a personal trainer, starting a running program, or taking up martial arts. After a bit more research and some recommendations he identifies a personal trainer at a nearby gym and schedules some appointments. In short order, Bill has completed the first two steps on his action plan and is about to start the third.

How much closer he is to achieving his original goal of exercising regularly. Clearly focusing on how to achieve goals paid big dividends.

You can experience similar results when you follow this method for how to achieve goals. Define your starting point and the distance to your goal, then take that distance and divide it into manageable pieces.

There is no better way to make progress and achieve the results you want.

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