People who set clear goals are significantly more successful than those who do not set goals, according to several studies. But how do you set goals that are truly achievable? Goals should be specific, measurable, and realistic, and it is important to break down larger, more long-term goals into smaller sub-goals. It is also important to create a timeline in which you establish when and how you will achieve your goals.

The ability to set goals and sub-goals is very important if you want to succeed in your career and in life. If you truly want to accomplish something in life, you must define exactly what it is you want to achieve, as well as when and how it will happen – otherwise, you will be floundering. Setting clear goals is also necessary if you want to evaluate yourself and your own development, so that you know if you are making progress or just spinning your wheels.

But it is not enough to just say that you want to achieve a certain result – you must be more specific than that for goal setting to make a real difference in your career and in your life. Therefore, we now want to give a short introduction to how to think and act to set goals that are truly achievable.

Specific and measurable goals

Perhaps the most important thing to consider when setting goals is that they must be specific. Many people make the mistake of setting too vague goals, perhaps because they unconsciously hope to be able to achieve everything if they avoid choosing something specific. But if you really want to succeed, you have to dare to prioritize, that is, to choose something and thus to reject a long list of other options. You can never be sure that you have chosen the right thing, but continuing to "keep all options open" is just a way to deceive yourself. Eventually, you have to choose, otherwise, you will end up just spinning your wheels.

That the goals should be specific also means that they should be measurable. There must be a way to see or measure whether you have achieved the goal or not, otherwise, you will only feel frustrated - and again be tempted to deceive yourself. For example, if your goal is to lose weight, you should specify exactly how many pounds you should lose and within what timeframe.

It's also important that you choose goals that truly matter to you and are relevant in your life, both in the short and long term. Your goals must motivate and inspire you every day, otherwise, you have little chance of achieving them. Therefore, avoid setting goals dictated by the expectations of the environment or society. Just set goals that reflect your real dreams and ambitions in life.

Also, remember that the goals must be realistic. Many make the mistake of setting too grandiose goals, perhaps after watching some bombastic motivational video about how "anyone can be anything". Be ambitious, but at least be aware that your development must take place step by step. Set realistic goals, then when you have achieved these, you can raise the bar.

Make a timeline plan

Once you have formulated your specific, measurable and realistic goals, it's time to develop a plan for how to achieve them. It is very important to write down your goals instead of just having them in your head.

The plan should indicate which goals are highest priority. The goals should also be time-bound and have a deadline, according to the principle of measurability. Additionally, it is very important that you break down your larger goals into smaller sub-goals, so that you know what you should work on monthly, weekly and even daily. Working towards one large goal that looms far away in the horizon, is devastating for motivation if you do not break it down into smaller sub-goals. You need to be able to see that you are making small progress and achieving small milestones every day or every week, so that you can continue.

To implement the plan in practice, you will also need to identify the obstacles that exist on the way to the goal. If there were no obstacles, you would have already achieved the goal, so you can count on it.

Most obstacles are probably mental, or involve your behavior pattern or habits and routines. You need to find out what these obstacles look like and how you can overcome them. To do this, you can seek help from a coach or mentor, or look for opportunities for skill development, if that is what is required. You can also ask colleagues, managers, friends, and relatives for personal and constructive feedback.

Setting goals in a successful way and then achieving them is a difficult art, but it is something that everyone can learn using the right methods and tools. And it's definitely worth it - you'll feel it as soon as you achieve the first sub-goals on the way to something even bigger.