One of the best ways to do this is to continuously remind yourself of your goals. If your goals are in the forefront of your mind, then you will be more likely to do things in your everyday life that will bring you closer to them.

BUT what if you don’t truly know what your goals are? Sometimes we have these goals that we are working so hard at, but then we realize that they aren’t what we really want.

Before you really start working towards your goals, you need to start figure out what you truly want from life and make sure that aligns with who you are and the person you want to be.

When I was taking my engineering degree and even looking for a job in that area, it honestly felt soul sucking and discouraging. I felt like I was so inadequate!

Deep down I knew that I was a capable and smart person, but it did not feel that way when I was doing the wrong thing. It wasn’t really until I was in the job hunt, spending so much time and energy trying to get a job THAT I DIDN’T EVEN WANT!

It seemed so silly! And then I realized that I didn’t even know what I wanted any more. I had lost touch with who I was and what my goals were, so much so that I just didn’t feel like myself any more.

So with that said, don’t waste your time on goals that don’t align with who you are and what you really want! And the first step to figuring out what you really want is…

Getting in touch with your true self

Your true self is the ideal person you want to be – the person that is buried under all the crap and limiting beliefs in your life.

It’s the most authentic you that you can be. It’s not the person others want you to be or who you think you should be, it’s the best version of yourself that you can imagine.

Now it does take quite a bit of introspection to get in touch with your true self. I have a post about it that will help you get started with this process. You can find it here. 

Visualize your ideal life

After doing some introspection and really figuring out yourself and your values, it’s very important to think about the life that you want to create for yourself.

This is a great thing to do because you probably already have an idea of what your ideal life is, but you just might not think about it that much or you might think that it is too unattainable to give it any real thought.

Here are some prompts/questions to help you visualize and write out your ideal life:

• How would you feel every day?
• What would you do every day?
• Where would you live?
• Who would you spend your time with?
• What would inspire you?
• What would you have you accomplished?

These are just a few little things to ask yourself, but the main thing you should focus on is making sure that you feel great about what you are writing down.

Also, while answering these questions, don’t limit yourself. Indulge yourself in your richest fantasies, because they can be entirely possible if you dedicate yourself to achieving them.

Try to think of what you would want and what you would do if you didn’t have any barriers. Don’t think about money, the education required, the time it will take, or even the fact that it is something that most people would deem to be “unattainable”. Just write them down!

Whatever your ideal life is, it should make you feel inspired and have a bit of a flutter in your chest and stomach. It should just feel right.

What would you have to do to get to this ideal life?

Your ideal life should be based on some steps you would have to take to get there.

If you were to achieve your dream life, was it because got your dream job? Or that you worked on just being happier? Maybe it’ll be because you’ve traveled the world, found great friends, gotten over a fear, and the list can go on.

Now, take a look at what you have written down here, and these are your shorter term goals!

What if you have other goals that didn’t make it to this list?

If you have other goals that you did not write down during this process, write them down now.

Write down a list of anything else that you would want to achieve or want in your life. Once you have done this, combine it with the goals from above.

Also, ask yourself if any of these goals are too small and if you are underestimating your ability to get them. Make sure you dream big!

*Disclaimer: Dreaming big does not equal dreaming greedily. Your goal should not be to be a billionaire or sit on a yacht and eat caviar out of a golden chalice every day. But if you want success or money, your goal should be something along the lines of being successful at the thing you like, or running a company that does xyz. Those are big goals that are more about what you are accomplishing, rather than just having something

You should now have a decently long list of good goals that hopefully line up with your true self.

BUT, just in case these don’t fully align with what you really want from life, there are a few questions you can ask yourself to further refine these goals a bit.

How to refine your goals

Here is a list of some good questions to think about, that will ensure that you are not letting other things get in the way of what you really want, such as expectations others have for you or if you are trying to prove something to somebody.

• Do I want any of these goals to impress others?
• Do I have these goals because of rules that society has imposed on me?
• Do I have these goals because of pressure from my family?
• Do I want these goals so I can show off or brag about them?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, your goals are not good goals. They are either goals for others or for your ego. They are not for your true self! So scrap them!

Making these goals become a reality

At this point, some of your goals might be pretty hefty. Which is totally fine! You should be dreaming big!

But, sometimes big goals can be a bit overwhelming, so the best thing to do is to break these goals down into smaller, well-defined pieces.

Having clearly defined, smaller goals will help you to feel less overwhelmed and be able to start working on things immediately that will help you reach your goals.

You may have a lot of smaller goals, which might make your list really long, but that’s ok. I have actually designed my own goal planner that will help you with each step of the process and will help you sort out and plan your goals!

You can sign up for it below! It has journal prompts to find the right goals for you and lots of tips for planning out how you will reach your goals Plus, I have included a SMART goals worksheet, which is very helpful to clarify your goals and make sure that you will be able to achieve them! There’s lots of information in it including how to create better habits that will help you reach your goals, so be sure to check it out! Good luck with your goals!