Your goals in life may be personal, family or career orientated. Whatever they are, you should be working on these daily.
I have a number of goals for my family, career, small business and church ministry. A few are over ambitious but I feel it is important to set goals high. If you aim for 60, you may hit 50/55 whereas if you aim for 100, you may hit 90/95. Big difference!
I love this quote by Don Lancaster;
“Most ‘impossible’ goals can be met simply by breaking them down into bite size chunks, writing them down, believing them and then going full speed ahead as if they were routine.”
This quote resonates with me on so many levels. It reminds me that reaching my goal is simply a process that I must follow consistently and diligently.
So, the four things to consider;
1. What is your purpose? What expected outcome are you hoping for? There has to be a reason for setting your goal. This reason will keep you motivated and focused when tough times come (and they will!)
2. How much are you willing to sacrifice?
Desiring to achieve goals is not enough.
You will need to pursue then daily. You may need to brush up on your skills, read books, network at events. All of which will monopolise on your time.
3. When do you want to achieve this by?
There has to be a set end date to ensure you meet the deadline. You can then plan the steps you will make to meet it.
4. What impact will this have on your family? It is far better to have the support of your family. Will striving for your goals eat into family time? Communicate with your spouse and children at all times. Balance family life and work/project life. I know this may not be for everyone but I sacrifice a few hours sleep to work on my goals. I can then focus my time on my children during the day.
Do you have defined goals?
Do you work towards these on a daily basis?
organisedlady 
These are insightful points Phoenicia. My issue hasn’t been laying out goals, but actually seeing them through to the end. Learning to break them up sounds like the best approach, that way I’m not rushing through the steps and can take away a lot from the experience.
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Thanks Revelbos.
You are more likely to see your goals through to the end if you break them down into achievable tasks.
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Well made points. The purpose of the goal–the why behind it–is always a huge motivator for me. If I can’t clearly articulate why I want to achieve something, I pause and consider: do I really want to spend my time on this goal? Often the answer is no and I move onto a better thing.
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As you have said Rose Mary – we first need to know why we are doing something before we do it.
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Awesome post Phoenica, I love your article about breaking down your goals in chunks. Taking it one step at a time.
What an inspiring post. Thanks for sharing x
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Thanks Safari. Glad it blessed you.
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I liked your article about breaking down your goals in chunks. When we plan too big and do not succeed we let our goals fall to the wayside. Not taking on too much at one time I think will get me to where I want to go.
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Thanks Arlene.
If a task looks unachievable or far too challenging the tendency is to avoid taking it on.
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Excellent post. I try to work on my goals daily. So far its been working great.
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Why, thank you Jason!
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Hi Phoenicia; great post. wonderful how you distilled it down to such short easy to understand segments. hope people listen. this is how i’ve been living my life for years. blessings max
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Glad that you approve Maxwell!
Thanks for your words of encouragement.
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Well said Phoenicia, and I am especially impressed to see that you’ve included the point about sacrifice. Many people become champs at setting impressive goals without ever considering the cost. And yes, I have goals and maybe even more importantly priorities.I have my goals for the year set up on a spreadsheet by month which makes it much easier to not only break them down into actionable steps, but to conduct reviews so I have a visual of my progress. Thanks for the great tips and inspiration!
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You are welcome Marquita.
Sacrifice can be challenging but it is necessary in order to progress.
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I’m a big picture holistic type of thinking. So I’m good at envisioning things and setting lofty goals. It took me a really long time to learn how to break big goals into smaller steps, but it was worth it whether I apply it to the time I spent in the classroom, my current freelancing, or writing my first novel.
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Jeri – you are a visionary – how exciting!
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An interesting question is whether it is better to have modest goals and achieve them or to have ambitious goals that you work toward but never actually fully achieve. Can’t say I have the answer.
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Ken – my goals are both big and small. If you aim high and miss, you will achieve significantly more than if you aim for average and meet it.
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Yes.. very true..
A big task when broken in to small pieces becomes easier to perform. Thanks a lot for including this quote.
Nicely presented post. Keep writing such posts
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Thanks for the encouragement Tuhin. I love to write and believe that my skills will continue to develop.
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Wonderful and inspiring post! I, too, find it better to break these big things into smaller and more appetizing bites! Oddly, I find that conquering them that way often is more fulfilling too!
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Jacquie – thanks.
I am a bit sad in that I enjoy ticking off tasks I have completed, however small.
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For some reason, this made me think of the first man to walk on the moon. I’m sure people thought that was an impossible goal, but when they broke it down and started working through the problems one by one, they made it happen. I’m not great at setting goals. I’d probably get a lot more done if I was!
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Meredith – many things appear unachievable to most but there are always a few that think;
“I am going to find a way”.
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I’ve been writing about goals too. Isn’t it funny how we often choose similar topics? I like the point about how your goals will affect your family. Of course I think about that but I’ve never mentioned it. Thanks for that.
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Beth – often we expect our family to fall in line with our plans when in fact, life has to go on for them. I try where possible to accommodate activities, parties and play dates for my children and time with my husband.
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Phoenicia, I like breaking goals down into bite size chunks.
Only by doing that can goals be managed. If you look at the big picture too often you tend to become overwhelmed. Taking it one step at a time makes much more sense.
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Lenie – tasks appear far more achievable when they are broken down.
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So many people are talking about goals today which is leaving me really inspired. I love that you “shoot high”. That is really the way to go. I am finishing up step one of a larger goal. I’m feeling excited about that step. But this is just part of a larger goal, so it is time to start focusing again!
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Erica – pleased that my blog has inspired you. I too noticed that a few other bloggers wrote about goals.
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Great post! I love that you stated to include your family in your goals. Great point. Not everyone does this and it is so important that everyone is on the same page.
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Thanks Sabrina. Family should always be considered as decisions made will have an effect on them.
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Breaking goals into bite-sized chunks is important for me. I am generally a goal-oriented person, so the last paragraph on balance really resonated with me. Sometimes I need to work less on my goals and just enjoy what is around me.
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Donna – we are alike as I too am goal orientated, sometimes to my own detriment.
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I have a pretty big personal goal right now Phoenicia. It’s a family goal and I work on it slowly but surely. Fortunately, and even fun, my sisters and I are moving toward the same one. Thanks for your four points!
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Pat – how exciting that you and your sister are working towards the same goal!
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