How to CRUSH Your Goals

Let’s face it—anybody can SET a goal, but actually ACHIEVING those goals can sometimes be a different story. Here’s how to CRUSH your goals, every time.

Let’s face it—anybody can SET a goal.

But actually following through and ACHIEVING that goal, or actually CRUSHING that goal and making it a reality?

Well, that’s a different story.

The reality is that most people are much, MUCH better at setting goals than they are at actually achieving them. It’s easy to think about all those things you’d like to do someday, or even to make a list of all the things you’d like to do this year or this month.

But how do you make sure that those distant dreams and far off goals become a reality?

You need a plan.

And that is where Goal Crushing® comes in. Goal Crushing uses our simple, easy-to-follow CRUSH IT™ formula to bring your goals to life. It’s not just about making a list, it is about making a plan. One that you can’t help but follow through on. One that is designed to help you crush it, every single time.

How to CRUSH Your Goals

C-R-U-S-H-I-T—Crush It. That’s all you have to remember.

C: Claim Your Target

The C stands for CLAIM YOUR TARGET. This is where you determine what you are aiming for. Because here’s the thing that I know to be true—if you aim at NOTHING, you will hit it every single time. You need to have something to shoot for, preferably something BIG to shoot for. Something that is possibly so big, it scares you a little bit.

When it comes to achieving—and crushing—your goals, daring to think BIG is probably the single most important thing you can do, so try not to limit yourself, or to let those limiting beliefs stand in the way of what COULD be possible. It takes just as much effort to shoot for a lower target, so why not go big and aim high? Even if you fall short, you’ll still be better off than if you choose a small goal.

R: Refine Your Objective

Next comes R—REFINE YOUR OBJECTIVE. When you claim your target, it’s okay to be a little vague. Remember—you are thinking big. But then you need to hone in and determine, in no uncertain terms, exactly what you want. So let’s say your target is to get in the best shape of your life, but what does that really mean? Well it might mean deciding that you are going to run a 5k, because you know that you will have to start getting in great shape to actually run that 5k and not die.

You are refining your objective and making it real. But you need to make it even MORE real.

U: Understand Your Motivation

And that’s where the U comes in—UNDERSTAND YOUR MOTIVATION. It might seem like a small thing, or even an unimportant detail, but the reality is that getting crystal clear about your WHY is probably the single most important part of actually achieving—and crushing—your goals.

And it is the place where people most often go wrong.

You see, understanding the WHY behind what we are aiming for is the thing that will keep us going when the things get tough. It’s the heart and soul of what we do. It’s the thing that makes the discomfort, the pain, and the frustration of accomplishing something worth all the struggle.

And if we are not clear about WHY we want to make something happen, it will be all too easy to give up or to get distracted.

According to Charles Duhigg, author the book “Smarter, Better, Faster,” the best way to keep ourselves motivated is to take control of our choices, and to see them as affirmations of our values. We need to be able to connect our small tasks to our larger aspirations.

In other words, we need to remember and understand our WHY every step of the way. If we forget our why, we might start to look at our goal as an obligation that someone else is putting on us, rather than a choice we are making for ourselves. And when that happens, we will lose motivation and that thing we are aiming for will never happen.

Of course while understanding our motivation is a critically important piece of crushing our goals, knowing our why is just the beginning.

You see, we still have to GET THERE.

S: Step It Out

And that is where our S comes in—we need to STEP IT OUT.

This is where we get super practical and actually create a concrete plan for how we are going to achieve this goal of ours and actually make it happen. You see, it is not enough to want this goal in theory—we need to have a clear path for getting there. What are the steps you are going to take over the next few days and upcoming weeks to make this goal a reality?

How much time will you need to make this happen? Will you set aside 30 minutes each day to work on it, or block out a few days to work on it? What resources or supplies will you invest in? How much are you willing to spend to make this dream a reality? What research do you need to do in order to make this goal happen? Will you look on the Internet? Read books? Take a class? Who will you ask for help? Do you need an accountability partner? Assistance? Training?

Be crystal clear about the steps you are going to have to take in order to get where you want to go.

H: Handle Obstacles

But there is something else you will want to be crystal clear about when you are making your plan, and that is where our H comes in—HANDLE OBSTACLES

You see, no matter how carefully you plan, and no matter how clear you are about what you want to do and the steps you will need to take to get there, it is inevitable that at some point—and probably sooner, rather than later—there will be road blocks that stand in your way. Obstacles that threaten to derail your progress, distractions that get you off track, setbacks that make you feel like throwing in the towel.

And you need to be prepared for how you will handle them!

Don’t blindly assume everything will be okay. Instead, recognize ahead of time that there will be obstacles along the way and resolve to NOT let those roadblocks prevent you from getting to where you want to go.

Because here’s the thing—setbacks are a lot easier to bounce back from and overcome If you’ve already mentally prepared yourself for them. And while I don’t think it is a good idea to get hung up on every possible what-if scenario, I do think it is important to create a plan for what you’ll do when things stand in your way.

This is another part of goal setting—and goal achieving—that most people forget about, and then, as soon as the going gets rough, they don’t know how to handle it.

So handle your obstacles BEFORE they derail your progress!

 I: Implement Your Plan

Now there is only one thing left to do, and that is I—IMPLEMENT YOUR PLAN.

Because here’s the thing—we only get credit for the plans we IMPLEMENT and follow through on, not the ones we only think about. And this is where so many people fall short and fail to CRUSH their goals—they never actually IMPLEMENT. They are always planning, but when it comes to following through and taking action, they get gun shy, or scared, or just lose their motivation.

Don’t let that be you.

If your plan is to spend the first 30 minutes of every day working towards your goal, then actually spend the first 30 minutes of every day DOING THE THINGS that will get you closer to your goal. Keep moving forward. Take action.

Now is the magic word of success, which means if you want to CRUSH your goal, you need to be someone who does things. Don’t wait until conditions are perfect, because they never will be,  your ideas only have value when you ACT on them.

T: Treat Yourself

But there is one letter left in our CRUSH IT acronym—and it’s one that often gets forgotten. And that is T—TREAT YOURSELF.

You see, if you want to be a Goal Crusher, you need to not only be clear about what success looks like—that is, setting a clear and specific objective—but you also need to have a plan for what you’ll do—how you’ll celebrate—when you get there!

I’ll be the first to admit that celebrating my wins is something that I struggle with. As soon as I’ve hit one target, I move right on to the next one, without stopping to relish in the victory.

But learning how to treat yourself and actually celebrate your wins might just be the most important facet of CRUSHING your goals, because it is the part that will keep you motivated and keep you excited and enthusiastic about continuing to CRUSH your goals for years to come.

When you identify ahead of time how you will celebrate, and then actually follow through on that celebration, your brain makes the connection and says, “I did it! This is awesome! I want to do this again!” So even if it seems a little silly, be sure to identify ahead of time how you will treat yourself once you’ve crushed your goal.

There is something a little magical that happens when you start crushing your goals and seeing your dreams come true. Small wins give us the confidence to stretch and little further, dream a little more, and to start thinking BIG.

But it all starts with having a solid framework in place for actually making those dreams a reality. That’s exactly what Goal Crushing is all about, and it is exclusively found in the Living Well Planner®. Each monthly section contains a Monthly Goal page that helps you break down your long term goals into a more manageable task, as well as a Crushing It page for identifying—and CRUSHING—your biggest, most important goal each month. There is also a project planning page to help you organize and implement your projects and tasks. In other words? It is the tool you need to get things done.

Plus, when you purchase the Living Well Planner, you get access to our Crushing It Bootcamp™, as well as to our Crushing It Central™ resource, which will show you how to get the most use out of every single page of your planner, and are designed to help you organize and simplify your life and help you find more balance. Because let’s face it—between balancing the budget, keeping up with all our daily tasks & responsibilities, and simply getting the food on the table each day, it can sometimes feel like there’s barely enough time to just breathe, much less go after those big goals. Luckily the Living Well Planner is designed to help you take back your time and manage all those pieces of a busy life so there is more room for the things that matter most. It truly is the sanity saver we’ve all been waiting for!

NEXT STEPS & ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Ready to take action? Here at Living Well Spending Less® we’ve got some incredible resources for developing and maintaining simple but powerful home systems in every area of your life.

1. First, check out our Home Systems Toolbox, an entire digital library of tools and resources for organizing every aspect of your home life. 
2. Join the waiting list for Living Well Academy™, our signature program designed to take you from stressed and overwhelmed to calm, happy, and in control of your home systems in just four weeks. 

Other helpful resources:

• Want to Take Control of Your Home Routine? Don’t Miss This!
• How to Take Back Your Time in Just 5 Simple Steps
• The LWSL Home Systems Toolbox: An entire library of tools & resources to help you streamline & simplify your home life.

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