“A vision without strategy remains an illusion.”
Lee Bolman
When it comes to achieving a goal, there are several important factors to consider. First and foremost, you need to identify WHAT you are trying to achieve. In other words, articulate your goal.
Equally important is the WHY behind your goal. This is the reason you’ve chosen to pursue a particular goal or dream in the first place. It will serve as your purpose and motivation to continue making progress.
Although clearly defining WHAT your goals are and WHY you are choosing to pursue them are the essential first steps of achievement, you can’t stop there! You’ve got to consider HOW you are going to intentionally work towards your goals.
Truly successful people do not achieve their goals on motivation and enthusiasm alone. Their success is the result of motivation combined with strategically planned habits that enable them to be successful.
5 Helpful Strategies for Success
- Set SMART Goals
In order to be successful, your goals need to be realistic and achievable. In my post, Setting Smart Goals, I outline the steps for developing truly effective goals that will allow you to be successful. - Identify and Remove Distracting Habits
What are the habits in your life that are making it difficult for you to make progress towards your goals? Here are a few important factors to consider:- How are you spending your time? Are there activities in your day that are wasting your time instead of helping your make progress?
- What mindset habits are getting in the way of your progress?
- Are there relationships in your life hurting your ability to pursue your goals?
- Schedule Time to Work on Your Goals
You can have the best intentions in the world, but if you don’t schedule time to be productive, chances are you won’t actually get your work done.I recommend taking some time each week to look at next week’s schedule and block out chunks of time to work on your specific goals. As you schedule your work sessions, be sure to treat these times the way you would an appointment with a friend or coworker…it’s a commitment. - Setup A System for Accountability
You are more likely to achieve your goals when you have someone holding you accountable. Accountability can come in a lot of different forms. For some, it’s helpful to have a friend, coworker, or coach to check in with on a regular basis. For others, collaborative support groups or masterminds are an excellent source of accountability.Whether you prefer one on one interaction or the energy of a group, make sure you are sharing both your goals and your progress towards achieving those goals on a regular basis. - Track Your Progress
Regardless of the specific goal, it’s important to find a way to track your progress. This will ensure that your time and resources are being well utilized and will enable you to make strategic changes, as necessary if you aren’t seeing the progress you’d hoped for.Daily progress can be recorded and measured in a variety of ways. For some, it’s helpful to keep a journal. Others prefer an excel datasheet. Find a data collection method that works for you and use it as a tool to keep yourself on track.
As you work on developing and refining your personal success strategies, check out this quick 8 question quiz to learn about your Strategic Vision Mastery score!
