We all want to be better but how do you set self improvement goals that stick? After all, it’s challenging enough just to try, but how do we go from trying to succeeding?
You can change your life for the better and and do it consistently by following three simple steps. I’ve gone from couch potato to fit, from hating writing to author three times over with over a thousand blog posts written. I’ve discovered the secrets to achieving what you want.
And it’s easier than you think.
The Most Challenging Thing
Building a better you can be a challenge. There are so many things that try to keep us from success and so many ways to get off track.
But the most challenging thing we find when we try to set self improvement goals that stick is that there’s so much to do. We set gigantic goals for ourselves and wonder why we don’t achieve them.
We expect to go from standing still to running with the big dogs instantly. Then we wear ourselves out just when we start making progress. There’s a much better way.
And it’s easy!
Making it Easy
If you’ve followed this A Better You series, you may remember Josh Clark from Three Powerful Self Improvement Ideas. His plan for people wanting to start running was not to get them to run a 5K (just over 3 miles) immediately, but after working up to it over 9 weeks. His plan called Couch to 5K has helped millions become more active.
He’s come up with a strategy to set self improvement goals that stick. You can do it too in three simple steps.
- Set Your Goals: If you want to have self improvement goals that stick, then you must set them! So many people don’t have concrete goals; they just have vague ideas. Do you want to lose weight or do you want to lose 10 pounds in two months? Do you want to be smarter or do you want to read 2 books a month? Setting concrete goals makes a huge impact on your progress.
- Start out Simple: You don’t go from 0 to 60 and expect new habits to stick. Just like in Couch to 5K you build them easily over time. You make them too easy to avoid when you start and then build too much momentum over time to quit. After all, who doesn’t have 5 minutes a day to do something important? And who would stop writing a book when they’ve written every day for 3 months and are 80% done? Easy starts and momentum are major keys to success.
- Do it Daily: When you set your goals and start out simple, you’ve set a bar that’s easy to achieve. But you have to hit that mark daily. Instead of trying to write a chapter a day, you simply require a paragraph or 5 minutes a day. But you have to do it every day.
If you want to set self improvement goals that stick, you must do every one of these three simple steps. They all work together. They are easy to start out with and build up, but you must do them all.
Now Go Do It!
In order to set self improvement goals that stick, you must set your goals, start out simple, and do it daily.
Make sure you set goals that are specific and concrete. For more detail on setting goals, check out the post How to Get Anything You Want in Life. Next, start out simple steps to success. Make sure your goals are easily achievable. Finally, do the work daily. When you combine all of these together, you will be amazed at how much progress you make and how quickly you make it.
