It’s true that soccer players have a different goal in mind, but the desire to complete an action is the same. Goals keep you focused, and step by step, you aim toward success. So if that’s the case, what steps must be taken in order to get where you want to be and do what you want to do? Let’s take a look.
First – Choose a Goal
This step may seem rather obvious, but without taking it, there’s no direction in your efforts. Create a list of things you’d like to accomplish. Now let the Voice of Reason have its say. How long will it take to complete each of these tasks? One by one, jot down the answer – will it take a day? A week? A month? A quarter? Or the whole year? Making certain that you’ve given yourself enough time to reach your goal is a crucial step in this process.
Second – Get Started
You know the phrase – the longest journey starts with the first step. Too often this is what snags people’s efforts. They find it easy to spell out what they’d like to accomplish, but getting started is another matter. BJ Fogg, a behavior scientist who runs a lab at Stanford University, will tell you that it’s not a step you should start with, but a tiny step. For instance, if you want to get more sleep at night, then the first night, go to bed 5 minutes earlier than usual. Do that for a couple of days and when you feel comfortable with this change, go to bed 5 minutes earlier than that. Gradually you can meet your goal of sleeping 7-½ to 8 hours a night, by taking these tiny steps to meet your goal.
Third – Keep Track
Once you have a goal in mind, break down the project into milestones. This planning is critical to your sense of accomplishment. Figure out how long it will take you to get to each milestone. You may not realize how far you’ve gone if you don’t keep track of these. Make a chart for your sleep patterns, for instance, to see how much more sleep you are getting each week. You may have a setback or two, but it’s important to see the trends and the progress.
Fourth – Reward Yourself
Here’s the most fun step of all. When you’ve met a milestone, reward yourself. Think of something that will serve as a motivation to keep on going. Some folks will increase the reward with each milestone as they get closer to their goal. Determine what will work for you and make a big deal of the celebration. You are a two-time winner with this step: not only are you well on your way to your goal, but you get a reward, too!
These four steps can help you work toward any goal you have in mind. We have another goal in mind for you. Expand your business with digital marketing. Online Sales Pro will show you how to use our lead generation tool so that you can more easily meet your business goals. So whether it’s soccer on the playing field or new customers for a business, a goal is often its own reward!
