goals - Ceed

How to Make Your Dreams a Reality

Posted on 3 March 2022 - 12:00 pm by admin

When we dream of something, we think of some bold idea to accomplish. It could be anything. We want to go out and reach that goal, and it can feel incredibly satisfying to eventually get there.

You’ve envisioned your dreams, now what?

However, the thought of making our dreams a reality is easier said than done, and sometimes we feel like we’re in limbo when it comes to seeing it finalised.

That’s where this guide comes in. With these five tips, you’ll be making those dreams of yours a reality in no time!

Read Now: How To Uncover Inspiration

Write Things Down

First and foremost, to help you figure out not just what your dreams are, but how you’re possibly going to reach them, you should start by writing down your thoughts and ideas. Now, while this may sound basic, you’ll actually find that writing down your thoughts is a rather effective method.

As you write, whether that’s with pen on paper or typing on a computer or laptop, you’ll find that your ideas begin to take shape. You’ll be able to determine what works and what doesn’t, which will then start paving the way for a plan. It’s also good to do this in case you later forget of some of the things that popped into your head.

When it comes to writing, don’t just use it for early plans and preparation. After initial preparation, keep note (in a diary, journal etc.) of all the things you’ve been doing to ensure you achieve your long-term goal. This can be recorded on a daily or weekly basis and provides you with knowledge of what you found worked and what didn’t.

Take Small Steps

When you’ve figured out what your dreams are and how you’re going to accomplish them, it’s very easy to assume that you can just go headlong into a plan and reach them straight away.

Sadly, life doesn’t work like that. If anything, taking huge strides and rushing into things won’t do you any favours. While you may reach your goal, you won’t be reaching it the way you intended and may ultimately feel unsatisfied by the outcome.

Taking small steps and writing down progress can be hugely helpful!

We all know about The Tortoise and the Hare and its moral of “slow and steady wins the race”. By taking your time and making small steps, you’ll be reaching your goal at the required pace while learning of any advantages and disadvantages that could prevent you from getting there in the first place. It’s not about the destination – it’s the journey and what you learn along the way.

Read Now: 8 Quick and Small Changes to a Better Life

Don’t Give Up

Life is hard. There’s no sugar-coating it. There’s always going to be a challenge or a problem we’ll come across, especially if things seemed to initially be going easy, and it’s very tempting to call it quits there.

Here’s the thing: don’t.

“When the going gets tough, the tough get going”. No doubt you’ve heard this expression before. Basically, it means that a determined person is willing to work hard to reach their goal, which is something you should absolutely be doing. When you persevere, you’ll find yourself overcoming that troublesome obstacle that had initially got in your way.

No matter how hard the challenge will be, there’s no denying that a level of catharsis shall follow knowing you conquered that challenge and proved it could be prevailed over.

Read Now: How to Step into Your Growth Zone

Embrace Failure

Sometimes, no matter how hard we work and no matter what decisions we’ve made, the only outcome can be failure. Now, you’re reading this thinking “well, that’s a very negative outlook”, aren’t you?

Wrong!

Just because we might’ve failed at something doesn’t mean we should then give up, just as we covered previously. Failure is by no means a terrible thing. Granted, you may feel defeated by it, but the truth is it’s an opportunity to learn. Think about where you went wrong; what could then be improved? The next time around, once you’ve fixed that aspect of your methods, you’ll know the right way to go, and if that fails too, try something else until you have the right solution.

Life is a gamble. Everything can be a risk. The important thing is to take those risks. If they work, they’re a success. If they don’t, it’s just another chance to acquire more knowledge.

Read Now: How to Overcome Fear of Failure

Find Others Who Share the Same Dreams

There are times when the only things we need are a little bit of encouragement and excitement. A little of these can go a long way, especially when you’re striving to make your dreams come true.

Try talking to others who also share the same dreams as you do. Along the way, you may even learn tips and tricks that can help you even more. Are there things that others are doing that you feel is a method worth trying? Why not try it yourself?

Without finding the motivation to get you going, you’ll never even leave the place you started at.

These were just five ways to help you make your dreams become a reality. If you’d like more advice on making lifestyle changes, don’t hesitate to contact us today at Ceed.

How to Build Effective Short-term and Long-term Goals

Posted on 8 April 2021 - 1:15 pm by admin

Everybody has dreams and aspirations – in both their personal and professional lives – yet many people struggle to create goals and stick to them.

Meanwhile, others have remained ambitious and seen their goals through. You’re probably wondering, what’s the key to their success?

Before we answer this question, we need to establish the difference between short-term and long-term goals.

Short-term vs. long-term goals

A short-term goal is a goal you want to achieve in the immediate future (less than 12 months).

E.g. saving money on a weekly basis

A long-term goal is something you want to accomplish in the distant future (12 months or more).

E.g. buying your dream home

The distinction between short-term and long-term goals is important because short-term goals can become part of a long-term goal.

Using our examples from above, saving money on a weekly basis would be a productive step towards buying your dream home because you will build up your savings.

Now that we know the distinction, we need to create a system that helps us build towards our goals, both in the short-term and long-term.

So how can you build effective short-term and long-term goals?

For Short-Term Goals

Set SMARTER goals – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, timely, evaluate, readjust.

Specific: Your goal needs to be precise so that you know how to complete your objective. Think about what you want to achieve and how to achieve this.

Measurable: By creating a quantifiable goal, you are creating a timeline for your progress, helping you achieve this goal. A measurable goal helps you notice when you haven’t been completing your target.

Achievable: Your goal needs to be feasible to complete in a given timeframe. Set your goal just big enough to push yourself into reaching your goal.

Relevant: Each goal should ideally have a reason behind it that makes it worthwhile. Consider whether this goal links with a long-term goal you want to accomplish in the future.

Timely: Your goal must be time-bound – with a start date and a deadline – so there is a sense of urgency that will motivate you to complete your goal.

Evaluate: Continuously evaluate your goal along the way – whether daily, weekly or monthly – so that you stay focused up until the end. Once you have completed your goal, evaluate your overall performance by thinking about what worked well and what went wrong. Take this insight into the next goal you set for yourself.

Readjust: If you keep encountering problems, stop and readjust, so you can move forward and achieve your goal.

This framework originated from the acronym SMART. Coined by George T. Doran in his 1981 paper, ‘There’s a S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management’s Goals and Objectives’, he suggests that creating business management objectives based on these five areas will bring management excellence to an organisation.

So if this works in a business environment, why not expand this thinking to other areas of our life, so we can “manage” our own goals?

An example of a SMARTER short-term goal would be:

I will set up my WFH (Work From Home) office space over the weekend before I start my new job.

Specific – The goal of setting up an office space is well-defined.

Measurable – The goal can be measured through completing smaller tasks: picking a location in the house, clearing the space of unnecessary items etc.

Achievable – The goal can realistically be completed before the new job starts.

Relevant – The goal must be completed because the new job is a remote position.

Timely – The goal will be completed over the weekend.

Evaluate – The goal can be evaluated after completing each of the smaller tasks.

Readjust – The goal can be readjusted if any issues arise.

If the SMARTER method is ideal for a short-term goal, how can you prepare for long-term goals?

For Long-Term Goals

Prioritise

Long-term goals require a lot of time and planning. Therefore, it can be beneficial to prioritise your goals before deciding which goal to pursue.

Prioritisation is the act of deciding what is most important to you right now.¹

By making this choice, you can focus all your time and energy on a particular goal.

Research

Spend some time researching, speaking to a life coach or other people about your goal, so you understand how to progress through your goal.

Research allows you to prepare for any potential setbacks that may occur along the way.

Plan

To create a detailed plan, break down your long-term goal into a series of short-term goals, so you can visualise what steps to take to reach your goal.

Keeping a record of this plan – in a journal or on an online document – will give you the flexibility to alter your plan if something changes!

To answer our question from earlier, building effective goals requires a lot of preparation beforehand – in both research and planning – so that when you feel demotivated and close to giving up, there is a plan to fall back onto when things get tough.

If you need more guidance in building successful goals, Ceed can help you – a life coach will be on hand to help you set up your goals for success.

Tag: goals