6 Tips for Achieving Long-Term Goals

"Long-term goals are defined as bigger goals that require more time to achieve along with diligent planning. They can be goals for our health, education, career, relationships, and more.

The followings are a few tips for reaching your long-term goals.

1. Recognize the power of taking small steps.

There’s nothing wrong with aiming big—but we can help ourselves by starting small. Once a person gets going in the desired direction, it’s easier to keep going.

2. Divide and conquer.

Shift your focus from the ultimate goal to a series of doable intermediate tasks. The more specific the goal (walking at least 30 minutes every day), the better able people are to reach it. It is easier to postpone vague or open-ended tasks with distant deadlines than focused and short-term projects. Specific goals allow for better monitoring of progress toward the goal.

3. Focus on fewer goals.

As Plato counselled: “Do one thing and do it well.” Having fewer goals increases the odds of achieving your goals than when we have more conflicting goals. With too many goals, we often are afraid of making the wrong choice, so we end up doing nothing.

4. Have a growth mindset.

Some people have a fixed theory, believing that their qualities, such as their intelligence, are simply fixed traits. Others have a malleable theory, believing that their most basic qualities can be developed through their efforts and education. Evidence shows that people with a malleable theory are more open to learning, willing to confront challenges, able to stick to difficult tasks, and capable of bouncing back from failures.

5. Find motivation.

People who pursue goals for autonomous (personally chosen) reasons have greater intrinsic motivation for attainment and are not pressured by outside forces.

6. Understand the importance of selecting the right goals.

Beware of false hope in goal selection. As Oscar Wilde (Lady Windermere’s Fan) once said, “In this world, there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.” Decisions made based on falsely predicted happiness are likely to fail to maximize eventual happiness."

Read the complete article available at Psychology Today!

Reflection:

Are you working towards your long-term goals? How do you stay motivated?

#Motivation #Goals #Mindset