5 Tips to Achieving your Goals

Begin your 2021 journey to achieving your goals with these simple ways to get your brain on your side.

Setting goals for the New Year usually means doing more of some things and less of others. More exercise, more sleep, more time with the people that count and less screen time and less of the things that make us frown.

So how do you put them in place and how in the hell do keep doing them all year?

Well to begin with, you need to make them realistic, and don’t set an infinite list that you’ll never complete. And whatever you do, don’t keep beating yourself up about the things that didn’t go quite right. Dust yourself off and pick up where you left off.

When it comes to goals that you want to keep going for the whole year let me suggest a couple of tips to make the journey a little easier.

Sit back and take a couple of deep breathes and take a little time to decide what you want to achieve this year. When you have a couple of goals in mind, imagine yourself 12 months into the future. Take some time to dream about what accomplishing those goals would feel like. Reflect on how satisfied and proud of yourself you are. Take a moment to notice what it means to you. Then, track back through the year, thinking about the milestones. Imagine where you would have been at the end September, at the end of June and what you would've accomplished by the end of March. Can you see/feel the progress you’ve made towards your goal?

Now leave that for a moment… take another breath and think about what would be like at the end of the year, without having done any of the things. Imagine the feeling of being a year older and no closer to the goals that you planned in January. It’s disappointing and can eat away at your self-esteem.

Take a moment to digest those two scenarios. You’ll be feeling motivated towards achieving your goal either because of what you want or don’t want. Both are good motivators and get you to be honest about why you want to achieve your goal. So if getting a better result this year is important to you or you just want to hone your goal setting skills, read on for some practical things you can do that have been designed with your brain in mind.

Practical Tip 1 - Grab a journal that you can use for the year.

Get something pretty that you feel good using. Think about all the steps that got you to those milestones (March, June & September) and start writing them down and I mean writing…. typing doesn’t engage your brain in the same way and writing your goals down increases the likelihood of your success by 42 percent, yes, that’s not a mistake, 42 percent.

Then break down them down even further into smaller achievable steps. Making the steps too big can mean getting disheartened before you get there and smaller steps leave room for the unpredictable nature of our lives. Ticking these small wins off along the way builds your motivation to keep you on track. Your brain loves a challenge and rewards your achievement with dopamine.

Dopamine (a neurotransmitter in your brain) is the queen of feel good and has the added benefit of increasing your motivation. So with every tick, you add more dopamine and in turn, more motivation. You’re getting active so set small incremental increases and high five your successes.

Practical Tip 2 - Mum’s the word - keep your goal to yourself (except for your coach of course)

It’s natural to want to share your plan with your friends and family. Get their support, feel great as they congratulate you on your great choice? Makes sense, doesn’t it?

Unhappily though, there is a down side; your brain codes this sharing differently than you might imagine.

All the excitement generated in those moments leaves your brain thinking the job has already been done and can leave you depleted of the motivation and enthusiasm to keep your goal in play. This is a big contributor to why people don’t follow through on goals that seemed so right at the time.

You announce your goal to someone who’s not 100% onboard and it feels deflating.

This deflated feeling is your dopamine withdrawing. Less dopamine means less motivation. Suddenly the steps get harder. Even people you love & love you, may not be able to emotional support you or perhaps even understand or agree with why you want to achieve your goal.

In the beginning keep all of your focus and attention on your goals.

Practical Tip 3 – Start Colouring in

Increase your ability to focus over time by investing in a mindfulness colouring book. Focus and attention are key ingredients to accomplishing your goals and are a great companion to wellness goals. Buy a colouring book and pencils if that appeals or try one these other simple ideas encourage new long term habits.

Practical Tip 4 – Create a Memory Jar

Does 2020 feel like a blur?

2020 was a year that many of us would rather forget. The impact of the global pandemic has been devastating to some and frustrating and uncertain for most. You know it was busy and full of change but I bet you can’t remember half of it! So here's an idea for you to use throughout this year.... collect your smiles and write them down so everyone can hear them again on Christmas Day 2021. You can take turns reading them out when all the family is together and celebrate those moments all over again.

Make a project of creating a beautiful memory jar worthy of your family’s memories. Include those funny moments, the inside jokes that only your family will get, holiday highlights and all the times that make you smile. You can cut pretty paper into pieces or coloured cardboard, use string or ribbon for ties.

Practical Tip 5 - The Sensational 52 week Savings Plan

Here is a great example of putting weekly steps into practice and ticking off those small wins when you add your weekly investment.

If your children want to take part they might like to use different amounts or perhaps you pay a percentage to help them get to their goal. You will instil great savings habits that will work in their favour for years to come. By knowing what you are committing each week and getting the biggest bits out of the way early it’s makes this a sensational plan for more cash at Christmas easier than ever.

Getting your brain on your side can make a remarkable difference to your motivation and your success. It’s so easy to get caught up in the daily grind that we forget to take care of ourselves. So often putting ourselves last on the “to do” list. Health and vitality opens up options for us and we begin to spiral up, often in unexpected ways. Life gets better all round. Congratulations on choosing to enhance your wellness and life.

Enjoy the journey.