I hate the “#GoalDigger” trend that’s being gold embossed all over notebooks and coffee mugs. I know it’s supposed to be clever and cute but frankly, I think it missed the mark. You don’t dig up goals and I know I’m being super literal with this one but ugh. I’m also sick of seeing “Girl Boss” on everything. Why can’t I just be a boss without having to add my gender in front?
Anyway, this is about goals. And it’s about setting goals that can actually be completed. Funny enough, part of the reason I’m writing this post right now during my last week of college when I should be doing 100 other things like packing or getting ready for senior formal is because of a goal. Three years ago, I set a goal to post twice a week on ew&pt. When that was too overwhelming based on my workload and schedule, I made the goal more realistic by posting once a week. I’ve yet to fail this one and I post every week no matter how busy and crazy life gets. It’s goal that matters to me and it’s one of the very, very few I actually stick to.
Because at the end of the day, setting goals is easy but setting good ones can be tough. Actually achieving them is even tougher. Here’s how we can work on this. Emphasis on the “we.”
1. Choose Goals You Actually Care About Achieving
This one is huge for me. When my heart isn’t in something, I tend to complete it half-assed or not at all. When I used to set vague goals as new year’s resolutions for the sake of setting goals on January 1st, they generally were passive goals that didn’t matter to me. Did I really care if I flossed every day or did 20 squats a day? Nope. And they didn’t happen.
Meanwhile, I had a goal to apply cuticle oil every day for a month for the purpose of potentially quitting my horrible habit of ripping off my cuticles and I actually did it. It didn’t help me quit my bad habit, but it’s a goal I completed because I cared about the potential consequence. What I’m saying is, set goals that you’re determined to keep, not ones that you’ll passively sort of give a shit about for a few days.
Here are some summer-related goal ideas if you need some inspo. Just make sure you actually vibe with them and want to achieve them before ascribing to them.
2. Track it
I enjoyed using my Habit Tracker from Class Tracker (affiliate link) for some of my goals that required my completing it once a day. For example, my goal to read at least 20 pages a day for a month was successful because I remembered to track it and the simple act of tracking it kept me motivated. I dreaded the idea of missing a checkmark in my perfect score!
There are also probably apps for this and you could put post-it notes on your wall to track each run you go on or veggie you eat.
3. Keep it Visible
When you can’t avoid it, you’ll better remember to stick to it! It can be good to set some goals as a lock screen on your phone. You can also craft a vision board, which is good for multiple goals or very visual ones like a trip or pair of shoes. To keep my goals visible, I often kept my habit tracker in the center of my desk so it couldn’t be ignored or avoided. I also use post-it notes, but I use so many post-it notes that I eventually start ignoring them. It’s all about adapting!
4. Create Accountability
In eighth grade, my scrawny friend Jimmy bet a bunch of people in our grade that he could get six-pack abs by the end of the year. They all laughed and said he couldn’t (they also bet money on it, which is always a solid incentive). Jimmy got a six pack by the end of the year! And he earned money, but that’s beside the point.
The point is if you need to make a bet, make a bet. Sometimes winning is a solid motivation. I personally prefer telling other people my goals so they can help me stay accountable and I have someone who expects me to do something. Choose which works for you and which is best for your support system.
5. Reflect on Past Goals & Learn from Them
I actually just read one of my first blog posts from May 2015 where I reflected on goals I set for myself. A lot of them were basically fails. I had the accountability (my few readers) but I created a lot of the goals for the sake of just creating goals. But, looking back has inspired me to potentially repeat some of those goals. I’m not sure why I decided to arbitrarily give up chips, but now I feel motivated to cut some snacks out of my life for the sake of being healthier. Maybe I’ll cut out cookies and brownies…I’ll wait until after I graduate. Let’s be real, the last week of college warrants dessert.
I also looked at my Fall Semester 2016 Goals and I literally failed all of them. Ladies (and gents), don’t lie to yourself. I was lying to myself so hard when I thought I’d actually go to Zumba and eat less snacks and go to the library. Know yourself! It would’ve been more realistic for me to promise a visit to the gym twice a week and eliminating one specific category of snack.
6. Aim Low
Teachers and parents always encourage you to “Reach for the stars!” or whatever, but you also don’t want to be too ambitious. I’m super ambitious and sometimes it helps me fly and succeed, but other times (most of the time) I end up burning out. Failure by ambition is a big mood and its one that can be avoided.
Start small. When you achieve that goal, make a bigger one. Think of it like taking steps instead of running up a steep hill. Steps are manageable, running will leave you out of breath.
Don’t set goals that are dumbly simple and not overly productive like “Go to the gym once every two months” but also don’t go out of the gate with a “Go to the gym for an hour every single day.” Build up to those big goals by starting with bite-sized ones.
What are some goals you’re trying to set and stick to?
