How to Create Achievable Goals

Goal setting is something that we do all the time. We set goals for our careers and our health. We also set goals for the skills that we want to develop. But often, we get frustrated with our goals because we haven’t created achievable goals.

Achievable goals are ones that are reasonable. They are goals which capitalize on our natural skills. And they are goals that we have the time and ability to accomplish.

Below are strategies for setting goals that make sense. Follow these strategies to create achievable goals and see how much more successful you become!

Set Goals That Are within Your Control

Typically, people create goals based on what they ultimately want to achieve. For instance, your goal may be “I will lose 10 pounds in three months.” Or, “I will publish a book in two years.” Or, “I will get a better job in the next six months.” Those are all wonderful things to wish for. But they aren’t good goals.

The problem with those goals is that you have no control over them. For example, you can’t control how much weight you will lose. All kinds of factors contribute to whether we can lose weight. Our age, metabolism, stress level and medications all affect our ability to lose weight. You likewise can’t control if someone is willing to publish your book, or if someone is willing to hire you. Those are both matters that are outside of your control.

Instead, your goals should be based on things that are within your control. So, while you can’t control how much weight you lose, you can control your diet and exercise regime. As a result, while an unreasonable goal is, “I will lose 10 pounds,” an achievable goal is, “I will exercise every day for 30 minutes.” Exercising for 30 minutes is something that is entirely within your control. You simply have to choose to take 30 minutes out of each day to exercise.

Similarly, while you can’t control whether a publisher will want your book, you can commit to writing 2 pages of your book each day. You can choose to take time every day to finish writing the novel of your dreams, which is a massive achievement! Likewise, you can’t control whether someone will hire you. But you can decide to send out three job applications per week. Or you can decide to learn a new skill to bolster your resume.

So, the key is to create goals that are achievable because they are within your control. Then, your success or failure is dependent solely on one person – you!

Create Achievable Goals by Setting Goals That Capitalize Your Natural Skills

Another way that people fail to create achievable goals is when they try to accomplish things for which they have no aptitude. For example, I could set a goal for myself to be a super model, but that would be silly. I am 5’ 6” and am a middle-aged lady. I simply don’t have the natural attributes to be a super model.

So, when it comes to setting goals, know thyself. Pick goals that use the talents that you already possess. For instance, if you are musically talented, you might pick as a goal to practice your instrument for 30 minutes each day. In that way, you can improve your skills in that instrument. Or, if you are strong and flexible, you might commit to taking a yoga class three times a week to bolster your physical and mental health.

The added benefit is that when you work at goals that capitalize on your natural talents, accomplishing your goals will feel less like “work” and more like “fun.” And they’ll be easier to accomplish because you are simply doing what you are already good at.

Set One or Two Goals at A Time

I have about 50 goals that I’d like to accomplish running through my head at all times. For example, I would like to become fluent in French, Spanish and German. I’d like to write more articles each week. It also would be great to train my dog to stop barking at every person who walks by the house!

But there are only so many hours in the day. So, trying to accomplish all my goals at the same time is a recipe for failure. What I’ve learned is that I can only effectively work at one, or at most two, goals at a time.

If you limit yourself to working on one or two goals, then you can reasonably set aside time to accomplish those goals each day. For example, if your goal is to learn to play the piano, it is reasonable that you will be able to practice for 30 minutes each day. That is an achievable goal, time-wise.

If you work on too many goals at one time, you won’t be able to devote the necessary time to accomplishing those goals. Then those goals become nothing more than wishful thinking. And instead of creating excitement in your life, your goals simply will be a source of frustration.

**Pick Goals That Make You Happy**

Lastly, pick goals to please yourself, not other people. Why? Because no one else will sufficiently appreciate your efforts!

For instance, sticking to an exercise regime and healthy diet takes some work. So, do it for yourself. Don’t do it for your spouse. He or she will never adequately appreciate how hard it is for you to make those kinds of lifestyle changes. And then you’ll be annoyed that you put in all that effort for insufficient positive feedback.

Instead, when you make healthy lifestyle choices, do it for yourself. And when you accomplish your health goals, give yourself a pat on the back. You deserve it!

We naturally want to keep improving ourselves until the day that we die. So, be sure to pick goals for your life that make sense. If you do, you’ll be more successful in achieving them, and you’ll enjoy that wonderful feeling that comes from accomplishing your goals. (To read about steps you can take to make your goal a reality, click here.)