How Successful People Achieve Their Goals

Being a success is something that just about everyone dreams about, but why do so few of us there?  Sure, life has a way of throwing you curveballs.

However, some people can overcome adversity and reach the top of the mountain and this leaves most of shaking our heads in disbelief.

If you wondered how this could happen, then wonder no more as researchers at the University of Scranton might have found out how successful people make sure they achieve their goals.

Step 1: Work back from the goal

According to research, successful people start by thinking about the end.  Now, this doesn’t mean they daydream, instead, they work backward from the goal by mapping every step they need to take along the way.

By doing so they are able to break their goals down into ‘baby steps’ and this gives them a sense of accomplishment along the way.

This is important as most people get disheartened along the way to reaching their goals and this leads to abandoning the challenge altogether.

Don’t let this happen to you, if you want to meet your goals then state the goal and map out the journey (with realistic dates) to get there.

This approach will not only help to keep you on track but it will also make sure you can see the trees from the forest.

Step 2: Build your support network

Here is the truth that you will never find in any book about successful people – they could have never gotten to where they are today without the help of others.

High performers no this truth and as such they search out mentors and others who are aligned with the mission at hand to achieve the goals.

This is especially true when a goal is something that might take years to achieve.  As such, you want to find people who can help to nurture you along the way.  These people include coaches, mentors, and advisers.

Think about it, if you want to improve your golf game, you could just go to the driving range every day.  But without feedback from someone else, how can you know if you’ve got a problem with your swing?

What do you do?

You bring on a golf coach to help you improve your game. The lesson here is that there are some goals where you might need help to achieve.

It doesn’t matter if it is sports or business or family.  As such, don’t be afraid to ask for help and importantly, listen when it is given.

Step 3: Focus on the details

This is a bit of a balancing act.  You don’t want to get caught in a trap but at the same time, it pays to focus on the details and it can be the small things that make a difference.

Getting to the details starts with a mindset that says, ‘I am going to break this goal down in its smaller parts’ from there you will want to execute with single-minded determination.

Step 4: Be lazy (sometimes) but also know when you are being lazy

Wow, that is a mouthful but the meaning is that sometimes you might need to recharge your batteries.  However, don’t get caught into thinking that you put off everything until tomorrow as time is the one resource you can never get back.

How to make sure that you are not procrastinating too much? Start by making lists, make lists for everything – daily to-do lists, weekly to-do lists, monthly, and even yearly lists.

These lists will give you transparency when it comes to planning your time and they will also give you a sense of accomplishment when you tick off items.

However, there is one caveat when it comes to creating lists – be realistic about how long it will take to accomplish something.

While you might not be able to perfect when it comes to forecasting how much time is needed for something, trying to do too much at one time can be just as bad as not having a to-do list at all.

Step 5: Don’t multitask

It used to be that people who could do 10 things at once were considered effective.  However, the reality is that multitasking often leads to getting less done compared to taking the time needed to get one thing done the right way.

As such, you want to break tasks down into smaller chunks and focus on going through it one step at a time.