How I pursue and implement my goals
The topic has been on my mind for a few weeks now, and so I thought to myself, I should write a blog post about how I pursue and implement my goals. Of course, I am not omniscient and there are still many other options. But I hope that I can help you with my ideas to work on your own goals.
1. How do I even find my goals
The first step is probably the most difficult. Some find it very easy, others very difficult to find goals. I find it rather easy myself, sometimes I have even too many goals and then don’t manage to implement them all. That can be frustrating too.
I think what helps me find my goals is that I know myself well. I know who I am, what I like and dislike, and I am very clear with myself and those around me.
What can also help is if I calmly go ask myself what I want from my life. Images immediately pop into my head.
What can definitely help is if you get inspiration from others. I don’t mean adopting someone else’s goals. Much more to look at different goals / ideas and to feel them well within yourself. With some goals there is then a clear feeling that it suits me and with others it is more neutral feelings or even rejection.
It is very clear that one should never pursue goals for others or for the reputation of others. In my opinion, this inevitably leads to dissatisfaction.
It is therefore important that you always stay with yourself. Then you will already find what you really want to achieve in your life.
2. And then? First steps to the goal
As soon as I have found my goal, I move on to concrete implementation.
My first step is usually to visualize the goal over and over again. If you’ve never heard of visualizing, I’ll explain it briefly to you using an example.
Imagine you are holding a yellow, juicy lemon in your hand. You look at it from all sides, see the slight dents in the zest and the rich yellow. You smell the lemony smell rising from the lemon into your nose. Your mouth contracts slightly because at that moment you are imagining the acidity of the lemon, and you can almost feel it.
If you just had pictures in your head, now you know what visualization is. It’s about creating images in your head that are as real as possible. Best linked with emotions and with that we are already in the process of manifesting.
I believe in the past few years I have manifested every wish I had. When manifesting, one regularly visualizes the goal to be achieved, as concretely and precisely as possible.
It is through connection with emotions that the manifestation becomes so successful. Because we change our habits through routine and emotions that are associated with them.
In a nutshell, I visualize and manifest my goal as concretely as possible. I then practice that very often, almost every day. This is how I regularly remind myself and my subconscious (which, mind you, makes up 95%!) of what I want to achieve and thereby pave the way to get there.
If manifesting is difficult for you, I recommend starting in very small steps. Practice regularly and every time you will find it easier.
You can of course look for inspiration in social media, but also on Pinterest or similar. But always listen carefully to your heart and what you really want! We quickly allow ourselves to be distracted and carried away by the outside world. It therefore helps me to sort out whom I’m following and what content I’m consuming. Now I pay a lot of attention to it and feel good when I’m on Instagram, for example 😊
My favorite account on the subject is of course (from whom else) from Laura Malina Seiler. She also has a great podcast – Happy Holy and Confident.
3. The plan is everything
So when I know what I want and how it should be, then I’ll start planning.
What exactly does it take, and when do I want to achieve my goal?
You may have heard of the SMART goals before. This is exactly what this is about. You may also have to divide the goal into smaller intermediate goals, otherwise it would be too big.
In the end, the SMART goals are about:
- S = Specific > Is the goal specific and clear?
- M = Measurable > How can I tell that the goal has been achieved?
- A = Achievable > Is the goal achievable for me like this? If not – intermediate goals
- R = Reasonable > Is the goal relevant to me, does it suit me, is it worth striving for?
- T = Timebound > When do I reach the goal? When do I reach which intermediate goal?
As soon as I have framed my goal in such a certain way, I know exactly what to do and when, so that I can achieve the goal.
What I really enjoy doing is making collages. For example, I print out pictures once a year for my goals in this year. Monthly goals can either be derived from them, or you can then individually look at what suits you. For monthly goals, I create collages on Canva with pictures and text. I then make that as a background in the cell phone and on the laptop. So I see them again and again and am reminded of my goals.
If you approach this very focused, you can derive monthly goals from the annual goals and from them weekly or even daily goals. I think this can be a good plan for some who find it very difficult to implement.
4. Implementation of the goal
When my goals are clear, and I have planned more precisely how I want to implement them, then the most difficult step of all comes, implementation.
The preparatory work definitely helps me here. If I was negligent before, I don’t know exactly what I want or if I haven’t thought it all through well enough, then I won’t be able to implement my goal.
What also helps me is to focus on myself. As I mentioned before, I’m more of a person who likes to sit on more than just one chair at the same time. Since then, I have had a “main goal” that I work on every month. Everything else is tinkered with and falls down at the back if necessary. For example, I haven’t done anything here in the last few weeks. I don’t think that’s great, but it doesn’t stress me anymore, it’s just the way it is. To achieve the goal I have set for me, I just have to focus on one thing.
In any case, I would like to encourage you to write down your thoughts / plans. If it’s written down, it’s not in your head anymore. I’ve made the experience very intensely over the past few months. I have a lot less buzzing around in my head and as a result I can work more focused on my goals since I’ve been writing down EVERYTHING that goes through my head. It’s either a task, a reminder, or a note. I use Google Calendar and Evernote for this.
My morning routine also helped me a lot. Because my morning is already all routine, I don’t have to think much here. My morning routine is very productive and so in the morning I already have the feeling that I have already achieved something. The feeling is priceless and affects the whole day! So I can only recommend this to you. Even if it’s just one thing you do every morning that becomes a routine and gets you moving, do it, go ahead!
I also think it would be important to consider which habits serve me and my goal and which don’t. I notice that something does not serve me if it robs me of energy instead of giving me energy. When I am or get restless thinking about it. Generally, things that pull me down or demotivate rather than motivate me. Once those who do not serve me are filtered out, they should also be eliminated. At the same time, you will notice which habits would serve you. These then have to be integrated into everyday life.
Implementation usually only works as long as we feel success. Most of the time, however, goals are not easy to achieve (otherwise you may have set them too small), so there will always be setbacks. For this it is important to note successes regularly. When I am in a phase in which it is very difficult for me to implement everything, then I can look at my previous successes and know again what I’m doing it for. Hence, a success diary can be very helpful.
By documenting the individual steps, I not only have the opportunity to remember the good moments. I can also document what did not go well and then analyze why. This way I can avoid mistakes over time and become more and more productive.
Another wonderful idea is to involve other people. Find someone who has the same goal as you and arrange with that person. Exchange ideas, talk about your goal, motivate each other. Because of someone else who is working with you on the same goal, you are in a certain sense obliged to take care of the implementation. You can also support and motivate each other if necessary.
Summary
So these are my steps how I pursue and implement my goals
- Finding a goal
- Know myself well, know what I like
- Get inspired
- Not pursuing the goals of others
- First steps
- Visualize
- Manifest
- Planning
- SMART goals
- What exactly, when, how
- Intermediate goals
- Create collages / backgrounds
- Create annual / monthly / weekly / daily goals
- Implementation
- Focus
- Write it all down
- Routines
- Success diary or goals diary
- Reliable others
Now I hope you are successful with your next goal!
Feel free to tell me in the comments which methods you have found for yourself and what is helping you.
I hope you have a wonderful, successful day!
