The way we set goals is super important and it can have a massive impact on if we actually do anything about them. Do you have a long list of things you’d love to do one day, but no drive to do them, or even an idea where to start?

If you’re someone who often sets yourself goals and gets hyped on motivation but loses interest in a few weeks, increasingly frustrated in yourself, you’re not alone. Or maybe you haven’t had any goals since you left school and the process all sounds a bit dull, but you know you want to make changes in your life. That’s totally normal and you can find a way that works for you.

For ease of wording, I’m using the word goals throughout this. I’m not massively attached to the word but if you feel iffy about it - swap it out. Alternatives include; intentions, promises, check-points, quests, aspirations, targets - use whatever feels good because you’re going to be working closely with them and language is important.

The deciding and planning of your goals is as important as the things you do afterwards. It’s what’s going to set you up to fail or succeed. If you do it right it will keep you on track but allow flexibility - because you’re human after all! You can prepare for the things that might trip you up so you’re prepared and know how to damage control. You can set goals that you’re able to track so you can see how far you’ve come even when it feels like you’ve so far to come. You’re in this for the long-haul remember, not a quick fix.

Step one is always going to be getting clear on what you actually want. Imagine you’re at a party, drinks are flowing and you’re chatting to someone who appears to have it all figured out, reeling off their aspirations and all the amazing things they're going to achieve in their five year plan, and then they turn to you. ‘So what about you, what do you want to do with your life?’ What’s your answer?

Now think about that answer, you might have said it to people in real life before, you might even believe it - how does it make you feel? If it feels a bit scary, but exciting, then go with it, flesh it out and allow yourself to really explore what it means. If you don’t feel anything about it, if it’s something you say to get people off your back, or something you think you should want - bin it. It’s not even worth the brain space.

Photo by Marija Zaric on Unsplash — Photo by **Marija Zaric** **on Unsplash**

Imagine what you would do if you could do anything, what type of person would you be? How would you spend your time? Allow your imagination to run free and it will bring up things that you want. It might be really scary at this point, but that’s okay, it’s better to be scared by dreams you really want than scared of being stuck in the life you’re in.

Write down anything that’s come up from exploring what you want, and begin to research what that looks like in real life. That might mean exploring the details or seeking out people who have already done it. I’ll be sharing more posts about the process of setting goals that work and how you can achieve them, but for now, congratulations on step one! The first step in going after what you want is knowing what you want.

If you want a supportive toolkit to help you set goals on your terms, that feel good, exciting AND achievable, download the Sugar Storm Make It Happen toolkit. Available now in the Sugar Storm shop ⚡️

https://sugarstormstudio.com/shop/make-it-happen-digital-toolkit

How To Set Goals That Work For You