How to set up goals?

Okay look, I am 18 years old and I have goals. You would be surprised how rare that is nowadays, but I see my friends, classmates etc. are not used to the idea of having dreams made into goals.

I know, not everyone is that ambitious or they are happy with what they have, but I still don’t think that’s the case in every scenario.

I think most people don’t know how to figure out what they want. How to formulate those dreams and make them into goals? Everyone wants something in their life. We try to find purpose in everything that we do.

We do everything for something. It’s just hard to figure out precisely our desires.

That’s why today I decided to dig deeper in the undiscovered realms of goals and how to set them up.

I started to write when I was 12 years old and it stuck with me ever since. I was dreaming about publishing my book at the age of 18, starting a blog in English, doing my thing on Instagram.

These were really big things for me. A little girl from Hungary with low self-esteem and childish writing could never have an impact on people internationally… at least that’s what I’ve been told.

I still kept up with doing what I love. I am not saying that I never had ups and downs. Never lost track. Never wanted to give up. Never let others decide what I can and can’t do. Never questioned my skills or willpower.

I just stuck with my goals because I could never imagine something else for myself.

So how do you do that? How do you find goals that are so powerful that you would never want to give up on them?

1.Figure out what you like to do

I usually see that people don’t even know what they want. It seems like they just can’t figure out what they like to do and what parts of life they want to succeed in. So before you set your goals, think about yourself. Ask questions, try to imagine interviewing your future self. Think about what you need to figure out first.

Here are some questions you can start with, when you don’t know what you want:

What do you like to do now?
What are your hobbies?
What are your strengths?
What kind of job can you imagine for yourself?
Why do you want what you want?
What are the things that YOU want to do? Not someone else. YOU!
What are the things that you currently do, because someone else expects you to do so?
What is something that you can’t imagine yourself quitting in the future?
What made you feel good about yourself?
What worked for achieving things? What didn’t?

Try to focus on what YOU want! Not your parents, not your friends nor anyone. You! This is YOUR life!

2.SMART goals

When you manage to formulate some sort of desire, use the SMART goal setting system. It’s a pretty well known system used by thousands of successful people.

This is what SMART stands for:

S – Specific

M – Measurable

A – Attainable

R – Relevant

T – Time-bound

After you figure out what you like to do, put it through this test.

Be Specific when you decide on your goals.

Make sure it’s Measurable or find a way to make it measurable, because that’s how you are going to track your progress, which eventually motivates you to go further.

You also need to evaluate whether it is Attainable. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing bad with dreaming big, but you still have to think it through. A fish can’t climb a tree.

Is your goal Relevant? Find a purpose for it. A purpose that is valuable enough to put it in your life. It’s totally fine if you only want it, because it makes you happy. It doesn’t have to be something big.

You should give it a Time-bound as well! You will never achieve anything if you keep repeating “someday I will do it”.

You will never achieve anything if you keep repeating “someday I will do it”.

3.Write them down and give them a deadline!

I can’t stress it enough how important it is to write your goals down! Write them down as often as you can so you never lose focus.

Write down all your goals and make sure to set a deadline next to them. You can have a separate sheet of paper and put it somewhere so you can look at it daily.

It’s so important to be reminded of your goals and the time you want to achieve them! This way you won’t lose track and it gives you an instant burst of motivation just as you read it through.

Also it is true that when you write down your goals often, they are more likely to be achieved.

You can never live tomorrow, only today.

4.Break it down/Make a plan

You probably feel overwhelmed after deciding on what you want. You must have a huge gap between who you are right now and who you are going to be after achieving your goals. There are so many things to do!

Let’s break it down, because there are certain steps to everything. Take it one day at a time and think about what you can do during that one day.

Because 24 hours make a day, 7 days make a week, 4 weeks make a whole month, 12 months make a year.

For example:

You want to make 5000 USD per month. Therefore you have to make 1250 USD per week, which is roughly 167 USD per day.

So figure out something you can make 167 USD daily and then repeat it over and over and over again.

Another example:

You want to lose 10 kgs. You need to work out and eat healthy to achieve that.

So you will go to the gym three times a week and start planning your meal every week. And then repeat it over and over and over again.

See where I am going with this?

5.Have beneficial habits

Every goal is about consistency. You can’t expect progress in one day of time. Although you may feel the change after pushing towards your objectives.

You need to find useful habits and stick with them. You can’t rule the world in just one day. (But if you study hard, get involved in politics, go to university etc. you will eventually get there!)

Daily habits are small, more doable things that will push you further and further. There may come obstacles, but your habits will push you through them. And after you get over an obstacle or reach a border, that’s one success on your journey to incredibleness.

So find those habits that will help you work towards your goals. Do them for 30 days, that’s how they will stick. Do them for 90 days and you can call it a lifestyle.

Do them for 30 days, that’s how they will stick. Do them for 90 days and you can call it a lifestyle.

Setting up goals can be frustrating, overwhelming and hard. But now knowing what you want in life, why you are here in this beautiful world is even worse.

In my opinion you got an opportunity to live freely and experience life most vividly, most alive. You can! I know you can! You just have to want it so badly that you feel like there are no other options for you to be on Earth. You need to feel like it’s just as necessary as breathing.

I know it can be a lot, I know it can be scary, I know you feel like you are insane for aiming for your dreams. But no one ever said that is going to be simple.

If it was easy, everyone would do it. But you are special. You are going to make it work. Just by being here, I know you want this.

So believe in yourself, because that’s the most important.

I know how others can pull you down, but don’t let them! I mean it! I know I don’t know you, we’ve never met.

But I am just a girl from Hungary pulled down for years by my family and friends. And yet I am still here doing what I love and achieving more and more every single day.

So if that matters, I believe in you.

“But you don’t even know me.” You may think.

Just by being here you proved to me that you are seeking for something more. Just by reading this blog post you proved to me that you are open-minded enough for this adventure.

So yes. I really believe in you.