Goal Setting for a Fulfilled Life

How to Achieve Your Biggest Goals While You Are Busy Doing Other Things

Copyrights

© 2018-2020 VidaGoals.com . All rights reserved.

Version 1.2, 29 December 2020

Feel free to share this book as a whole with your family, friends and coworkers. Please find the link at https://VidaGoals.com/goal-setting-book-resources .

About Us

VidaGoals.com is a passion project of Kay and Ron from Berlin, Germany. Too many people take their best ideas with them to the grave. Just some little tweaks can help you to find and achieve your biggest goals and to live a fulfilled life. Find the free goal-setting app, inspiration and tools at https://VidaGoals.com .

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, we thank our users. They inspire us by their feedback, they enable us to improve and they are part of our journey. Thank you.

Besides this, we thank all the people we are able to learn from, from the Greek philosophers to contemporary authors, to our family and friends. Thank you.

Contents

Table of Contents

Foreword – What Is in It for Me?

This book is for everybody who wants to live a fulfilled and purposeful life with no regrets at the end. We wrote this book because we see so many seemingly successful people that are still not happy with their lives. They ask themselves if this is all there is.

What is in it for you? The book has two main objectives.

We would like to help you to find out what really matters for you in your life and to find your (life) goals.

We would like to help you to achieve your goals and to be happy on the way.

Warning

Attention, please do not read this book if you are not planning to practice as well. There are some actions and habits you can implement into your daily routine. This is an essential part of the whole concept. If you just read the book and then go on with whatever you did before, it will just be a waste of time – your lifetime. And, if there is one thing we really would like to prevent, it is to make you waste your lifetime.

Yes, this book is for you, if you would like to live a fulfilled life, but only if you are ready to invest time and effort and step out of your comfort zone as well.

Motivation

Can you remember the time, when you were a child and you lived in a world of endless possibilities? You had big dreams about the things you would do when you grow up. Everything seemed possible. Then something happened. Life happened. And, there is always something more important, more urgent going on. You will travel the world when you retire. You will be happier when you get that promotion. Your dreams live in the future. But, you live in the now.

Following your dreams and chasing your goals requires change and risk. It happens out of your comfort zone. However, the risk of not chasing your dreams is much higher. What can be worse than lying on your deathbed and regretting not having lived your life to the fullest? There will be a time, at the end of your life, when it is too late. When you wish, you had … lived your dreams and not the dreams our others.

Too many books are not written, too many businesses are not started and much lifetime is wasted just because people are not following their goals.

The intention of this book is to give you some ideas and tools to get started with goal setting. What we mean by goal setting is basically everything that helps you to find out and to achieve what you really want. There is no one-fits-all approach for goal setting. The goal setting concepts contained in this book are neither complete nor can we guarantee that everything will work for you. We gathered the ideas that work best from our experience and we recommend you just try out, experiment and implement what works best for you.

You are still alive, and it is your life. Dream big, set goals, make a plan and, get started. Your life deserves it. No one else can achieve your goals for you. Only you can. You can get help. It is much easier when you get help. And, to help you with your goals is the intention of this book.

Your Journey

Goal setting is a journey, it is a kind of living. It starts with finding your goals but it does not end with achieving them.

Why Yet Another Book About Goal Setting?

Although there is plenty of information available about goal setting, people still struggle to find out what is really important for them in their life and then to keep on track and to achieve it. People are too “busy” doing seemingly more important tasks. They go to seminars or read books but on the very next day they are again stuck in their hamster wheel that, from the insight, looks like a career ladder.

The idea is to provide something more practical and sustainable. This is why we passionately researched this topic for years and now proudly came up with “VidaGoals”. Our mission is to empower and motivate people to find and to achieve their goals and to prevent them from wasting their lifetime.

Why Goal Setting?

In one study, they asked people on their deathbed about their biggest regrets. The number one regret of the dying was that they have not lived a life true to themselves.

One benefit of goal setting is that it puts you into control. You will be the driver and not the passenger of your life. When you know your goals, it provides direction and makes it easier to decide and to set priorities. Furthermore, a clear goal increases motivation by itself and it helps you to lead a more purposeful life.

At the time of writing, according to the current state of science, our lifetime is still limited. At some point of time, we are going to die. Surely, there are many downsides of that fact. However, you can use this to your advantage too. When you know, you have only a limited time left on this beautiful planet, you have to use your time wisely. The earlier you start with whatever you would like to achieve, the better. What can be more motivating than that?

There are many good reasons for goal setting. Here come our top five:

Goal setting helps us to take control of our lives

It provides clarity and helps with decisions and with prioritizing daily tasks

It works as a tool to actually achieve and create something

Goal setting provides a sense of purpose and it is motivating by itself

It helps to be happier and thus  it has a positive impact on our health

If you do not work on your own goals , you will inevitably work for the goals of others. You might only regret this when it is too late – this is on your deathbed. What can be wor se  than a wasted life? Goal setting helps you to live a fulfilled life. This book tries to help you with this.

Why Is It So Hard?

How often did you experience this? You made your New Year’s Resolution, you started highly motivated for the first couple of weeks but then your motivation faded away and you got stuck in your daily routine again.

There are many possible reasons why you cannot achieve your goals. Here are just a few examples:

Fear (fear of failure but also fear of success)

Lack of confidence and belief in yourself (self-fulfilling prophecy)

You think you need the “permission” from others

Seemingly other priorities (that are in fact not more important, only more urgent, if at all)

Bad advice and false “supporters”

Wrong environment

Your “Why” is not strong enough

Etc.

If you are on your way to reaching your goals, it is very likely that you will face obstacles. You will need to step out of your comfort zone, you will need to unlearn habits and you will need to change. There is risk involved. However, it is worth it and the risk of not following your goal, at the end, is much higher.

Ready? Let’s go …

What Do You Really Want?

If you read this paragraph, you have already done the first step. You have recognized that you want to change something in your life for the better. Maybe you still do not quite know what that could be.

Goal setting is about knowing what you want and then getting what you want. You cannot get what you want if you do not know what you want. That sounds obvious but it is often underestimated. Many people only have a vague idea of what they want. Maybe they want a promotion or a great car. Then, when they get their promotion or their new car, they are happy for a moment but it does not really feel fulfilling. Many High School students have the “goal” to become rich and famous. Is this the right goal?

Well, it might be. More important than the question about “what” your goal is, is the question about “Why” it is your goal. Why would you like to become rich? Maybe, you want to become rich because you would like to help other people. Maybe, you want to become rich because you want to travel the world. Both reasons are just fine. But, you should again ask why. Why would you like to travel the world?

Obviously, there are right and wrong goals. The right goals for you are the ones aligned with your values. Please note that it is about your goals and your values here. It is not about the goals or values of others. Think about what you want and not about what others might expect of you. Do not compare yourself with others. Rather, compare yourself with yourself. For example, compare yourself three months from now with yourself now. What would you like to change and improve? What about your past self? What have you improved already?

Also ask yourself why you are doing what you are doing? Why are you commuting every day and going to the office although you hate it? You do it because you have to do it. Really? No! You do not have to do it. You do it because you choose to do it. Look at all the people who found other, better ways of living, working and enjoying their lives. Possibilities today are endless. It is not easy but at the end, it is a question of making a decision now or literally dying in your cubicle. We hope this is a motivation to start thinking about your goals now.

Often your ultimate goal is related to some kind of feeling or emotion. You want to earn more money because you want to feel safer. You want a house because you want to feel the breeze of fresh air when sitting on your terrace.

If your goal is something you want from the bottom of your heart, your motivation will be high and this will help you on the way. Otherwise, motivation will drop quickly and you will stop working on your goal. This might even be a good thing if you chose a wrong goal in the first place.

Goal Types

There are certain types of goals. For example, there are short-term goals about what you would like to achieve within this week, mid-term goals and also life goals. However, there is no standard for this.

We recommend you to think about your life goals first. This is the foundation. All other goals shall be compliant to your life goals. Your remaining goals shall not be too small. In this case it is just a task and you can do it within a couple of days. They should also not be too big because this might seem too frightening. A goal that is challenging but can be achieved within three months is a good rule of thumb. If your goal is too big, try to divide it into smaller chunks.

You might want to set goals in certain categories. Also, for the categories, you are free to choose whatever fits you best. Below is a list of areas of your life you can contemplate:

Health and fitness

Social, relationship, family, friends, coworkers or even strangers

Career, business, wealth, financial

Personal growth, learning, mindfulness, creativity

Recreation, fun, luxury, free time

A goal should be challenging and outside of the comfort zone in order to really have an impact. On the other side, it should still be attainable of course.

Last but not least, you should not have too many goals at the same time. Otherwise, it can be confusing and you get overwhelmed. Try not to have more than five to seven goals at any given time. If you have a new goal, make sure you accomplish an old one first or remove it from the list.

Finding Your Goal

The hard thing about finding your goals is that you do not know exactly what you are looking for in the first place. It is not like entering an address into your car’s GPS and then just going there. Goal setting if more like pathfinding.

Make a List

A very easy method to find your goals is the following.

1. Make a List

Make a list of all the things you want. Take a sheet of paper and write down everything that comes to mind. Think as if you were a child again. What are your dreams? It does not matter whether this seems possible or not. Do this for ten minutes.

2. Categorize

Now you can order your list and put the items into certain categories, for example health, family, career, and so on. You can find some sample categories above. Do this for five minutes.

3. Prioritize

Then, prioritize your lists. Move the most important items, the things you want most, to the top. Keep in mind why you would like to achieve this goal. Do this for another five minutes.

4. Select

Your lists contain your top goals in the top now and you can select the ones you would like to officially take as your goals. Please note that you do not select more than five to seven items. If you were only allowed to select five goals, which ones would that be? Try to mix the categories, that means do not take five career goals only. Also, check if your selected goals align with your overall values and with your life goals.

5. Deadlines

You also might want to put this into time frames. That means, until when would you like to achieve this. Possible categories are one month, six month, one year, two years, five years and 20 years.

6. Ready

Do not spend more than one hour for the whole process. You now have your top five (to seven) goals.

Yes, But Why?

Here come some further considerations.

Why would you like to achieve this goal? Keep asking why five times in order to really get down to the core. For example, if your goal is to become rich, why is this? Because you would like to be independent and travel the world. Why? Because you want to learn about different cultures. Why? Because learning from and interacting with different people makes you happy. And so on. This way, you make sure that you select the right goal for the right reason. You might also come to the conclusion that your real goal is a different one.

There are some more questions that can help you to find out whether a selected goal is the right goal for you.

What is at stake if you do not go for this goal?

What is the price? Every goal needs an investment. Are you ready to pay the price?

What is the impact on your environment? How will it affect the people you love?

Refine your list if necessary.

Imagine and Dream

Now, take some time to dream. Imagine how it is, how it feels like when you have achieved your goal. Picture it and visualize it in vivid images. You can take your time. For example, you can sleep on it to see if this is what you really, really want. If you wake up in the morning and you do not think about your goal, eager to achieve it and to get started right away, your goal might be too weak and you might want to revise.

If you are sure the selected goals are the ones you really would like to achieve, make it a commitment. Make the decision that you will achieve these goals. You can even sign a contract with yourself but make sure you take accountability.

Congratulations, that is it. Now, as an output, you have a list of goals you would like, no, that you have decided  to achieve next.

Enjoy the Journey

If there is only one idea you take with you, then it should be the one to enjoy your journey. Do not work for your goal and hope you will become happy when you have achieved it. Enjoy what you do on the way. Achieving your goals will become much easier (and more fun) then.

What if you cannot find any goal for you right now? If you do not have a goal right now, just invent some goal that you might like and enjoy the journey. That can be something like to get an article in Wikipedia, to do a TED talk or to visit Alaska.

Consider goals to be a tool, a compass for living a happy life.

The Basics

Now, that you know your goals you can start making a plan. The next step is to form helpful statements for your goals. These statements should be SMART, an often-used concept in goal setting.

SMART Goals

What are SMART goals?

Specific: What exactly would you like to achieve and why.

Measurable: There are criteria for tracking and knowing exactly when the goal is achieved.

Attainable: The goals are ambitious but still achievable.

Relevant: They are aligned with your core values.

Time-bound: They have a deadline.

Example :

If you want to run a marathon, do not just say:

“I want to run a marathon.”

Make it SMART:

“I want to attend and finish this year’s New York marathon in under four hours.”

Written Goal Statements

Define your goals and write them down. When you have reached this point and you have written goal statements you are already better than 96% of the people, according to some studies. Paper works even better than your PC because for your brain handwriting is more stimulating.

You might even want to draw your goal or create a collage of pictures. When you have your written and / or image goal sheet, put it somewhere where you can see it every day, for example on your fridge, your bath mirror or your computer screen at work.

Positive Goal Statements

By the way, the question really is “What do you want?”. It is not, “What do you not want?”. Make sure your goal statement is positive. A lot of people know what they do not want. The trick is to think about what you want. The brain does not like negation. When you say, “I do not want to think about a pink elephant” the brain will first think about the “pink elephant” and then it will have a hard time to “un-think” this again.

Example :

The following is negative:

“I do not want to work in my job any longer.”

Make it positive:

“I want to get a new job that fits my skills by the end of this year.”

Limit the Number of Goals

You should not have too many goals at the same time. This will be overwhelming. Five to seven goals from different areas of your life seems to be a good number.

Get Help

There are some disputes about whether it is a good idea to share your goal or to keep it private. Recent studies suggest that the best approach might be to share your goal selectively. That means, involving people you know will support you.

It is not very motivating when you tell someone about your great goal and then you get the response that you will never make it anyway. Try to find people that are positive and motivating, people that want you to succeed. Talk to people that can support you or coach you because they already achieved what you want to achieve or that can provide some insights or resources.

Expect to Win

You know what you want and now you have to believe in yourself. Surely, many people think maybe one day they will travel the world. This is not enough. You have an ambitious goal and you really have to believe you can and you will do it, no matter what it takes.

Think about an important project at work, a project so crucial that you had to accomplish it. Maybe you and your team worked long hours, maybe you found solutions or workarounds to make it happen. Give your personal goals the same priority, put in all your effort and make it a success.

Look at people who have already achieved this goal. Some of them might have had even less resources than you have or were worse off than you are. If they could do it, you can too.

Of course, all big new endeavors seem a bit scary at the beginning. You might not know how to accomplish them or not even where to start. This is normal and you managed these kinds of situations before. Driving a car in a city might be quite a challenge if you did not do this before. But, as soon as you get familiar with the process of driving a car and chunk down the task into pieces (learn all the instruments, practice in a safe area, learn the traffic rules, practice again, etc.) things look much easier. You have a plan and now you can follow this plan.

After you have a plan (which you will have at the end of this chapter) things look much more convenient.

The Goal Setting Process

The goal setting process is quite straightforward. You just need to know what you want and how to achieve it, start and keep going in the right direction. This will inevitably lead you to achieving your goal.

This is easier said than done, of course.

You might have heard about a BHAG, a Big Hairy Audacious Goal. BHAG’s have some great advantages. For example, they can be very motivating because the outcome is so significant and wonderful. A disadvantage, on the other side however, is that BHAG’s can be very scary. If you stand in front of your big goal, you might just be overwhelmed and you do not know where to start.

Therefore, if a goal is too big, chunk it down into smaller pieces or sub-goals. You can handle your sub-goals in the same way as a “normal” goal. Therefore, sub-goals shall be SMART as well. That includes the fact that they need to have a deadline. You can consider them as milestones on your way towards your goal.

Ideally, you chunk your goal down into pieces (sub-goals) you can achieve within a week or two. This is a manageable time frame and you can still accomplish a lot.

Now that you have (sub-) goals, start with an execution plan. Keep it simple. Just some bullet points are fine. What tasks are required to achieve this (sub-) goal? Do you need other resources or help from your supporters?

When you have your task list, look at your first task. What is the very first action you can do now in order to start? This can be just a tiny little task like searching the Internet for an address or making a phone call. When you have accomplished this first task, make sure you know what to do next and when you will do it. This process will make sure you get things going.

Example :

If your goal is to build a house, your first sub-goals might be the following:

Clear financing

Find a property

Hire an architect

Etc.

Now, your very first action for accomplishing your task “clear financing” might be to call your bank and ask for an appointment.

It is essential to have a plan. But, be prepared to change it because most likely you will have to. Do not plan all the details at the beginning. Your plan is a dynamic one and after each milestone, you can review and adapt it if necessary. If you have chosen an ambitious goal, your path might become a bit bumpy. It is a good idea to be prepared for obstacles. But, more on that later.

Rules and Habits

When you are on a mission, it is quite helpful if you follow some rules. The good news is that you can establish those rules by yourself (within certain boundaries at least). However, make sure your rules are clear, supportive for your goal and they are not too many. Besides rules, you also might want to establish some helpful habits or omit habits that are not helpful.

Let us say your goal is to run a marathon. A helpful habit would be to start your day by going for a run. A habit to omit might be drinking alcohol when you go out with your friends.

Supportive rules in this case might be the following:

I must run at least 50 miles per week.

I must not drink alcohol.

You can also choose some if-then-rules:

If it is raining outside, I will run on the treadmill.

If I reach my weekly training goal, I will reward myself on the weekend and go into a spa.

Make sure you choose rules that you can control. Ideally, you make it some fun as well. If the rule is not really fun by itself it might help to add a reward (but one that is still aligned with your goal).

Another nice trick is to build up streaks. You can put a mark in your calendar for every day when you did the habitual activity, for example, when you had a walk outside. Now, you try to do this for as many days in a row as you can. It is simple but it works.

Requirements

There are some external and internal resources required in order to achieve your goal.

Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

A healthy mind in a healthy body. You are much more effective and thus much more likely to reach your goals when you are fit, rested and in a good mood. Happiness triggers success, more than the other way around.

It is important to mention that reaching your goals effectively and enjoying the journey requires you to take care of yourself in the first place. A healthy body and mind are key ingredients for you to grow. So, as a general recommendation, take care of yourself. You shall exercise regularly, eat healthy food and get enough sleep. This will help you with your goals as well. Also, make sure you are in a good state and not tired or exhausted when you plan your goals. Make goal setting your priority because it is.

External Factors

Possibly, there are some resources required in order to achieve your goal. If you plan to buy a house, you would need some money or at least an idea about how to get the house financed.

You need to plan for this of course. This is quite obvious. However, some external factors are not too obvious.

Take your environment for example. If negative people constantly surround you, it will be hard to keep your motivation up. If you plan to lose weight and there is always this cookie jar on the table, it might be hard to resist.

Think about how you can create or change your environment in a way to support your goals.

What skills do you need? What can you learn to support your goals? Think of the top skills that you need and then find out how you can acquire them. For example, if your goal is to travel to Latin America it might be a good skill to learn some Spanish phrases upfront.

Plan, Keep It Simple, Then Start

While having a plan is surely important, it is useless if you are not going to execute your plan.

Keep your plan simple. If you just have a sheet of paper with your goal statement and five to seven milestones that is absolutely fine and you are already better than most people are.

Now it is important to get started. Stop fine-tuning your plan for weeks, months or even years. Do not get into the state of analysis paralysis. Just a simple plan is fine. A long and sophisticated plan is confusing and you would probably need to change it later anyway.

Rather get started and adapt and evolve your plan on the way.

You Are In Control Now

Now, that you have a goal and a plan you made a decision. You are in control now and you can start putting your plan into action. The plan is just the architecture of your house. The action is to actually build it. Both are important, so, make sure you reserve some time for planning and for execution. Make sure you will not be stuck in the planning phase and plan your house over and over again without ever starting to build it.

As we have already seen the trick of goal setting is to know what you want, then to get started and then to keep going into the right direction. This is easier said (or written) than done of course and in the following, we mention some tips and tricks that might help you.

Take the first step, keep going into the right direction and you will inevitably reach your goal.

Get Started

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

Lao Tzu

Getting started is crucial. Even a tiny step will do. Think about what next action you can take in order to get started. This might be a phone call or just a quick search on the Internet. Your most important day is today. Today you can make a decision to take control of your life. Today you can start. Take the chance. Do it. Now.

That is all we can say in this chapter.

Wait! We really mean it. Do not do anything else right now. Think about your first (or next) step that you can do right now. Do it before doing anything else (including to read on).

Keep Going

Maybe you know this. You have a new goal, say a New Year’s Resolution and you start very motivated for the first couple of weeks. But then, your motivation fades away and you find yourself again more and more in your daily routine. You again do the things that seem more important but are in fact only more urgent, if at all.

The big question is how you can find the motivation to keep going. And again, the better question here is why you would like to go on. If your “Why” is not strong enough it might indeed not be reasonable to keep pursuing this goal. Your “Why”, so the higher purpose behind your goal, is your key motivator.

Find Your Motivation

What makes you want to get out of bed every morning? What motivates you? If someone puts a gun on your head and threatens to kill you if you will not reach your goal, you surely would do everything possible to actually achieve your goal. This is the power of motivation. Luckily, there are other, more convenient kinds of motivation as well.

Despite a strong “Why” there are still a lot of day-to-day activities that make it hard to focus on your long-term or even life goals. Your decision to stay in your comfort zone now is in fact a decision not to follow your biggest goals and it has consequences.

We all seek happiness and we want to prevent pain. The problem, however, is sometimes the benefits are too far in the future and the chocolate cake is in reach.

There are internal (intrinsic) and external (extrinsic) motivators. Here are some examples.

Intrinsic Motivators :

Your strong “Why”

Purpose

Your core values

Fun

Passion

Extrinsic Motivators :

Environment

Supporters

Rewards

Status

As with everything in goal setting try to keep your motivators simple. Setup a system that works for you and that has the biggest impact (consider the 80 / 20 rule). Complicated time management sometimes only supports the treadmill. We are much more likely to work on the urgent tasks at hand. Life goals are not urgent. Therefore, it is a good idea to chunk them down into something that is more urgent. Make it urgent. You are responsible for your goals. You are accountable.

Here are some factors that influence your motivation.

Environment

Setup a motivating environment. If you want to run a marathon, put your running shoes in reach. If you want to lose weight, remove the cookie jar from the table.

Support

Seek out for friends and family members that want you to succeed. There is one person that can help you best with your goals and this is you. But, friends and supporters can really make it easier for you.

Mindset

You need to be convinced that you can reach your goals. This is important but easier said than done of course. Surely, there will be setbacks on your way. Your strong “Why” and your supporters can help you in this case. Also, re-framing of negative thoughts or stepping back and taking an outside view might be helpful.

If you take initiative, if you just get started and accomplish some small piece, this often can be motivating enough.

Reward Yourself

An important part of (extrinsic) motivation are rewards. You can define small and supportive rewards for reaching certain milestones. Supportive means the rewards should not conflict with your goal. For example, if you would like to lose weight, you might not want to reward yourself with a chocolate cake, but rather with a wellness treatment or so.

Celebrate reaching your milestones, be happy and grateful.

Review

Are you losing motivation? Are you on track? Is your goal still relevant? What worked well, what did not? Is your goal still aligned with your “Why”?

You should ask yourself all these questions from time to time when you review your goals. Ideally, you do these reviews at least once a week. Put a recurring date into your calendar.

After the review, you basically have three different options:

Proceed with the next step (you are on track)

Adapt your path (fine-tune your plan)

Stop your goal (not relevant or reasonable anymore)

If you recognize your goal is not worth pursuing anymore this is a result. Do not make it an easy decision but at the end, it is better to go for a new goal than chasing something that is not relevant for you anymore.

Expect a Bumpy Ride

Be prepared for obstacles but do not fear them. Maybe the road towards achieving your goals will not be an easy one. You will probably discover obstacles on the way. However, maybe you can even foresee or expect some obstacles. Make a list of obstacles you can think of and plan for possible solutions upfront. It is always better to be prepared.

There might be some concrete obstacles you can foresee, for example, "What if I do not get the credit from my bank". But, there are also some general dangers you need to be aware of.

Fear (of failure, of success) – fear or discomfort stands between you and your goals

Permission – What might others think or do?

Self-limiting beliefs, not believing in yourself

Distractions

Other priorities (urgent vs. important)

Circumstances (inner and outer)

Bad advice

Procrastination

Naysayers

Your inner obstacles are even more important than the external ones because these are the ones you can control. What might prevent you from reaching your goal or from taking the next step? What can you do about it? Think about it upfront and make a list. For example if you foresee that you might eat that chocolate cake although you are on a diet, think upfront about how you can prevent this.

Do not waste time and energy with unimportant daily hassles or toxic people. Focus on your goal. Check everything you do, if it brings you closer towards your goal.

If you feel down and think about giving up, try imagining yourself before you took action and seeing what you have achieved already.

You can think if / then when it comes to obstacles. If you encounter a setback, what will you do?

Common Problems

Here are some common issues you might phase at some point on your goal-setting journey along with some suggested remediation activities.

Obstacle

Activity

I do not have goals.

Go to the chapter “The Quest” and find your goals first.

I do not know how I can reach my goals.

A proper plan might help you here. Refer to the chapter “The Plan”. Sometimes goals just look too big. Things get much easier when you chunk them down. Also, you might just ask for help.

I cannot stick to my goals.

This is probably related to a lack of motivation. Refer to the “Motivation” chapter and find out what motivates you.

I face setbacks when trying to reach my goals.

If you do not experience setbacks, the goal you have chosen was too easy. Depending on the kind of setback, think about possible solutions during your goal review. Ask the right questions. Try to get an outside view. Ask friends or family for help.

My friends tell me I should not pursue a certain goal.

Sure, your friends might have the best intentions. But, avoid the naysayers. Seek people that believe in you, support you and want you to succeed. Think about what you want, not about what others might expect from you.

I have no time to work on my goals.

Wrong, you do not set the right priorities. Sure, there is always a lot to do. However, at the end it is about your (life) goals. What can be more important?

If you have a busy job and a family, reserve one hour a week at night to work on your goals. You will see, it is worth it and it feels much better than watching TV.

I reached my goal but it does not make me happy.

Do not try to reach a goal to become happy. Happiness should come first and ideally, you enjoy the journey.

To be continued ...

What Next?

“The beginning is the most important part of the work.”

Plato

Eventually you will have accomplished your goal. Reward and celebrate yourself! Invite your supporters too.

Review and learn to make it even better next time (what worked well, what to improve, etc.). For example, if the goal was too easy, make it more challenging next time. This will train your goal-setting muscle.

And, what if you have not reached your goal? Do not be too hard on yourself. Make the best out of what you have and always make sure you enjoy the journey. If you failed this time, this is a result as well. It is better than fighting against windmills without any chance to win. Make sure you have learned from your attempt and then go on with your next goal.

You do not go into a fitness center one time and expect to get your dream body overnight. There is a continuous effort involved to get the results you want.

The same is true for goal setting and for this book. Reading the book and even setting your goals now is not enough. If you want constant improvement, you need to keep going and make goal setting an essential part of your life.

Happy goal setting ...

Even More

More About Goal Setting

You can find more information about goal setting and about how VidaGoals can help you, here:

Blog :

https://VidaGoals.com/category/blog

Podcast :

https://VidaGoals.com/podcast

Goal Setting Tools :

https://VidaGoals.com , then go to Interact

VidaGoals App :

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vidagoals.app

VidaGoals

Sometimes it is hard to change something in your life. VidaGoals offers practical tools and information that help you to ignite your inner power and to use it for your personal growth. You can get a clear picture about what really matters to you and why. Our simple App assists and motivates you to stay on track and to reach your goals eventually. It is free. Do not waste your life.

Our mission is to empower and motivate people to find and to achieve their goals and do to prevent them from wasting their lifetime.

Sure, the overall idea is not new. However, since we could not find any goal-setting service that met our purpose (simple, practical and motivating enough), we decided to create one ourselves. Here is our “magic sauce”:

The VidaGoals App and Tools :

A simple app with the objective to be your personal goal-setting companion. It helps you to find and to plan your most important goals and it keeps you motivated along the way.

Available for Android at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vidagoals.app

You can find additional goal-setting tools at VidaGoals.com  under Interact.

Inspiring Stories and Relevant Tips :

We share stories about inspiring people and about their very personal approach to goal setting. We provide practical guidance and easy-to-use advice.

You can find our first stories here: https://VidaGoals.com/category/blog

Community :

We aim to build an inspiring community where people support each other to find and to achieve their goals. This is still a long way. But, if this sounds interesting to you, we hope you can help us by sharing our information (or this book) with your family, friends and coworkers. If you are passionate about goal setting too, please let us know at https://VidaGoals.com/contact-us .

You can find out more about VidaGoals at https://VidaGoals.com.

Contact

If you have questions, comments or want to learn more, please feel free to contact us.

Web :

https://VidaGoals.com/contact-us

Email :

hi@VidaGoals.com

Twitter :

@vida_goals

Facebook :

https://www.facebook.com/vidagoals.goalsetting

YouTube :

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChr3u9dBoBktWB3okb_Vmqw

Instagram :

https://www.instagram.com/myvidagoals