So lately I’ve noticed a repeating theme throughout my last few videos and I’ve talked
a lot about setting goals and systems and how having a focused direction for your life
is key.
But something else I’ve noticed is that I’ve never actually broken down how to set
these goals and systems.
I mean understanding that these things are important is cool in all, but how do you do
it?
Right.
So as I was sitting here, I took a step back and I placed myself into your shoes.
Watching my content and I think that that’s something I would want to know.
So let’s talk about it.
Here’s how to actually set intentional goals and systems that will change your life.
Ok, before we dive into how to set goals and systems.
I want to start this conversation at the beginning and I want to paint this picture to help you
understand what goals and systems are.
Now I want you to imagine yourself running an organized race.
A 10K—6 miles for example and the goal or the objective is to run from the starting
line to the finish line at your own pace, but it’s still a race, so a pretty fast
pace.
Ok keep that picture in mind.
Alright, so what are goals?
Goals are simply mile markers or objectives that you run towards for a period of time
until you eventually reach or don’t reach them.
So think about that race that you’re running.
Your first goal or objective is to run the first mile and then focus on the second, and
then the third and then so on until eventually you’ve ran the entire race.
Now what are systems?
Systems are repeatable actions or processes that consistently move you in the direction
you want to go in.
Again, think about that race that you’re running.
The goal is to run the entire race, but the system however, is physically running.
A repeatable action of placing one foot in front of the other at fairly quick rate, but
see it's not running on the day of the race, it's also running every day, every week and
every month prior to.
Ok, I hope this is making sense so far.
Now let's talk about how to actually set these goals and systems and I want to do this is
by sharing how I personally set goals and systems in my life and you're probably thinking
that the first thing I do is set the goal, but you're wrong.
Actually, I start with why.
See after I identify the idea or dream or thing that I want to achieve or accomplish.
I ask myself why.
Why do I want to achieve or accomplish this.
Why do I want to do this.
Why do I want to learn about this.
See getting clear on why we want to achieve or accomplish these ideas, things and dreams
is the foundation for any solid goal or system we set.
So as an example let's take a goal of mine that I've recently achieved, which was paying
off my student loans.
If you don't know, I paid off all of my student loan debt in one year with my last payment
being this past december.
Now let's take this idea and let's apply it to these steps I'm walking you through.
The idea I had, was to become debt free.
A very broad statement right, an idea.
So if we start with why.
Why did I want to become debt free?
A few reason; to change my family tree, to increase my financial literacy, so I can enjoy
life, learn and travel and a few other things.
Now this gives me a solid foundation to then move forward with.
The second step in this process is setting the goal.
Now keep in mind that a goal is still just an idea until it's followed by action, but
during this step of setting the goal, you're taking your ideas, dreams and things and making
them tangible.
Let me explain.
The idea I had, was to become debt free.
I started with my why and now it's time to set the goal and I do this or I did this,
by speaking it out loud and then writing it down.
See the reason you want to speak it out loud is because it allows you to hear the goal
you've just set.
Doing this every time you set a new goals helps you build focus and a wall against self-criticism.
An easy way to silence that little doubtful voice inside of us is by speaking against
it out loud.
Next you have to write it down, put your goals on paper.
By putting them on paper it becomes tangible and anything that we can hold and see everyday
tends have stronger connection to us.
The third step I take in the process is identifying what actions I need to take.
So if we use the example of me paying off the student loans again, some of the actions
I identified that I needed to take was educating myself about money and how it works, how to
write a monthly budget and stick to it and more
and because I identified these actions right after setting the goal, I knew exactly what
I needed to do and how to do and that in itself was motivating enough to get started down
this path, but see here’s how we take those actions one step further.
The fourth step is building systems and being consistent.
System, meaning a repeatable action.
In other words a habit.
See the system I used to achieve my goal of paying off my debt was building consistent
repeatable actions around writing a monthly budget, every month.
Or staying discipline and intentional with every extra dollar I spent.
It also required me to develop new habits around entertainment, because during this
time of paying off all of my debt, I didn’t spend any extra money on anything that wasn’t
a need and trust me, I had some very creative moments that made staying entertained at home
more fun than any experience I could have paid for at the time.
See building systems that actually move you towards your goal is the hardest piece in
this puzzle.
Think about that race you were running at the beginning of this conversation.
If you never built the system of physically running everyday prior to race day, then the
actual race itself would be much harder than it should be.
You’d be out of breath, cramping and probably walking at some point, because you never developed
the habits you need to run that race.
The point I'm making is with any goal you set the real accomplishment is not meeting
the goal itself.
It's appreciating, accepting and understanding all of the hard work you put in and systems
you built that got you there.
Think about it like this: Idea + Action = Goal
Action + Habit = System Goal + System = Progress and Growth
If you enjoyed this video, make sure you give it a thumbs up for me.
If it made you think and it gave you a foundation to help you start setting goals and systems
in your life, let me know in the comment section down below.
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Always remember, to always stay true to you and I'll see you in the next one.
Peace!