“Do you know the difference between a dream and a goal? … A plan.” – Jodi Picoult.  With a good plan you can achieve anything you set your mind to. It’s nice to dream, right? Well, it is still better to achieve those dreams. For it to really happen and dreams do not remain only in your mind, you have to learn to set simple and effective goals that will motivate you to move forward and you can make your dreams come true. Next, we are going to give you some tips that will allow you to change your life … for the better.

Smart goals

If you want to set goals, follow these steps:

• • Specific Goals – Make sure your goals are not unattainable ideas. Instead, have specific ideas of what you are trying to do and where you are trying to go. The reason for this is that specific goals give you direction, while vague goals leave you without direction.

• • Measurable Goals – Similarly, you need to make sure there is some way to measure your goals so you know when you are making progress and when you are not. By making a goal measurable, you help make sure you know when you’ve reached it and can celebrate it. And who doesn’t like that?

• • Achievable Goals: You can say you want to win the Nobel Prize in Economics, but wouldn’t it be better to start by earning a degree in the field first? After all, it’s not like you can’t set new goals when you achieve the ones you have! What’s more, if the goals are unreachable, all you’ll end up doing is getting discouraged, and from there it’s a short way to give up.

• • Relevant Goals – You’ll also need to make sure that the goals really guide you in the direction you want to go. Sure, fame is nice, but does it really help you marry the person of your dreams ? So make sure they are in line with what you want out of life.

• Goals with a time limit: give yourself deadlines, if you don’t do it then you will leave everything for tomorrow and that tomorrow will be every day … The obvious problem with that is that we all run out of tomorrow, and if that happens, the only thing that we have left are regrets.

Worry about your goals

You have to make sure that the goals you have are the ones that really interest you. There are many ways you can end up setting goals that aren’t really that important to you. Maybe they are important to the people close to you, or maybe society makes you think that they should be your goals.

The point is, it is very difficult to motivate yourself with ‘should’. Instead, make sure to point to ‘want’ instead. This way, you will ensure that when the going gets tough, instead of getting into an existential crisis about what you really want, you can move on.

Set subgoals

Once you have achieved your big goals, set goals or milestones on the way to what you will work towards. These will serve as stepping stones to make sure you stay on target .  They will also give you something to focus on and a way to gauge how you are doing.

Write it and share it

Writing down your goals can really go a long way. First of all, the simple act of writing it will feel like you are committing to them. Second, to the write is much more likely to notice gaps in the line of time , logic and general setting of objectives, which otherwise might have remained unaddressed. In this way, it will serve to make your goals more achievable and more concrete.

By showing your goals to someone you trust, you can not only get their feedback, but also motivate yourself.  After all, now you have not only committed to these goals in your own head, but also out loud, which means that if you fail, you not only have to deal with your own disappointment , but someone else’s as well. This can be an immensely helpful motivator.

And of course … go ahead and don’t give up! You can do it, you just have to want it.