A simple 4-Step process to achieve your Goals
A goal without a plan is just a wish...
(Adapted from an article by Inc.)
Feeling successful — in whatever way you choose to define “success” — is a key factor in overall happiness and fulfilment. So. Is there a strategy to help us learn to be more successful?
Turns out there is. In a study conducted by Gail Matthews of Dominican University, participants were assigned to one of five groups:
Group 1 thought about their goals.
Group 2 wrote down their goals. (Note it cascades from here.)
Group 3 also created action commitments, listing things they would do to achieve their goals.
Group 4 also sent their goals and action commitments to a supportive friend. (More on “supportive friend” in a moment.)
Group 5 also sent that friend weekly progress reports.
You can probably guess what happened:
Group 3, the action commitments folks, were even more likely to achieve their goals than people who only wrote down their goals, much less just thought about them.
Group 4, the send action commitments to a friend folks, were even more likely to achieve their goals than the “just” wrote down their action commitments group.
Group 5, the weekly progress reports folks, were the most likely to achieve their goals of all the groups.
Add it all up, and what do you get? Where achieving goals is concerned:
Writing goals down is good.
Writing goals down and creating action plans is better.
Sharing action plans with someone whose opinion you value is even better. A series of studies reveal people have greater goal commitment and performance when they tell their goal to someone they believe has higher status than themselves. “The important thing is that you need to care about the opinion of who you are telling”. If nothing else, that may create an aspirational form of peer pressure; who doesn’t want to be respected by the people they respect?
Providing weekly progress reports — in addition to all of the above — is the best goal-achievement strategy of all.
So, where should you start?
1. Write down a specific goal.
Not a fuzzy goal. Not “be more popular.” Or “do better at work.” Or “do better in sports.”
Make sure the goal is specific. “Make a good friend.” “Do 20 minutes of walking for relaxation every day” “Make the basketball team.”
Why? Because measurable, objective goals better lend themselves to action plans. For example, “lose weight” is basically meaningless; “lose five pounds in two months” lets you do the math, determine the calories involved, create daily diet and exercise plans — you get the point.
The goal is to teach yourself to set measurable goals, a skill that will pay dividends for the rest of your life.
2. Create action plan.
A measurable, objective goal lets you start at the end and work backward. Want to get achieve 20 minutes of relaxation walking each day? That means planning and scheduling, and having a contingency plan for when it rains or the unexpected happens.
The goal is the “what,” and the action plans are the “how.”
A goal without a “how” is just a wish.
3. Share the goal and action plan with someone whose opinion you respect.
That means someone you don’t want to let down. Someone whose praise and regard you seek or crave.
4. Share weekly progress reports.
Here’s where the goal-setting rubber really meets the goal-achievement road. The best way to use an accountability buddy is to have that person hold you accountable for your action plan, not your overall goal.
Sharing weekly progress reports won’t just make it more likely you will achieve your goal. It also helps reinforce that while goals are important, actions generate results.
The four steps are:
Specific goal
Action plan
Share with a respected other
Report your weekly progress
There’s a fifth step, but it doesn’t need to be stated because it will just happen. You will tweak your goal and your plan, and open up whole new paths of health and happiness.
Got your pen and paper?
Got a respected friend to help you?
You may start now!