Have you ever wondered what your life is going to be like in 5 or 10 years? Will you be doing the same things you are today? Have you taken the time to envision the future through long-term goals?
When it comes to the future, there are really only three possibilities. It will either be the same, worse, or better than the present. If you want it to be better, then being able to set long-term goals is the best way to ensure that you’ll get to where you want to go.
Here are 5 tips to help set yourself for a successful lifestyle.
1. Be Committed
Through commitment, you can gain motivation to pursue success. You should make a list that includes your goal, your level of commitment to the goal and what you are willing to do to achieve that goal. Staying focused on your plan is crucial. It helps to put aside at least 15 minutes per day to think about your plan and work toward it. This will keep your goal fresh in your mind and allow you to continue focusing on it.
In determining your commitment to your goal, however, it’s important to ensure you have realistic expectations of yourself and the outcome. If your commitment is not paying off after a certain time, you should adjust your goal accordingly and revise any necessary steps.
At times it may be helpful to ask a friend or family member for support in helping you stick to your commitments. Having someone to hold you accountable for your shortcomings and praise your success can help you stay committed to your goal.
2. Stop Sacrificing What You Want Most For What You Want Right Now
It would be lovely to relax, watch a movie or a show, meet a friend for dinner, etc. instead of working longer on a project that needs attention, going to the gym, making dinner at home, etc. Instant gratification is seductive and satisfying, but not when it is at the expense of long term goals, especially goals that will help build your self-esteem and help make progress towards your goals. Stop sacrificing substantive happiness, that will bring you consistent and lasting joy for superficial, momentary happiness, which will fade quickly and ultimately extend unhappiness.
3. Challenge Yourself in Small Doses
Researchers have found that challenging goals tend to be more engaging and motivating than “easy” goals,1 but when you’re first starting out, administer challenge in smaller doses. You can do so by setting shorter time-frames, or by setting goals that you know you can achieve. As your confidence grows and success rate increases, so should the degree of difficulty.
4. Develop a Consistent Morning Routine.
One way to have a productive day—and save yourself time in the morning—is to break down every task you need to do into small steps and then schedule all of them. This means you know exactly what activity you’ll do from the moment you wake up.
Sounds a bit overwhelming, yes, but the reason it works is because you don’t waste any time trying to decide on things—spending 10 minutes picking out an outfit, spending 15 minutes deciding if you want to go on a run—you just do it. And that way, you’ll (almost) always be out of the house exactly on time.
5. Revisit your goals.
You probably made some New Year’s resolutions or set monthly goals for yourself (whether on paper or in the back of your mind). Have you followed through on any of them? Are there ones you can get rid of, or alter? Do you feel confident in achieving all of them? Take some time to reflect positively on how far you’ve come, and think about where you want to be—and maybe write down the steps you need to take to get there.
