The Process
How To Set Goals
5 Steps To Get Anything You Want
This is a strategy I’ve used my whole life which is why I’ve always been able to remain so calm in situations that seem overwhelming to most. Focus on what you can control and what’s meant for you is meant to be!
Moment Of My Life
Actually, let me back track for a minute. This was learned behavior my freshman year in high school. Before that point, I didn’t really care to set any real goals for myself. I was enjoying the luxury of no responsibilities.
I trash talked everyone in school about how nice I was in basketball and how easy it would be to make our varsity team. I mean, how hard could it be? I was, in fact, one of the better players in middle school.
You want to know the real definition of cocky? It’s blindly believing that you can obtain a certain outcome, overestimating your abilities. I haven’t even put in the work to increase my chances of making the team. I was solely dependent on my ability in comparison to friends I’ve played.
Turns out I was trash because I didn’t even make our freshman team! This was one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. But I assured myself it would never happen again.
From that moment onward, I realized that you can’t just set goals and hope to achieve them, without understanding the process. I can’t control the outcome but I can control everything in between to ensure I’m ready for the outcome.
Sit, Plan, & Hesitate
Sounds disgusting, doesn’t it? Good! Channel that energy and start with “Why”. Ask yourself, “Why does this goal matter to me?”
Have you ever set a date to hang out with someone but wound up creating an excuse to cancel when the time came? Or maybe you just ghosted them altogether? Maybe this has even happened to you. This isn’t calculus. There was simply no value in sticking to this commitment.
The same applies when setting goals or anything in life for that matter. If you don’t see the value in what you’re doing then you’ll lack the necessary drive to complete the task.
Anyone can start something and not finish. I’ve been doing that myself these past few weeks. Taking out ingredients, setting the appropriate dish, only to throw on quick food. This pandemic is trying to turn me into a chef.
Point is, there will come a time when you feel unmotivated and possibly unable to explain those feelings. But understanding why you want to set a certain goal is crucial to ensure you push through those moments.
5 Steps
Before we begin, you may want to note your responses as we move along. I’ll also be providing examples so you have an idea of how this framework is used.
- What are your priorities? Whether they’re priorities for the year, month, your relationship, or growing your Instagram account, this is essentially in place to just give you the big picture of what you want.
For the purpose of this exercise, we’re going to address 1 priority at a time.
Ex. Priority — Grow IG Account to 100k Followers
Once you identify the priority,
- What actions within your control can be completed to help achieve those priorities? These actions are what you will focus your energy on!
Ex. Actions — Create content strategy, refine hashtag strategy, have a consistent theme, create a content calendar… these are all actions within my control.
Now that you’ve identified what actions you need to take, it’s time to introduce
The Process
to help you successfully complete those actions, which ultimately benefits the overall goal
- What habits must be implemented in order to achieve those actions? And not just achieve but how can you ensure the best possible results for your efforts?
Ex. Educate myself on IG. Another way of looking at this is “you must become what you want to attract”. So I must visualize already having 100k IG followers. How did I get there? What did I do?
In order words, how does someone who already has 100k IG followers operate? What are their daily habits? Follow those people and use that as inspiration to apply towards your own actions.
Cool! So you’ve established a set of habits necessary to achieve the best possible results for those actions, now you must
- Create a routine/schedule to adjust and cater to those habits. Evaluate what you’re doing right now and make time for what you need to do. You must block out time to improve these habits.
Ex. When will I find time to educate myself on IG? So let’s say I decide on a schedule of 3 days a week in the morning from 9am–10am. That time will be catered to watching YouTube videos, an actual course, and paying attention to influencers so I can use that as inspiration.
After deciding on a schedule that makes sense, simply
- Upload everything to your calendar to ensure accountability + productivity. You can use Trello, Asana, or any other calendar tool you find useful. Allow for enough time to cater to habits AND immediately implement the necessary actions. Learn, Do, Repeat!
Information alone won’t help accomplish anything but are the roots to establishing new habits. Those habits help you follow through on your actions. Your actions satisfy your priorities. And your priorities push you closer to your goal.
Conquer the process of adapting new habits and you’ll get what you want.
P.S. I made the varsity basketball team my sophomore year.
