The Ultimate guide to setting meaningful goals and slay them right away

How to set meaningful goals and prepare yourself to achieve them?

Are you someone who sets goals every single time but fails to achieve them? Are you frustrated because you cannot keep the same momentum you had while setting your goals? I can so feel you. This usually happens to me while buying a new planner every year.

As my birthday falls in the month of January, I always gift myself a brand new planner for the new year to plan my month in advance and get clear about my goals. However, as time passes, my planner lays still on my bookshelf untouched. I wonder, this is what happens with our goals as well. We are so excited and full of energy while setting goals but as time passes, we just fall behind and totally forget all our plans.

When it comes to goal setting, I know you probably would have read hundreds of such posts and various books, however; through this piece, I am going to take you on a journey of setting meaningful goals and everything you need to know about achieving them.

The problem with setting multiple goals:

Just like you, I also used to set multiple goals and literally work super hard to achieve them. However, in the end, I used to always feel exhausted and frustrated because I could no longer concentrate on all those goals at a single time. Every new book or podcast or interview would influence me to set new goals, achieve success, and live the life of my dreams.

But the thing is; can you actually work on multiple goals at the same time? I really don’t know about you but for me, it’s a big no. I cannot focus on more than two goals at a time. Thus, I always try to create monthly goals and work towards achieving them.

So the first task for you even before embarking on this goal-setting journey is to have a clear idea about your goals. Know what you want to achieve and then set a meaningful goal. When you know your ‘why’, you will be able to create more intentional goals and it will gradually increase your chances of achieving them.

Let’s start the deep work of setting meaningful goals and holding yourself accountable for slaying them. Are you ready to crush your goals and live your dream life?

The ultimate process of setting meaningful goals:

1. Be clear about your goals

Before even beginning to plan on achieving your goals, be crystal clear on what you actually want. This can be a quick brainstorming of the things you want to achieve in a month, quarter, or year. I would highly recommend creating a goal priority list so as to not get overwhelmed by the tasks.

The next thing to keep in mind while setting your goals is to know their purpose. You can only set meaningful goals and live a purpose-driven life if you know your ‘why’. When I used to teach kids in an elementary school about their goals and dreams, I would totally focus on making sure that they understand the difference between goals and meaningful goals.

When you’re clear about your intention behind the goals you wish to achieve; you’ll be less likely to lose track. Your goals can be anything from buying the house, building a 6-figure empire, learning a new skill, getting a pet; any damn thing; but without a solid purpose; it’s all worthless. This will help you set right goals for yourself.

Here’re some questions to ask yourself for setting a meaningful goal:

• Why this goal is important for me right now?
• What are my intentions behind this goal?
• How is my life going to change after I achieve this meaningful goal?
• What are my priorities right now?
• Am I holding myself accountable for achieving this goal?
• Is this goal in alignment with my values?

Besides, you can also use the S.M.A.R.T method to be super clear about your goals. Here’s how it goes:

S – Specific  Are my goals specific?

M – Measurable Can I measure my goals? Can I measure the progress of my goal?

A – Achievable Are my goals not impossible to achieve?

R – Realistic Are my goals based on my fantasy? or Are they realistic?

T – Timely Are my goals with a clear timeline – the starting date and the accomplishing one?

Journal through these questions and be clear on why you actually wish to have that particular goal that you’re intending to achieve.

Now that we are done with getting clear on why you wish to have meaningful goals, it’s time to have a solid action plan.

2. Create an action plan for your goals

It’s truly said; without execution, everything is just BS. You cannot sit idle after setting meaningful goals and knowing your ‘why’. It’s necessary to have a roadmap to reach that goal and this is where having a solid action plan to achieve your goals plays a major role. Let’s take a random goal using the SMART method which means you will have a deadline for the goal.

Here it goes; ‘I want to start a new business by August 20th ‘. Now that you have declared your goal with a timeline, you need to draft an action plan for the same. If this is your quarterly goal; you need to break it down in three months span. This is how it would roughly look like:

By the end of May: Be clear about your ‘why’ and do thorough research regarding the business you wish to start. Know your competitors and keep a close look at their progress.

By the end of  June: Know your expenses and your savings. When you’re done with the market research, it’s time to be know how much you’re going to invest in your business. Thus it’s necessary to be clear about your financial status.

By the end of July: This is the month where you will be drafting a rough business plan and pitching all the potential influencers + brands to help you grow. In this stage, you will be creating your monthly goals and a plan to achieve them.

After you’re done with this process of creating an action plan, it time to follow through. This step would indeed require some hard work but achieving meaningful goals and not losing momentum while doing so is not always a cakewalk.

Now that you have a solid action plan to achieve your goals; it’s time to set some accountability parameters so as to stay on track.

3. Have an accountability check

When you’re working on your goals with an action plan it’s so likely to get distracted because life happens. However, you really cannot afford to stay off track for long and hence it’s necessary to have some accountability partner as you work on achieving your intentional goals.

You can always hold yourself accountable for achieving your goals and give yourself some reward after accomplishing the same. However, I would highly suggest having some accountability partner or a friend to discuss and talk about everything you do.

Besides this, you can also declare your goals with a deadline on your social network so that you have some pressure to get the work done on time. I find this super helpful, personally. Another way is to create a small inner circle group of like-minded people, where you can work together and discuss things.

In the end, always remember that you’re not doing this for any competition but just to stay on track. The next step is all about measuring your success and celebrating it.

4. Measure your success and celebrate it

Give yourself a pat if you’ve followed through with all the above steps. You indeed deserve it!! When you’re done with planning, start implementing it right away. Most of us wait for the right time to begin, consider this as a sign, and start working on slaying your goals. Besides, don’t forget to measure your success all along the way as it will keep you motivated and will inspire you to keep going.

Here’s how you can do a quick success check-in:

• Are you creating the life of your dreams?
• Are the results in alignment with your values?
• Is your work rendering you a deep sense of satisfaction and a feeling of fulfillment?
• Are you being the person you always envisioned yourself to be?

Think deep about these questions and sleep upon them for a while. I’m sure, you will find a newfound clarity. And now that we’re done with setting meaningful goals, making a solid action plan to achieve them, setting accountability and measuring our success; it’s time to celebrate your wins.

Yes, my darling; it’s so very crucial to honor yourself and celebrate even the smallest win. Be grateful for how far you have come and always have a strong belief that you are always guided on the right path.

Take a day off, pamper yourself, practice self-care, do nothing, bring yourself a bunch of fresh flowers, and celebrate your wins. I so love doing a little happy dance after accomplishing my goals. This fills me with so much joy and energy.

Setting meaningful goals and slaying them – the conclusion

Setting heart-centered goals are always challenging and intimidating initially. However, I’m sure if your will is strong enough and you have a proper plan; you’re going to crush all your goals. I so hope that this piece helped you in fulfilling your purpose and set meaningful goals.

I would love to know which type of goals are you setting and preparing yourself to crush them, do share them in the comments below. Also, if this post helped you, please pin it for a later read. It helps me grow and create such helpful content.