How to Set Goals and Achieve Them

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

I felt that today would be a good day to talk about living life to the fullest.  I'm no expert on this, but I've learned a few things over the years that I can share with you.  One thing I can say for sure is that most of us are not reaching our potential, as we find that the words "woulda coulda shoulda" dominate our daily dialog.

Well, life is too short to be mediocre, so it's time for you to start being your best.  Here are a few tips on how to reach your goals.  The list is simple and to the point, and I suggest you read it every day of your life:

1) Always have a goal: Life is no fun if you aren't striving for something.  A man or woman without any goals in life is effectively just waiting to die.  Rather than making your life about simple survival, you may want to find a way to give it some purpose.  Keep the list of goals with you at all the times, so you can always remember what you're meant to do.

2) Create clear and concrete strategies to reach your goals: Just like a map tells you the road to take to get to your destination, you should lay out a simple list of day-to-day activities that will get you to your goal.  For example, when I wanted to lose 15 pounds, my daily goal was to exercise for 10 - 20 minutes every day.  I then followed my strategy on a daily basis and lost the weight.  When my goal was to finish my 150-page PhD dissertation, my simple daily strategy was to work on the project for at least one hour per day, that's it.  In six months, I was done.  Most of the time, the path to our dreams is simple and straight forward, it's really not rocket science.

3) Forgive yourself for mistakes and always re-assess where you stand: Most of us fail more than we succeed, at least I do.  It's the ability to keep going after you fail that ultimately makes you successful.  Most people never reach their goals because they quit when they fail, thinking that their failure is a sign of inadequacy.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  When you fall on your face, figure out the lesson that you're supposed to learn and keep it moving.  Failing only makes you stronger in the end.

4) Cut the haters out of your psychological inner circle: Most of us have haters in our midst, and negative people who don't believe that we're worthy of the goals we've put in front of us.  Well, my favorite saying is that "the hustler's dream is the hater's nightmare," so as you climb the ladder of success, you'll find the haters piling up at the door. Sometimes the biggest hater in the world can be yourself. Cut the haters out of your sights and focus on what you've got to do.   Click here to see my how-to guide for dealing with haterologists.

5) Execute, execute, execute: Brilliant ideas don't mean jack without execution.  I've had people tell me what they could have done, wish they'd done or are going to do.  All this translates in my brain to "blah blah blah blah blah."  You speak with your ACTION, not words.  If you can't produce physical evidence to show that you've been doing what you've set out to do, then your goals don't mean a thing.  Evaluate yourself on execution, for that is all that matters in the end.