How To Set Life Goals and Actually Achieve Them

From writing your goals down, telling someone about them, and celebrating each of your steps, you'll find that sticking to your goals, and ensuring that your goals are the right path for you, is much easier than you think.

Setting a goal can might seem easy at the time, but actually sticking to them? That's where the real struggle comes in. These ten easy steps on how to set life goals are sure to make this process easier. Which step is the most groundbreaking for you?

Make a note of it.

If you physically write a goal of yours down, this will automatically increase your chances of sticking to is. As our first tip on how to set life goals, this is a simple step, but one that many will roll their eyes at.

Give it a shot, writing down your goals, as well as your thoughts, is a great way to express yourself, as well as motivate yourself. Why do you want to start eating healthier? How are you going to do so?

Set yourself up with a schedule, or just some motivational words. Write it on your calendar, or on something you'll see every day, like a mirror.

Tell someone.

If writing your goals down isn't enough for you, tell someone! As a great tip on how to set life goals, telling someone you are close to about your goals is a great way to force yourself to stick to your plans.

Another way to increase the likelihood that you will succeed in your goals, telling a friend, your mom, or your significant other that you will apply to at least five jobs a day will remind you that other people are rooting for you.

And take it one step further, have a conversation about your goals, why you want to move toward them, and what they will do for your life. Keep the conversation going throughout your days, even if it's a simple note to your friend that you're able to fit in your favorite pair of jeans again.

Plan your first steps.

One of the biggest mistakes people do when they are beginning their journey toward a goal is that they take on the task altogether, ultimately overwhelming them.

Instead, you should plan a first step; this way, you will allow yourself to have little victories, while still moving toward your goal. Also, planning your process is a great way to ensure you are constantly advancing.

Finds goals that will motivate you.

If you are unmotivated by your goals, you will not succeed in them. As a painful tip on how to set life goals, you must be passionate about what you are trying to achieve.

If you have no motivation to be healthier, or to get your dream job, you simply will fail at the task. As one of the first steps to reaching your goals, you must be motivated by them.

This can be as simple as changing your goal to be something that you can get behind. For example, if you are simply trying to lose weight and to diet, this might not be enough.

Instead, you might want to change your goal to wanting to look great for your vacation in a few months, or a wedding or special occasion. This way, you can easily picture the future, and have an end goal in mind throughout your process.

Make them specific.

Much like we touched on in the previous tip, making sure your goal is a specific as possible is a great way to gain motivation. For example, if you know exactly where you want to work, planning out the steps that you need to achieve before getting there is a great way to manage your path to success.

Try a dream board, and plan out your process down each detail. Just this process alone will motivate you to move forward, and being sure to remind yourself of each step toward your specific goal is important to remain motivated.

Celebrate your little victories.

With each step, you must find pride in yourself. As the next step on how to set life goals, celebrating each of your victories, no matter how small they are, will allow you to move forward faster than you can imagine.

Just being proud of yourself after every gym trip is starting somewhere. And if you don't allow yourself to be happy with where you are each day that you are moving toward your goal, you won't be able to succeed as well.

Be realistic.

Everyone can simply make a goal to be a millionaire in five years, but making a goal that is entirely too big to tackle will set yourself up for failure.

You have to remind yourself to be realistic when setting goals, because it is easy to start working towards a goal just to quickly realize it is entirely too big. Instead, work on achieving smaller goals, and if you have a big task, giving yourself a long "due date" would make things easier to swallow.

Turn your process into a habit.

You cannot complete your goals by using motivation alone. Motivation will come and go, and this is where many people fail. As a great tip on how to set life goals, you have to turn your process into a habit.

This will of course take time, but you are going to want to get into the routine that you will move toward your goal as a part of your typical day, and not have to think about achieving your little goals per day. If you go to the gym every day with the goal in mind to be healthier and look better, this will simply be a habit of yours.

Make sure your goals are remaining relevant to your life.

When making a goal, you have to be sure that they are relevant to your life. Instead of pushing yourself toward a goal that might not be best for you in your life right now, you must find a balance between what you want, and what is best for your path.

Your goals must remain relevant to your life, and reconsider your methods and how they relate to where you are in your life is important. This way, you won't waste time in moving toward a goal that isn't the right move for you.

Stick to it.

And of course, our last tip on this list on how to set life goals is to stick to it. Much easier said than done, but once you have considered all nine of our other tips, this becomes second nature.

It is important to keep going while things get tough and overwhelming. And even if you feel like you are taking steps back in your process, trust that you will still succeed in the long run.

Try to consider different tactics, look at your process in a new light, and remember to take breaks. As long as you are continuously making strides toward your goal, you're doing it.