Goals Need a Plan

It has been said more than once that "when we fail to plan, we plan to fail".

It's true enough.

The first step in achieving your goal is to make certain you have a plan before you begin.

When it comes to things we really want to do, think about the usual process from beginning to completion.

We think about what it is we want to do, decide we are going to do it, and then verbalize it in our mind or voice it to a friend or family member.

The thought won't let us go and we finally write it down somewhere.

Now that it is concrete, we have to do something with it.

When it comes to weight goals, things can go awry quite quickly when a plan is not in place. We eat salad because it seems like the right thing to do. If you are not a salad eater, ingesting all that roughage gets old really quick.

Beyond that we aren't sure what else we can eat to lose weight and eventually settle back into old habits.

Without a plan, anything is bound to happen.

Our best intentions lead to setbacks and possibly eventual failure.

A large goal such as losing over 100 pounds, buying a car, purchasing a house, or paying off debt takes a plan that involves several smaller goals along the way to ensure success.

But, where do you start?

Begin by reading. Knowledge is power. For goal setting, knowledge of the intricacies of our goals allows us to find a starting place.

For instance, if you want to lose weight, learn how food behaves in the body and what makes up the foods we eat.

For paying off debt, look at the amount of the entire debt and investigate payment options to whittle it away little by little.

After learning what you need to know, put it into practice by writing down small milestones.

Milestones are goals within a goal.

Achieving each one, leads to more confidence that the ultimate goal can be reached.

Milestones work well with large, long term goals.

They prevent discouragement and relapses into old habits. If relapses do occur, there is always the next milestone to look forward to.

And, these milestones can be amended in the event of unforeseen events.

A plan shows that the goal has been accepted and thought through.

As the plan is developed, you will realize if this goal is indeed what you want, or not a goal that you care to pursue.

This cuts out future anguish. No one wants to wake up one day and realize they have lost interest in a particular goal after so much hard work.

Plan carefully to achieve your goals. The path to success could be quite foggy if you choose the opposite path and just wing it.