{"id":13318,"date":"2013-04-21T22:14:46","date_gmt":"2013-04-22T06:14:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=13318"},"modified":"2016-09-05T13:22:14","modified_gmt":"2016-09-05T21:22:14","slug":"tips-on-setting-realistic-goals-that-will-ensure-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/tips-on-setting-realistic-goals-that-will-ensure-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips On Setting Realistic Goals That Will Ensure Success"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

<\/p>\n

When affecting change in our lives we are often stymied by our own human nature to get things done and get them done now.\u00a0 I want those ten pounds gone tomorrow!<\/em>\u00a0 Patience and our lack of it is a certain killer of change.\u00a0 Even if we lost those ten pounds in one day, they will be back tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Our unrealistic expectations are also another certain killer of change.\u00a0\u00a0 We set our goals based on these unrealistic expectations.\u00a0 Combine poor goals with our lack of patience and our much needed or wanted change does not have a chance.<\/p>\n

Setting good attainable goals with realistic action steps are key to not only implementing change but also to help curb the desire to quit when our patience runs thin.<\/p>\n

I have worked with adults, for over ten years, on how to set good goals.\u00a0 In this article I will provide the steps to set good goals with workable action steps.<\/p>\n

What is your goal?\u00a0 Go ahead write it down right now.<\/p>\n

Does it look something like this \u2013 \u201cI want to make more money, or I want to lose 50 pounds?\u201d<\/p>\n

When people make a list of intentions, such as New Year\u2019s Resolutions, a vague goal is where they stop.\u00a0 You are doomed to failure before you even start with goals that are too broad and do not include a plan of action.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to make more money.\u201d\u00a0 What does more mean?\u00a0 One dollar more or $20,000 more?\u00a0 Do you want to make more money in a year, a week a month?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This goal of more money – we are going to write it so that it works.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to have $5,000 in a savings account by (here we would insert a date so please make that realistic as well.)<\/strong><\/p>\n

We don\u2019t stop at the goal.\u00a0 We place action steps along the way to help provide the path to our overall goal.\u00a0 It breaks the goal down into timely and manageable pieces.\u00a0 Action steps are guidelines.<\/p>\n

Goal:\u00a0\u00a0 I will have $5,000 in a savings account by December 15, 2013.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

First Action step:\u00a0 Open savings account by February 1, 2013.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Really you ask, I need to write that down?\u00a0 Yes you do.\u00a0 First of all it provides a tangible reward by checking it off the list.\u00a0 And second, you have a date this action needs to be done.\u00a0 You are accountable.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

Second Action step:\u00a0 Determine amount of money you can put into savings account every week by February 15, 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

Depending on your set of circumstances under this action step you would plan activities such as, looking at your income and expenses.\u00a0 \u00a0Do the math, how much each week do you need to contribute to have your $5,000 by the expected date?\u00a0 Put a \u201ccomplete by\u201d date after each activity as well.\u00a0 Once again, it gives you positive reinforcement and it let you visually see you are making progress toward your goal.\u00a0 One easy way to not let your lack of patience derail you.<\/p>\n

If after you complete this set of activities and you see that the goal of $5,000 is unrealistic in the time frame, given your circumstance, then change it!<\/em>\u00a0 You can do that.\u00a0 You can go to your computer or your pad of paper and you can change the dollar amount.\u00a0 At any time during the process, you can go back and readjust.<\/p>\n

Do not throw the baby out with the bathwater.\u00a0 Many times when people set a goal and something happens that set them back, they just give up. \u201cWell I can\u2019t make that extra $5,000 so why bother.\u00a0 I won\u2019t do anything.\u201d\u00a0 Readjust your action steps or activities if you need to and just carry on.<\/p>\n

Third Action Step:\u00a0 Deposit X number of dollars into savings account by Friday afternoon of every week. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Activity<\/strong> \u2013 Set up automatic deposit from checking account by March 1, 2013.\u00a0 Or write in your calendar that you will deposit the money yourself on Friday\u2019s.\u00a0 Put a big X through the date on the calendar to indicate the task has been completed.<\/p>\n

Add additional action steps if needed.\u00a0 \u00a0Then go online or look in your savings account book and take a peek at how well you are doing.\u00a0 Positive reinforcement.<\/p>\n

Setting goals is not hard.\u00a0 Following through is.\u00a0 However, if you have a plan, that provides deadlines and activities, following through becomes easier.<\/p>\n

Shelly is a personal development strategist and founder of The Rescue Yourself Project <\/a>helping women over 40 step into their unique selves so they can create a life they love! \u00a0A few years ago, she\u00a0found herself living a life that wasn’t of her making. Deciding that wasn’t what she wanted she ran away from home and spent eight months “re-branding” herself. Today Shelly helps women find their unique selves by becoming experts about their values, strengths, passions, goals and purpose so they can design a life they love. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When affecting change in our lives we are often stymied by our own human nature to get things done and get them done now. Setting good attainable goals with realistic action steps are key to not only implementing change but also to help curb the desire to quit when our patience runs thin. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":646,"featured_media":13692,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[37,22,17,6],"tags":[91,4631,66,2191,4634,4629,310,4640],"yoast_head":"\nTips On Setting Realistic Goals That Will Ensure Success - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When affecting change in our lives we are often stymied by our own human nature to get things done and get them done now. I want those ten pounds gone tomorrow! Patience and our lack of it is a certain killer of change.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/tips-on-setting-realistic-goals-that-will-ensure-success\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tips On Setting Realistic Goals That Will Ensure Success - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When affecting change in our lives we are often stymied by our own human nature to get things done and get them done now. I want those ten pounds gone tomorrow! Patience and our lack of it is a certain killer of change.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/tips-on-setting-realistic-goals-that-will-ensure-success\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pickthebrain\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-04-22T06:14:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-09-05T21:22:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/light-tree.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"499\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"329\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@pickthebrain\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@pickthebrain\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Shelly Drymon\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/tips-on-setting-realistic-goals-that-will-ensure-success\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/light-tree.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/light-tree.jpg\",\"width\":499,\"height\":329},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/tips-on-setting-realistic-goals-that-will-ensure-success\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/tips-on-setting-realistic-goals-that-will-ensure-success\/\",\"name\":\"Tips On Setting Realistic Goals That Will Ensure Success - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/tips-on-setting-realistic-goals-that-will-ensure-success\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-04-22T06:14:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-09-05T21:22:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7115120335ae71399aabaa920d192efd\"},\"description\":\"When affecting change in our lives we are often stymied by our own human nature to get things done and get them done now. I want those ten pounds gone tomorrow! Patience and our lack of it is a certain killer of change.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/tips-on-setting-realistic-goals-that-will-ensure-success\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/tips-on-setting-realistic-goals-that-will-ensure-success\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/tips-on-setting-realistic-goals-that-will-ensure-success\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Tips On Setting Realistic Goals That Will Ensure Success\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7115120335ae71399aabaa920d192efd\",\"name\":\"Shelly Drymon\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dfa8335f54127a137cd4132e367c04a4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dfa8335f54127a137cd4132e367c04a4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Shelly Drymon\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/author\/sdrymon\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Tips On Setting Realistic Goals That Will Ensure Success - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement","description":"When affecting change in our lives we are often stymied by our own human nature to get things done and get them done now. I want those ten pounds gone tomorrow! Patience and our lack of it is a certain killer of change.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/tips-on-setting-realistic-goals-that-will-ensure-success\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Tips On Setting Realistic Goals That Will Ensure Success - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement","og_description":"When affecting change in our lives we are often stymied by our own human nature to get things done and get them done now. I want those ten pounds gone tomorrow! Patience and our lack of it is a certain killer of change.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/tips-on-setting-realistic-goals-that-will-ensure-success\/","og_site_name":"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement","article_publisher":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pickthebrain","article_published_time":"2013-04-22T06:14:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-09-05T21:22:14+00:00","og_image":[{"width":499,"height":329,"url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/light-tree.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary","twitter_creator":"@pickthebrain","twitter_site":"@pickthebrain","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Shelly Drymon","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/","name":"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/tips-on-setting-realistic-goals-that-will-ensure-success\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/light-tree.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/light-tree.jpg","width":499,"height":329},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/tips-on-setting-realistic-goals-that-will-ensure-success\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/tips-on-setting-realistic-goals-that-will-ensure-success\/","name":"Tips On Setting Realistic Goals That Will Ensure Success - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/tips-on-setting-realistic-goals-that-will-ensure-success\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2013-04-22T06:14:46+00:00","dateModified":"2016-09-05T21:22:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7115120335ae71399aabaa920d192efd"},"description":"When affecting change in our lives we are often stymied by our own human nature to get things done and get them done now. I want those ten pounds gone tomorrow! Patience and our lack of it is a certain killer of change.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/tips-on-setting-realistic-goals-that-will-ensure-success\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/tips-on-setting-realistic-goals-that-will-ensure-success\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/tips-on-setting-realistic-goals-that-will-ensure-success\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Tips On Setting Realistic Goals That Will Ensure Success"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7115120335ae71399aabaa920d192efd","name":"Shelly Drymon","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dfa8335f54127a137cd4132e367c04a4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dfa8335f54127a137cd4132e367c04a4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Shelly Drymon"},"url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/author\/sdrymon\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13318"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/646"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13318"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13318\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}