How do successful people actually accomplish their big goals?
Buying a dream house. Getting a book published. Running a successful business. These are all examples of big goals that many of us would love to achieve one day. While coming up with a dream goal is a relatively fun and easy exercise, creating an action plan is not alway so straightforward. How does one get from Point A to Point B? And what does it actually take to make these dreams come true?
That’s why it’s so helpful to study how successful people actually achieved their big goals. You can take inspiration from their everyday routines, habits, and mindset so that you, too, can apply these techniques to your own goal setting strategy.
We’ve rounded up some of our favorite inspiring success stories of real people who accomplished big goals. After reading these examples, you’ll be inspired to design a solid action plan for your own big goals.
How an Olympic swimmer uses a notebook to accomplish their goals
Olympic gold medalist Caeleb Dressel maintains a daily log to record his swimming workouts and reflect on his experiences and challenges in the water. This small habit paid off in a big way when Dressel won 5 gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Why this works
Maintaining a log helps you measure your progress. It’s hard to measure your progress and see if you’re making any inroads, if you have no idea where you’re starting from. Logging your progress gives you a starting point. It’s an opportunity to record your work and gradually see if you’re progressing or if anything needs to be changed.
A log gives you accountability. It’s so tempting to want to slack off and skip a workout or writing session. Logging your progress is a small but effective technique to help you commit to your goals and hold yourself accountable. And if you skip a day, you’ll want to resume as quickly as possible so that you don’t see any more blank spaces in your notebook. It’s a little mind trick that does wonders.
How to apply this to your own goals
A daily log isn’t just for fitness goals. Keep a notebook to track your progress on any of your big goals. You can go into great detail about your workout or project. Or use a bullet journal to shade in the box or add a checkmark to signify accomplishing your goal.
- If you want to write a novel, track your word count everyday.
- If you want to increase your professional network, track the number of events you’ve attended or acquaintances you’ve caught up with each week.
- If you want to save for a dream house, track your spending and budget every day.
How a bestselling author harnesses the power of micro goals
Let’s face it: big goals are intimidating. They bring out our deepest fears and insecurities, making us question our talent, intelligence, and even self worth. When fear gets in the way of your goals, it’s important to make your big goal as approachable as possible.
Author Louise Penny has spoken openly about her struggles with fear. Her solution? Set micro goals.
In this interview, she says:
“When I first start the beginning of a first draft, I set it very low because it’s so frightening to start a first draft. I set it at about 200 or 250 words, which I can do perhaps in 20 minutes and then have the rest of the day to myself. It’s so scary for me still. I wish I could say at book 11 or 12 that I was over the hump, but there are different humps. I’ve gotten over some, but then lo and behold, there’s another one right there. So I set the word count very low, and then I raise it to about 1,000 words minimum.”
Why this works
Micro goals are easy to accomplish. When your target is easy to do, you won’t be tempted to procrastinate or abandon your goal. Make your target as easy as possible so you'll have no choice but to do it.
Micro goals give you momentum. Because micro goals are so easy to accomplish, you’ll start to build confidence and gain momentum. Then, you can start to gradually increase your goal. So instead of writing for 5 minutes a day you’d write for 15 minutes and then 20.
How to apply this to your own goal
Take a look at your own big goal. Ask yourself: How can I make this as simple as possible?
- Instead of trying to run for an hour, tell yourself you’ll run for 5 minutes.
- Instead of trying to declutter your entire home, organize your nightstand.
- Instead of trying to stick to a frugal budget for a year, aim for a week.
How a personal finance educator got out of debt by identifying her priorities
Get Good With Money author Tiffany Aliche got out of $35,000 of debt by identifying her financial priorities. She prioritized paying off her most expensive debt first and cutting out her biggest expenses.
Why this works
You’ll narrow your focus. It doesn’t matter if you're trying to reach a financial goal or accomplish something as simple as a to-do list, you need to learn how to prioritize. If everything is considered important then nothing will ever get done. You need to pick your top priorities and focus on accomplishing those priorities first.
You will make progress. By defining your priorities, you will make progress, slowly but surely. And if you have an overwhelmingly big goal, like trying to pay off debt or save for retirement, identifying your priorities will help you stay the course.
How to apply this to your own big goal
Pick your top priority for the month or quarter. Instead of trying to do everything under the sun, narrow your priorities to your top 3 essentials. What would you love to accomplish this month or quarter that will help you get closer to your goal? So if you’d love to work on your novel, then put your time and energy into working on that goal. Now is not the time to also be training for a marathon or starting a side business. Define your top priority and work on that.
Make room in your schedule. Another way to prioritize is to block off time in your calendar for the things you want to do. So if you feel most creative in the mornings, then prioritize that time for your writing goals. If you like to blow off steam after work, then prioritize that time to workout.
Written by JiJi Lee
