Dreaming of bigger things but unsure how to make those amazing things a reality? We’ve all had days where we dream that something incredible could happen in our lives. We might dream of an adventurous holiday in Africa, a beach house, or having a super fit, toned body. It could be something else entirely – something unique to you.

The challenge comes when you want to actually make those dreams come true, because sitting around daydream isn’t going to cut it for this part.

It’s time to pull out a notepad and get to get to work!

Goals help turn dreams into reality

The problem with dreams is that there is no clear path from the fantasy in your head to the reality you live each day, so dreams often stay in our heads as we go through life without ever coming true.

The good news is that there is something you can do to change this!

By learning how to turn your dreams into goals, you’ll create a step by step pathway to achieving them.

How mindset affects goal-setting

Mindset impacts the goals we set in various ways, dictating the types of goals we set, how we go about achieving them, and how likely we are to succeed.

In general, there are two types of mindset:

A fixed mindset.

People with a fixed mindset believe that traits that determine success (like talent, intelligence and even skill) are things you’re either handed at birth – or not!

They don’t believe these things can be developed, so if they experience failure at something, they often take it as evidence that they’re no good at the task, and never, EVER could be.

This type of mindset limits the potential for success, because if a person doesn’t happen to experience immediate success, they give up.

A growth mindset.

On the other hand, people with a growth mindset believe they can develop any skill if they put the hard work and dedication in to develop it.

They don’t believe that the cards they were handed at birth completely define their potential, so if they want to study science but lack a natural aptitude for maths, for example, they will work really, REALLY hard to make up for that – and usually succeed!

This is obviously the mindset you’ll want to cultivate as you chase your goals!

Most of us have a preferred mindset but can also have different ways of thinking about different aspects of our lives. You might have a growth mindset at work but a fixed mindset about your health or relationships.

The good news is that with conscious effort, you can develop a growth mindset in all areas of your life!

SMART goal-setting tips

Once you’re consciously working on developing a growth mindset, it’s time to set some goals!

Remember that any goals you set in life should be SMART.

SMART stands for:

Specific

Take the time to define your goal well. Vague statements like, ‘I want to lose weight,’ are far less powerful than, ‘I want to lose 10kg.’

Measurable

Use measurements and dates to keep track of your progress. For example, ‘I want to lose 10kg by my birthday in September.’ Even better, lay out a number of smaller dates and targets to aim for. That way, you’ll know when you need to hit each milestone to stay on track. Small corrections along the way are much easier than big ones after you’ve gone way off track!

Attainable

Make sure that your goals are challenging enough to keep challenging you and moving you forward at a good pace, BUT not unrealistic! It might seem exciting to set a goal to lose 10kg in a month, but in reality, this is likely to fail. Not only will this leave you unmotivated, it’s also not a very healthy target.

Relevant

Make sure each goal and target is relevant to what you ultimately want to achieve. For example, if you want to lose weight because you feel that people stare and it makes you uncomfortable, it’s probably not a good idea to set a goal like, ‘Lose 10kg by September and enter bikini contest.’ If you decide that it might actually be fun as you travel towards your goals then go for it!! But don’t set goals that will give you mixed feelings about whether you actually want to achieve them!

Timely

Make sure you set a timeline so you can create a sense of urgency. Nothing like an impending deadline to get a person’s a$$ in gear, right?

A great way to do this and get some fantastic weight loss coaching along the way is to join a weight loss challenge like this one!

Getting support to help make your goals a reality

If you’re ready to take all aspects of your life to the next level, the Healthy Habit Hierarchy Academy (H3A) is for you.

This exclusive H3A learning academy offers every resource you need to master your life, so you can live fully and authentically in every way that matters to you. You’ll get access to self-paced online courses and take part in fun monthly challenges.

Choose from the wide range of exercises, worksheets, and a huge vault of exclusive member-only resources to further propel you towards everything you’ve ever dreamed possible.

Get started here!