Are you ready to dive into the idea of goal setting again today? I want to start with a question: Why do so many people get started with goals, but never follow through to achieve them?

It’s easy to start new things because they’re exciting. It’s not easy to stick with them and find the grit to keep pursuing them. People want immediate results but life is just not like that. You rarely get immediate results with anything.

So how do you become one of the few who actually sticks to a goal? When the honeymoon phase of your goal journey wears out, what is there to keep pushing you forward?

I believe the key is in your goal-setting process. As I started talking about in my last blog, most often, people don’t succeed at meeting a goal because they aren’t focused on the steps required to achieve it. They haven’t planned out those stepping stone goals along the way. Whether it’s that you want to lose 20 pounds or that you want to average 10 pins more, there are several mini-goals required along the way to get you to your bigger goals.

To stay on track to a major achievement, you need the reminders and the little achievements along the way. If you don’t have daily goals mapped out, it’s too easy to make decisions that are taking you away from your goals.  When you do set goals that you’re really serious about, you need to be reminded about them every single day, so that you can continue to live your life towards those goals. That means regularly looking at your notebook or goal sheet where you wrote down all the steps you need to take to get to the big goal. These steps are your daily reminders of where you are going.

I realize that actually taking the first step to pursue your goals can be heavy because you do not want to take so long to get there. And you may doubt that you’ll ever get there. It’s so far away. I get it. That might threaten to kill your motivation too. But don’t let it! How will you ever get there if you don’t start somewhere and believe that you can go all the way?

I love how Jason Belmonte approaches goal setting. When asked about his goal setting process, he says, “I set the outer space goals. I set the goals that people will look at and think that they’re crazy.”

That’s how I think you should set goals too! It’s no question why he’s the best in the world. He has allowed his potential to meet those outer space goals by staying focused on them every day. So what outer space goal would you set if you knew that you could reach it by staying focused daily?

It’s also important to realize that you can set these outer space goals, but they’re not going to just happen because you set them. The most important thing about the outer space goal is the step by step plan on how you’re going to get there. It’s planning how many times you’re going to practice a week. It’s setting goals about what your spare percentage is going to go up to along the way. It’s setting time for how you’re going to build your mental game beyond the lanes every week. It’s consciously setting aside time for your mental game daily. It’s planning how you’re going to focus your time weekly. It’s ultimately understanding that how you approach every day, week, month matters along the way.

So, yes, I’m telling you to set the outer space goal, but I’m also reminding you to be realistic about how you’re going to get there and then actually believe that you can get there by following that plan.

When I was twelve, I had the huge goal of becoming the world’s best bowler. But I knew that it wasn’t just going to come true just because I hoped for that. I knew I was essentially needing to dedicate my life to it and practice every day towards that. I had to find great resources and great coaches. I needed to always listen and learn. I needed to pick myself up whenever I failed. And through it all, I needed to never lose sight of my big, outer space goal. And that is precisely how I got there.

But kids today, even adults today, are not good at setting those outer space goals because they know they can’t reach it next week. The goal is too intimidating.

Do not make the mistake of setting your goals too small. We need small, easily achievable goals on our way to our bigger goals. Always remember that the small goals are just part of the bigger journey. Don’t make the small goals the only part of your vision. Small goals will make you feel good when achieving them but don’t be scared by the reach for the bigger ones. If you only make small goals and don’t connect them to the bigger goals, you’ll block yourself from greatness. What could you achieve if you set your sights higher? Know you CAN reach outer space goals eventually, with daily commitment!

The first step though is to map them out. Write them down and really think about what you want your big end goals to be.

As I mentioned last time, when I set a goal, I feel it deep in my heart and soul. I think that the most powerful type of motivation is within yourself when you have a passion for what you want to achieve.

So, what big challenge would excite you right now? Because that’s basically what goals are, right? Goals are just these challenges that you acknowledge and make a commitment to overcome so that you can achieve something. 

So it’s time to WRITE DOWN the big goals that excite you! And then even more importantly, make a practical list of steps that will get you there. And a checklist you can easily follow to keep you on track, each day, week, and even month.

To help you get started, I’ve created this worksheet for you. It’s free for you to download and I’m confident it’ll help you get started planning and breaking down your next goal!