We hear the word “goals” a lot as business owners, but sometimes, it can be difficult to really understand what a goal is. It’s not the only buzzword floating around in the online space, so what is a goal when you get down to it? And why are goals so damn important?

Keep reading for an in-depth look into creating goals, planning for success, and achieving your dreams!

What are goals?

Easy peasy. A goal is something that you want to achieve. You want it happen, whether it relates to your personal or professional life.

And not only do you want it to happen, but you commit to achieving your goal with a plan. It’s not fuzzy or confusing; rather, it’s a well-defined achievement that you’re prepared to make a reality.

It can be easy to confuse a goal with an objective, but here’s the difference:

A goal is the ultimate outcome you want to achieve, whereas an objective is a specific action or measurable step you need to take to reach your goal.

Why are goals important?

Goals are vital to our long-term success because they give us a roadmap to keep moving forward. According to a recent study, there is a direct correlation between setting goals and achieving success. That’s pretty powerful.

And not only do they help you rack of the achievements, but there are many other notable benefits to goal setting. When you have well-defined goals that are achievable through a plan of action, you’ll better be able to adopt new behaviors and habits, as well as focus on what’s most important to you in both life and business. They help give you a clear sense of direction, improve your focus and mindset, increase your productivity and motivation, and SO much more.

How do you set achievable goals?

To create goals that will set you up for success (instead of leave you disappointed) I have some easy-to-follow tips! With these methods in mind, you’ll be on your way to realizing all of your dreams.

Create SMART goals

Use the SMART framework every time you create a goal, and you’re in good shape to make shit happen. Why? Because SMART is a best-practice framework for setting achievable goals that are much more likely to become a reality. The acronym stands for SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE, ATTAINABLE, RELEVANT, AND TIME-BOUND. When you make sure that your goals fit all of these critera, you’ll be better equipped to consisently work on them and have a better chance at realizing them.

Here’s a closer look at each letter:

Specific – make sure that your goal is clearly defined and you know exactly what you want to accomplish.

Measurable – Your goal should be easily quantifiable so you can track your progress. For example, a measurable goal might be that you want to generate at least 10 new leads per month.

Attainable – Make sure that your goal is realistic. It should not be too easy or too difficult. We want the target to be in reach!

Relevant – Create a goal that aligns with your overall vision for your life or business.

Time-bound – You should always attach your goal to a timeline. Choose a target date for completing your goal!

By following this framework, you’ll be able to manage your project/action plan more effectively because you will have a ton of clarity and a clear path ahead.

Write them down

When you put pen to paper, you’re making an investment in your future success. There’s legit science behind the fact that writing something down gives you a bigger chance of accomplishing more, and it cements what you’ve written in your brain that much better.

By writing your goals, you’re making them more tangible. This helps achieving your goal seem more realistic, which provides a ton of benefits along your journey. When your goal seems extra doable and you can see yourself reaching it, you’re more motivated and make greater strides than if you were to keep ’em in your head.

Develop a plan

Once you know exactly what your goal entails and when you want to accomplish it by, you need a gameplan. With your end goal in mind, take the time to think through each step you’ll need to take to get there.

You can get as specific with your plan as you need to to ensure forward movement as well! For each step, think about what you’ll need to accomplish to finish that step and consider assigning a timeline. This will help you work toward accomplishing your goal by your target date, because remember, SMART goals are time-bound!

By breaking a big goal down into smaller steps, you’ll feel less intimidated by what’s ahead. Smaller, more manageable chunks can feel easier, which boosts motivation and gets you where you want to be more quickly. Don’t skip this step!

Identify obstacles

Now that you’ve specified your goal and created steps to take, it’s time to think about the challenges that you may face. What could pop up that’ll set you off course? Is there something you need to do to achieve your goal that you’re not looking forward to? If there is, it could provide a barrier to accomplishing your goal.

When you spend time identifying what challenges may arise, it helps create a mindset that you know the road won’t be easy, but you can handle whatever comes your way. And, you can work toward overcoming each challenge without feleing overwhlemed because they’ll no longer take you by surprise.

Take action!

The absolute MOST IMPORTANT thing to do when you’re working toward a goal is to take action. You will never reach your goal if you don’t try. And you don’t want to take action just any ol’ time. You want to take consistent action.

This goes back to creating a measurable goal that you can break into steps. Each time you act, make a note of your progress. Not only will it feel extremely motivating to see yourself chipping away at the work ahead, but you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment which will help you keep going even when you might not feel like it. So depending on your goal, take action daily or weekly. Just make sure that you stick with it.

Ready to conquer your goals?

Now that you have the know-how to set attainable goals and go after ’em, it’s time to put it into practice. Take some time to think about your future and create a vision for what you want it to look like. Then think about what you need to do to make it happen. Once you’ve got it, you can use your vision to outline your goals and set yourself up for crazy success.

Are you ready? Set goals.