Planning to Achieve Your Goals: Write it Down

You can set goals, resolutions or dreams all day long, but unless you have a plan on how to achieve them, you won’t go anywhere. How do I know this? Because I did it for YEARS! I would never make my goals and would consider myself a failure. I didn’t ask for help, I didn’t even know what to ask, honestly. Now that I’m older, have bigger goals, and I’ve learned I need Planning to Achieve Your Goals Write it Down!

These things never work out.

You are right! If you just say you are going to do something and you don’t have a plan on how to make it work, it won’t. It is like saying, I’m going to Disney World, but you don’t take the time to plan.

Not only is it going to cost you a fortune, but chances are you won’t be able to eat at the restaurants you want, because they are booked. You may be stuck with an expensive hotel instead of one of the value ones. You will be paying full prices for tickets, instead of getting them at the best price available. It would be a nightmare for me.

I remember being in grade school and always wanting to be at the top of my class. I would hover around the top, but never quite get there. Even though I set a goal every grading period, and again for the new school year, and also the New Year holiday to be the best in my class– it never happened. Why?  Because I didn’t have a plan. If I’m honest, I didn’t even know how to start making a plan, because no one in my family had ever done it before either.

I didn’t know how to start Planning to Achieve Your Goals: Write It Down.

Where do I start?

Start by allowing yourself to dream, and I mean dream big. If your goal doesn’t scare you a little, it isn’t big enough.

You need to look at that goal, and wonder if it is even possible. Those are the goals that will stretch you, cause growth, and make you look back and say “WOW! I can’t believe I did it!”

These are the dreams of your heart, the dreams you’ve had since you were a child. These are the things that get you up in the morning and make you smile. They are what will keep you going when the days are long and hard.

Now you are on track to Planning to Achieve Your Goals: Write It Down!

While you are doing this dreaming, write these things down. It may seem like a waste of time, but it isn’t. Don’t let one of these thoughts escape you. Capture everyone! You never know when one of these dreams will be something life altering for you and for your family.

Why do I need to write it down?

I know that when I don’t write my goals down, or anything down for that matter, it just doesn’t happen. Maybe it is because I’m old and have mom brain, but don’t just take my word for it. See what the experts say.

Per an article by Ashley Feintstein in Forbes Magazine Online, “According to a study done by Gail Matthews at Dominican University, those who wrote down their goals accomplished significantly more than those who did not write down their goals.”

Michael Hyatt says, “The secret to accomplishing what matters most to you is committing your goals to writing. “

Military.com tells their people this:

Critical Success Factors:

• Your goals should be written down in positive terms.
• Your goals should be posted in a prominent place, so you can stay focused.
• The goals have to be your own.
• Be flexible, your situations and goals can and will change as life circumstances change. In other words, if your deadline becomes unrealistic, change it.

Dr. Tom Denham of the Times Union blog says, “Goal setting defines what you really want out of life.  Goals give you direction and purpose.  Goal setting allows us to suspend reality and dream.  Use your imagination.  Without a dream, you don’t have much.  By writing down your goals, you are clearly saying, “These are the things that are really important to me.  These are my priorities.”

I couldn’t have said it better. What is comes down to it, writing down your goals is vital to Planning to Achieve Your Goals: Write It Down.

Create a Vision Board

I didn’t realize, but I began doing this as a child, after I saw my Great Aunt Irene do this on her wall. I would clip things out of magazines and put them on a poster board on my wall.

These are things I loved and wanted in my life. I had no idea how I would get them, but I wanted them. I put them in front of my eyes. Whether I knew it or not, I was planning to achieve what I wanted in my life.

As an adult who now sets regular goals, I have a huge vision board in my room. It is right now hanging on my wall above my laptop, so when I lean back in my chair, I can look up at it for inspiration. This corning of my bedroom is my go to place, it is set aside for ME.

I’m using an old cork board that I’ve had for about 10 years. I found it at the Salvation Army Store for $1 and bought all 10 that they had. They are all over the house. I use them for everything.

This one I hijacked for myself. There was marker on it from where my little ones drew on it, so I covered it with beautiful gold wrapping paper. It is so pretty hanging on my wall with all the things I love on it.

Weekly, Daily, and sometimes Hourly Check-ins

I must constantly check in with myself. Why am I doing what I’m doing? Is this helping me achieve my goals? Where am, I going? What do I really want? How are you Planning to Achieve Your Goals?

Whether it is a piece of food, a blog post that needs to be finished, how I spend my money, or going to bed at a decent time, I need to make sure what I’m doing is helping me achieve my goals.

This isn’t something you can just say you are going to do it and never think about it again. If you want to make a life change, then you should be willing to change who you are. It takes work, sometimes more work than I want to do, but it is worth it in the end.

For example, as I’m writing this I really want something sweet to eat and a Coke a Cola, but I know that won’t help me reach one of my goals, to lose weight. I must constantly check in with myself about some of my harder goals, if I want to achieve them.

I’m tired of investing in failures.

Let’s be honest, what are you doing to REALLY invest in your goals. Do you buy a gym membership that you never use? Do you say you are going to eat healthily but grab processed foods and sweets at the grocery store? I know it’s for the kids, but how many of us leave easily accessible foods alone. I know I don’t.

I’ve had to STOP buying junk food that I love to make sure I don’t eat it. If I want to make sure I don’t drink soft drinks, I don’t buy them. I had to even stop buying cake mixes and icing because it was way to easy to make the things I love. I knew I had a problem and found solutions to make it work.

Instead, I invested that money into buying bottles of water, so water was easily accessible, no excuse. I buy ice, our ice maker doesn’t make it fast enough or often enough for our family of 8. I buy the vegetables I need to make a salad. The only sweets I buy are ones that I won’t eat.

I set myself up for success by Planning to Achieve My Goals!

What if my goals are HUGE?!?

This my friends aren’t a problem, but wonderful!

HUGE goals are dreams that are waiting for you to make a move on them. These are also achievable, but will take some planning. They will take time.

You can’t say, I’m going to be a millionaire by the end of the year, and you are only making $50,000 a year. Something must change to make that happen. You need steps, a plan.

I know, another plan! If your goal is to be debt free by the end of the year, and you don’t take the time to figure out how much debt you have, I promise you won’t be debt free. If you don’t write down the steps to getting things paid off, you will still have that debt at the end of the year, and you will be writing down that you want to be debt free at the new year.

Why do you think the Dave Ramsey course is so popular? Dave gives you a systematic plan to achieve your goals.

If you are needing a step by step plan to breaking down your HUGE goals, you are in luck. Later this month, I’m going to help you do that. I’m going to show you how to turn those impossible dreams into steps that are not only easy to manage but wonderfully doable.

You can do this, you can begin Planning to Achieve Your Goals: Write It Down!

Planning to Achieve Your Goals: Write it Down

I know this seems HARD, but as my sister constantly tells me, “Samantha, you must choose your hard.”

Which is harder, spending time dreaming, writing out your goals, and being accountable, OR no staying right where you are? Don’t get me wrong, I have a great life, but there are things I really want to do with my life. There are places I want to take my children. Experiences I want them to have.

This takes setting goals, planning, and sticking to them when times are hard.

If you are interested, but want more information, or like my husband who constantly craves more information, here are some great articles you might want to read.

Write Down Goals on Motto by Time

How to Achieve by Leonie Dawson

The Power of Goals by Leonie Dawson

Why Setting Goals is Essential for Success by Life Hack

What steps are you going to take in Planning to Achieve Your Goals: Write It Down?