A Guide to Achieving Big Goals

1. Determine what

You will chase two hares, you will not catch a single one.

Russian proverb

If you were unable to achieve your goals, then most likely you are faced with a common problem: you only have a rough idea of what you want. For example, you think, "I want to be a writer." But this is not the goal. What do you want to write: a story, a poem, an article for a blog? Or documentary prose?

The first step to achieving your goal is to know what you want. If you skip this step, you will not achieve anything, because you will not know which direction to go. Therefore, think carefully about what you want to achieve, and clearly define your goal.

Exercise. On the same side of the card, write down what you want to achieve. It should look like this: "To [leave blank] I [write the goal here]."

2. Determine when

A goal is just a dream that has a deadline.

Napoleon Hill author of Think and Grow Rich

Think about the goal you just formulated. How long have you dreamed of achieving it? If this is a big goal, then most likely it has been several years. You had a desire, but there was no clear deadline.

Now it's time to choose the date by which you want to reach your goal. The conditions must be feasible, but challenging enough. If you give yourself too little time, you will want to give it up halfway. Too much and you start procrastinating.

Don't choose December 31st simply because it is the end of the year. Calculate the appropriate date based on your capabilities. For example, if you want to write 50 articles for your blog and are going to write two articles a week, the deadline would be 25 weeks from today.

Exercise. Enter the date in the blank space left.

3. Define how

Successful people are just people with successful habits.

Brian Tracy is the author of self-help books, including Leave Squeamishness, Eat a Frog

Without a plan, your goal is doomed to failure even with the right deadline. And worse than no plan, only a very convoluted plan. Therefore, before you start moving towards your goal, you need to determine what habits you need to be successful. Better to limit yourself to two or three.

And to introduce new habits into your routine will help the strategy of implementation of intentions, or "strategy when / then" P. M. Gollwitzer. Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans / American Psychologist. She builds new habits into an existing regime.

Think about what you do every day. You get up in the morning, brush your teeth, eat breakfast, drive to work or take your kids to school, and so on. New habits can be attached to these already ingrained habits.

For example, if your goal is to write a book, your strategy might sound like this:

when I'll put the kids to bed then I will devote half an hour to writing my book;
when I'm going to work in the morning, then I listen to a podcast for writers.

Exercise. Write your own when / then strategy at the bottom of the card.

4. Determine where

Any problem for its solution requires optimism, endurance and cooperation with others. And games are the best manifestation of this.

Jane McGonigal is a game designer and author of books on the benefits of computer games

One of the reasons games like Angry Birds are so addicting is the pride we get after completing one level and progressing to the next. A similar effect can be recreated by breaking your target into several levels.

Forget the all-or-nothing approach. Decide where you will stop to celebrate your victory on the road to success. For example, if you want to write a book, these stops could be individual chapters.

Small victories instill confidence and strengthen your chances of success. But if you don't define them in advance, they can go unnoticed.

Exercise. Draw a horizontal line at the bottom of the card and separate it with vertical marks - these are your stops on the way to your goal. Plan 4-5 of these stops. The larger your goal, the more stops you should have. Put today's date at the beginning of the line and the deadline at the end.

5. Determine why

The secret to success is never, never give up.

Wilma Mankiller, the first woman to become a Cherokee chieftain

You should always have more than one reason to move towards your main goal. If you have only one source of motivation, you are unlikely to get what you want. You will simply find other ways to satisfy your need, instead of putting in extra effort and moving towards a big goal.

You will find easier ways to make money than starting your own business.
You will find easier ways to help others than starting a charitable foundation.
You will find easier ways to unleash your creativity than writing an entire book.

But when your pursuit is constantly fueled by multiple sources of motivation, you simply cannot deviate from your primary goal.

Think about how your life will improve when you get what you want. What will you learn? What new opportunities will you have? How will your success help your loved ones? What will you lose if you quit ahead of time?

Exercise. Flip the card over, divide it in two vertically, and on the left, write down 5 reasons that inspire you to strive for your goal.

6. Determine who

Two are better than one; because they have a good reward in their labor: for if one falls, the other will lift up his companion.

Ecclesiastes (4: 9)

On the way to the goal, we need the support of friends and relatives. You should definitely have people who will cheer you up in difficult times, help you with advice when you get confused, and celebrate your victories with you. And the more such people there will be in your environment, the better.

Exercise. On the right, write down the names of 3–5 people you can contact for support.

Now you have a plan of action to achieve your cherished goal. Keep this card in plain sight, such as on your bedside table, and read your plan in the morning and evening. This will help you stay on track and always remember that you have everything you need to get what you want.