3 Key Steps to Achieving Your Dreams and Goals
We all have big dreams and goals that we want to achieve in life. The achievement of our goals and dreams brings joy, peace, fulfillment, and meaning to our everyday lives.
Most times, we admire the successful people around us who we see turning their dreams into a reality and wonder how they did it. What are the practical steps they took to realize their aspirations?
Many people spend their entire lives wondering what would have happened if they had taken action toward their goals and dreams. You don’t want to be that person who lives with regret and wishes you’d lived your best life doing what you love.
If you have a burning desire to succeed and achieve great things in your life and are looking for effective strategies to do just that, this post is for you. These are the 3 Key Steps to Achieving Your Goals that will lead you to have great achievements in your personal, spiritual, or career.
As you implement these strategies and consider these valuable insights, you’ll become less overwhelmed and more focused on following your heart and doing what you enjoy.
3 Key Steps to Achieving Your Dreams and Goals
The pursuit of your dreams is something that will bring fulfillment into your life. When you have a clear vision and plan then the chances of success increase drastically. What’s important is to start and not delay anymore and this post will equip you to do just that. It’s important to have a positive mindset and believe that your dreams can be realized. Then surround yourself with great people who will support you every step of the way. Remember to also enjoy the journey toward your dreams and celebrate small victories and not just the end result.
Once you decide to step up to the start line of your goals and dreams — and that is a decision you need to be firm on — there are 3 Important Key steps you need to implement to be ready to take those dreams and big goals to the finish line:
- Step 1: Know what it is you want
- Step 2: Know the “why” behind your dream.
- Step 3: Create a game plan that you can stick to.
We will go through each of these steps below in more detail.
Step 1: Know WHAT it is you want
You can’t go after something if you’re not clear on what that something is. So the first step is getting specific about what it is you want. What dream is stirring inside of you? What is it you want to accomplish?
There are many types of goals and dreams we can have. Your dream may be to own a successful business one day and have an impact on your community. You may have career goals, financial goals, family goals, spiritual goals, and personal growth goals. You can group goals into short-term goals and long-term goals. Setting goals using the SMART method is a great way to ensure that you achieve them.
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How to use the SMART Method to achieve your goals and dreams
You can use the SMART method for goal setting. SMART is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely. Each of these is crucial to think about as you plan what it is you truly want. Having SMART goals gives you a proper framework to succeed in all areas of your life.
Is your dream Specific?
The first thing you need to do when setting a new goal is to make it specific. Do you know exactly what it is you are going after? Is it simple enough to understand and implement, but does it have some type of significance attached to it?
For example, if you have your own business you can say that your business goal is to Increase profit next year. This is not very specific though. You need to think about how much you want to increase the profit because that will help you get the desired outcome. So this goal can change to “Increase profit by 50% and reduce expenses by 10% by the end of 2025.”
Having a specific goal is a good way to stay motivated and be clear on what you want to achieve. It helps to reduce the overwhelm of not achieving your goals and stick to your plan.
Is your dream Measurable?
A specific goal should be quantifiable and easy to measure so you can track your progress and achieve greater success. Ask yourself questions such as:
- Does your dream have meaning to you?
- Is it something that will motivate you enough to do the work to attain the goal?
If you plan to lose weight for example you can measure this monthly. An example would be: I plan to reduce weekly fast food orders from daily to twice a week and exercise 3 times weekly on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Is your dream Achievable?
At the moment, it may feel unattainable if you’re a big dreamer, and I actually want you to have a dream that feels somewhat out of reach! We need to have dreams that seem larger than ourselves.
But you have to feel in your heart of hearts that you have achievable goals, otherwise, you won’t even get started working toward it. It will remain a wish of your heart.
Being positive and believing in yourself and your gifts, skills, and talents is important when it comes to your success. You may want to meet with successful people who overcame obstacles to make it big in their lives or read books about such people. This will greatly inspire and motivate you in the right direction.
Is your dream Relevant?
Realistic goals and dreams should be results-based. Can you measure your progress throughout? Are there tangible ways to do that? Your dream must be realistic in the fact that there are resources and tools out there for you to use to create the results you are looking for or that there are ways for you to develop those necessary resources.
It’s important to look at the season of life you’re in as well. If you just had a baby, having a dream of launching and running a business may not be realistic to you now. So it’s important to consider your personal life and what your priorities are at the present moment so you can decide if it’s realistic to work on your dream now or if you can defer the dream to later.
Is your dream Timely?
Having a specific time frame for achieving your dreams can be a powerful motivator for you. Does your dream have a specific deadline attached? There needs to be some sense of urgency related to your dream so you feel like you have to start now. Otherwise, procrastination can happen or excuses can take over, and before you know it, your dream fades.
If it takes a long time to achieve your dream, break it down into what can be achieved in the short-term, medium-term, and long-term so that you can keep tracking your goal and have momentum.
Step 2: Know the “WHY” behind your dream
The next step to achieving your dreams is to define the WHY because it’s what gets you out the door every day and take the action steps you need to realize your goals and dreams. The WHY is the key driving force to achieving success and fulfillment in life.
Your WHY trumps your belief in achieving the dream. You will be less motivated to see your dream life through if you don’t have a “WHY” attached to it.
The bigger and more developed your WHY, the more burning passion you have inside of you to get the job done even if your dream seems so far out of reach. Think of the bigger picture you’re aiming for.
Having a clear vision and sense of purpose helps you focus your efforts and leads you in the right direction. When your WHY is defined clearly you’ll have the courage to stay motivated even in the face of obstacles and you’ll definitely achieve better results.
How do you find your WHY? You will need to take some time in the quiet to develop the reasons this dream matters to you. The best way to do this is to write things down. Journal your thoughts. Ask yourself more questions. But just don’t skip this step.
- What are you passionate about? What do you care about? What are your interests?
- What are your strengths, natural talents, skills, and abilities?
- What do you stand for? What is meaningful for you?
- What is the legacy you’re planning to leave when you die one day? How would you like to be remembered?
- What would happen if this dream came true?
- What would happen if it didn’t come true?
- Why does this really matter to me?
- Whom will I be affecting if I go after this dream?
- Whom will I be affecting if I don’t?
- What are the results I’m looking to create?
Knowing your real WHY is a powerful motivator to achieving the important things in your life.
Step 3: Create your How
Once you know your What and Why, the final step is to put together the How which is a game plan that you can stick to. Without the How, the plan will fail. I’ve heard an old saying that said that Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance. The five Ps. You have to have a plan attached to your dream.
When you don’t have a plan and simple steps to achieve your goals, you will become overwhelmed and give up. You’ll allow negative thoughts, negative people, and present circumstances to deter you and stop you from having an action plan.
A plan makes all the difference. A plan you can reasonably stick to is what you are looking for. A dream is merely a wish without a plan attached. Executing the plan is what brings the end result. Every small step you take and all the little things you do matter.
Some key questions to ask yourself are:
- How are you going to make it work?
- What are the most important tasks that you need to work on a daily basis, weekly basis, or monthly basis?
- What are the daily habits you need to develop to succeed?
- How are you going to create the time to work toward it?
- How much time will you need to invest?
- What will your schedule look like?
- How will you deal with setbacks and disruptions to your schedule?
- What big things or little things may you need to give up in the process?
- What big things or little things may you need to add to the process?
- What resources or tools do you need?
- Which people do you need in your corner?
- Which reward system will l use to motivate me when I’ve taken the right steps towards my goals and dreams?
The How also includes sharing your dreams with others. The more you share it with a group of people you trust, the more you believe that it’s possible to achieve. This can be family members, friends, and colleagues.
A good idea is to also have an accountability partner whom you share your major goals with and your plan of action. This person will check in with you regularly to ensure you’re taking action towards your goals, motivate you, and even guide you every step of the way.
You may also need to reach out to someone who can be your coach or mentor so they can help you on your journey. Developing good habits daily will also lead to great achievement and success. Taking care of yourself mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and physically will help you stay strong and achieve your goals.
Are you ready to take your dreams to the finish Line?
Once you set goals, make sure they’re SPECIFIC, including a DEADLINE, have a passionate WHY behind it, and have a GAME PLAN attached.
The actual dream matters, the WHY matters, and the HOW matters! Make the decision to start NOW! Right where you’re at. It’s better than waiting and never starting at all!!
It takes hard work to achieve your goals and dreams but the good news is it’s possible. There will be bad days and hard times along the way but when you have a positive mindset and remain strong you will be successful.
Don’t entertain negative people and negative thoughts but keep your mind on the great achievement ahead of you. Have a great support system with positive people who believe in you.
Take consistent action and celebrate the small victories that come your way. Know the what, why, and how of your big goals. Take manageable steps and have a daily, weekly, and monthly to-do list.
May these 3 Keys to Achieving your Goals and Dreams guide you on the right path to success. Don’t just focus on the end result but enjoy the journey toward your goal and dreams.
