There’s a saying that a goal without a plan is just a wish.
Unfortunately, this is where a lot of people let themselves down instead of achieving their goals. They know what they want, but they haven’t taken the time to figure out how to turn it into a reality.
You might be taking steps toward your goal, but if you haven’t taken the time to lay out a plan for achieving that goal, you have no idea if you’re taking the right steps, or if you’re just spinning your wheels.
Creating a plan takes the guesswork out of achieving your goal.
Not sure what to do next? Check your plan.
But creating a plan is easier said than done. That’s why so many people stumble on this part of their journey towards achieving their goals.
So, if you need a plan for creating your plan, here it is:
1) Identify the Goal
Let’s say you’re planning a road trip. While you might start off with a broad target of where you want to end up, the more you plan your trip, the more specific your target arrival is going to be. You’ll probably go from state to city, to neighborhood, to finding a specific address.
Once you know where you want to end up, you can start making concrete plans to get there. That will probably include things like calling to see if they have any vacancies during the time you want to be there. If their vacancies are limited, you’ll need to make sure you arrive on time so you don’t miss your slot.
That leads to the next important part of identifying your goal, which is to give yourself a deadline. When do you want to achieve this goal by?
Creating a deadline for your goal gives it a sense of urgency. If you keep saying you’ll do something “someday,” that day keeps getting pushed back because you haven’t made it a priority.
Finish the following sentence:
I want to achieve ____________________ by ___________________.
2) Measure It
Before you can lay out a roadmap to achieving your goal, you need to be able to define success vs failure.
How will you know when you’ve achieved your goal?
How will you know you’re getting close to achieving your goal?
Just like you don’t rely on guesswork or approximation to get you across the country, you shouldn’t rely on guesswork when it comes to going after your goal.
If you want to further your career, it could be getting a certain job, a promotion, or making a certain dollar amount by your target date.
If you want to write a book, what is the definition of a book? How many words do you need to have written to achieve that goal? How many pages? How many chapters?
3) Break It Up
There’s another common saying about big goals: How do you eat an elephant?
One bite at a time.
The idea of eating an entire elephant feels overwhelming.
The idea of taking one bite is manageable (assuming you brought your appetite.) After that, all you have to do is take the next bite. Then the next.
The key to achieving any big goal is to break it up into smaller goals.
No one can drive across the continental U.S. in one day.
But you can probably drive 500 miles in one day. If that’s too much for you, break it down even further: 400 miles a day, 300 miles a day.
Where will you end up at the end of those 500 miles? What accommodations will you need at that point? Will you need to stop sooner or drive farther to get to a place where you can stay the night?
Once you have the first leg of the journey mapped out, start on the next one. Rinse and repeat.
4) Take Action
Setting a goal is the easy part. Accomplishing the goal takes work and dedication.
That’s why the next step in the process has to be to take massive action, because that’s the only way you’re going to get massive results.
There are a few things you can do to make sure you take action. The first thing is to specify the actions you’re going to take and when you’re going to take them.
The second is to get an accountability partner because we have no problem letting ourselves down. It’s the people we care about we don’t want to disappoint.
Creating a goal for yourself puts you in the driver’s seat of your life.
Taking action is the part where you turn on the engine and put the car in gear so you can get moving.
5) Check Your Progress
Achieving big goals is not a perfect science, and the bigger the goal, the harder it can be to create an accurate roadmap on an accurate timeline.
If you miss a deadline for one of your milestones, don’t freak out. Take a minute to assess the situation. Did you really give it your all? If not, why not?
If you did give it your all and you still didn’t make the deadline, maybe it’s time to adjust the timeline for achieving your goal. There’s no shame in admitting you need more time than you initially thought you would need. The important thing is to keep moving towards your goal.
Find Your Pack
The above tips are all things you can do on your own, but no one achieves greatness on their own. We all need help along the way, whether in the form of tips and tricks, encouragement, or just someone to remind you that you can do this.
That’s why I’ve created The Alpha 5 Community, because knowing what to do can only take you so far. The final (and most important) piece is surrounding yourself with the people who will help you get there.
If you’re ready to join the pack, you can do so here. We’ve been waiting for you.