Achieving big goals can take a lot of discipline. However, seeing your ideas come to life is a lot easier with planning. Making a plan helps you get clear on what needs to happen in order to accomplish these goals.
As an acupuncturist, I most often help people achieve their health goals. However, the framework is the same whether you’re targeting your health, finances, or personal life, or professional life.
The steps to take to achieve your goals
What goals do I want to accomplish?
Begin by identifying what you want to achieve. The more specific you are, the easier it will be to plan the steps to get there. For instance, if you’re targeting your health, something along the lines of, “I want to feel good” can be quite vague. A more precise option would be something like, “I want to stop being bloated and gassy daily”.
Why do I want to accomplish this?
What will be the benefits of reaching your target? Remembering why you’re working toward something will help keep you motivated when you come upon obstacles.
What obstacle might prevent me from achieving this?
Make a list of all the challenges you could encounter along the way. This will help you avoid unwanted surprises.
How can I overcome this potential obstacles?
Coming up with a plan now to mitigate possible obstacles will help keep you on track when challenges come up. The most difficult part of achieving a goal is staying the course when things get tough.
What steps do I need to take to reach my goals?
Break your goal down into as many actionable steps as possible. I know that this may seem counter-intuitive. It’s easier to take many small steps than to try to take a few large steps. This can help you avoid feeling overwhelmed. It’s also easier to find the motivation to take on one small step at a time.
Who can keep me accountable?
Tell at least one or two people in your circle of family and friends about your goal. This well help keep you accountable, which is an important step when you have a hard time staying on track.
Who can help me achieve my goals?
If reaching your big goals was easy, you wouldn’t need to go through this whole process. Thankfully, you can hire help or reach out to those in your networks to help you get there faster.
For instance, when targeting bloat and gas, you can try to identify the root cause of your issue. Then, you can work on modifying your diet slowly. You may have to spend a lot of time researching how to get your digestion up and running again. But then again, you can see an acupuncturist who will help kickstart your system, and who will give you dietary recommendations. This will get you closer to your goal much faster.
Ready to start working on your health goals? Schedule your acupuncture appointment in Ottawa today!