The Best How-To Guide On Goal Setting

More than 90% of New Year’s resolutions fail. (1)

The problem may be that most people don’t know how to set goals. I’ll show you the best method to set goals below!

I think you should set goals. People who set goals report they are happier with their lives. (2) If that’s not enough motivation, I don’t know what is!

If goal setting is a good thing, then why do so many of us fail?

And what can boost our chances of reaching our goals?

In my practice, setting health and wellness goals with patients is of paramount importance. But goals alone won’t get you to the finish line. In addition to goals, you need a system of daily habits or practices that propel you towards your goal each and every day. Combining goals with systems is – in my opinion – the ideal way to move forward.

I find there to be three stumbling blocks that get in the way of successful goal setting. If you address each of these, I’m confident you’ll be able to move forward in pursuit of your goals.

I’ll show you exactly where goals tend to break down below!

Three things that prevent you from achieving your goals

1. A lack of importance

This is likely one of the more challenging aspects of how to set a goal. No one is going to be motivated to achieve something they only kind-of want. If you think it would be nice to achieve the goal, you’re lacking inspiration.

I’m not saying you need a goal so dramatic that it causes butterflies in your stomach. Goals like that create a spark of motivation. But once the motivation is gone, what are you left with? Not much.

More significant than a motivational or inspirational goal is an important goal. When I say important, what I’m implying is that it’s important to you. It does not matter if the goal is important to others.

It’s you who has to do the work to achieve the goal. So, that goal had better be damn important to you. Otherwise, once you experience some resistance – and you’re guaranteed to experience resistance – you’re going to give up on your goal.

If a goal is important to you, you will be more inclined to push through challenges. So, when you’re setting your next goal, make sure the goal is one that is close to your heart.

2. Too much or not enough direction. 

Shooting for a goal without direction is like hiking without a map – you’re likely to get lost. But if you get obsessed with all the tiny details, you don’t leave any space for adaptation.

Life is anything but predictable. While your goal or finish line may not change, the way in which you get there probably will. Your goal needs to have the flexibility to adapt to the changes and circumstances of your life.

If you don’t have enough direction, you don’t know where you’re going. But too much direction may result in you skipping incredible opportunities because they don’t align with the strict plan you’ve set.

So, set a course. Work towards that goal with all your might. But be flexible. Allow yourself to take twists and turns that you didn’t plan. These twists could help improve your goal significantly.

3. No systems in place to help you achieve your goal

Out of the three reasons why you fail to reach your goals, not having systems in place is the most common. Think of the last time you set a big goal…

What happened?

You were probably fired up and motivated in the beginning. Then you ran into some resistance. No worries, you pushed through. But then, after a bad day at work, you didn’t have the willpower to push through again. And so your goal broke down. Just like that, you abandoned your goal – justifying it to yourself by saying it was too unrealistic anyways.

This is why I’m so against 30-day challenges. These types of goals are all about willpower. There are no systems in place to help you achieve your goal over the long-term.

After the 30 days concludes, what do you think happens?

You go right back to doing what you were doing before. This happens because you didn’t change your habits or systems. When you change your systems/habits, you set yourself up for future success. And that success will last far longer than 30 days.

If all you do is set a goal, I promise you will never achieve it. As scary or intimidating as goal setting can be, not creating systems or processes to achieve that goal is even scarier. It is these systems and/or processes that will actually help you achieve your goal.

Now that you know the ingredients of a healthy goal, let’s put them together in a cohesive way. Let’s learn how to properly set a goal!

The three levels of goal setting

You’re now well aware of the three ingredients required to achieve an amazing goal:

1. Make it important
2. Give yourself direction (but not too much)
3. Put habits or systems in place that move you towards your goal

Now, it’s time to learn the three levels of goal setting. I recommend you use something called a goal hierarchy to better visualize these three levels. A goal hierarchy is used to organize all of the goals in your head. Think of it as a goal filing system.

In the picture, there are three levels of goals. These include:

1. Top-level goals
2. Mid-level goals
3. Low-level goals

The top layer is the overarching theme. I think of top-level goals more as who you’d like to become and not so much about an achievement or goal. More about them in the next section!

The bottom of this goal hierarchy is your to-do list. These are the daily habits or systems your implement that will move you towards your goals. These tasks need to be regularly completed. Even though they seem unimportant you will not succeed if they don’t get done.

The mid-level is what you’re used to thinking about when it comes to goals. The mid-level is all about losing weight, running marathons, scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef, or anything else that’s on your bucket list.

How to come up with a big goal – your guide to setting top-level goals

Here’s the scenario:

You’ve got two goals. Goal one is to run a marathon. Goal two is to follow a keto diet in order to lose ten pounds and increase your energy.

These are perfect mid-level goals.

But they’re not top-level goals. They don’t speak to who you want to become as a person. In order to identify your top-level goal, ask yourself:

Why do you want to run a marathon?

Why do you want to lose weight and increase your energy?

In all likelihood, there will be a number of reasons. Behind each reason is another question. Here’s an example of what I mean:

Why do you want to run a marathon?

• To show yourself that you can.
  • Why do you want to prove this to yourself?
• To train your body to be the best you can be.
  •  Why do you want to be at your physical best?
• To check it off your bucket list.
  •  Why is this on your bucket list?

Why do you want to lose weight and increase your energy?

• To have more energy and to be present with your children.
  • Why do you want/need to be more present with your children?
• In order to perform better at work.
  • Why do you need to perform well at work?

A top-level goal isn’t actually a goal – calling it a purpose, belief, or passion would more accurate. The way you can tell if you’ve set a top-level goal is when you ask yourself why and the answer is just because. The answer just because indicates that the only reason for this goal is your purpose, belief, or passion.

Top level goals should be the driving force behind all the decisions you make. Top level goals drive the why behind all your other goals.

In her book, Grit, Angela Duckworth recommends asking why questions for each of your goals. This can help you uncover your top-level goal.

• Why do you care about that?
• Why is that important?

Organizing your goals in a hierarchy will quickly show you if all of your goals are working towards the same purpose. Maybe that goal of running a marathon really doesn’t align with who you want to become. If your mid-level goals don’t move you in the direction of your top-level goals, then it’s time to rethink your mid-level goals.

Every decision you make should be analyzed to ensure it is in alignment with your top-level goal. This is how to create meaning and purpose in your life.

How to properly set a goal – your guide to setting mid-level goals

Mid-level goals are what most of you default to when goal setting. For example, say you have set a goal to run a marathon by the end of the year. This is a great mid-level goal. Another example of a mid-level goal is to follow a keto diet for 30-days.

Mid-level goals are great. But if you don’t incorporate a top-level goal or daily habits/systems, you’re never going to achieve lasting change.

Once you start setting mid-level goals, you may find that one of them builds upon another. This is entirely normal. In all likelihood, you’ll probably have 1-3 tiers of mid-level goals.

I’m not going to spend any more time on mid-level goal setting. All your previous goals have more than likely been mid-level goals. Simply look to your bucket list to come up with a ton of mid-level goals!

How to create systems and processes for your goals – your guide to setting low-level goals

This is the most important section in how to set – and achieve – your goals. Yet it’s also the part of goal setting that nearly everyone skips over. I completely understand why… Creating systems and/or processes is not romantic or the least bit motivating.

The thought of running a marathon is exciting. It creates a spark of motivation. Imagine how good will it feel to cross that finish line!

The same thing happens with a new 30-day nutrition challenge – you’re motivated by the thought of how much better you’ll feel and look at the end of the thirty days.

But the daily training schedule of running a marathon will make your eyes glaze over. Meal prepping a week’s worthy of keto-friendly dinners is anything but romantic. Yet it’s these processes that will determine whether or not you achieve your goals. I cannot stress their importance enough.

In order to achieve your goals, you need a solid foundation of systems and/or processes supporting you. 

The reason so many stumble in this part of goal setting is because the low-level goals they set are still too ambitious – what most people set at the low-level are really mid-level goals.

At the low-level of goal setting, the goal or task needs to be so small or simple that you can’t help but succeed. If the task takes a great deal of willpower or more than a day to complete, it’s too big.

When you’re first starting out, make these low-level goals ridiculously easy to hit. The more often you achieve your goals, the more likely you are to stick with them.

This continued repetition starts to form new habits. When you form new habits, it really doesn’t require any willpower to follow through on the task.

Think about brushing your teeth last night.

Did you really have to force yourself to do it?

Or, did it happen automatically?

When you try to achieve a big goal, you have to exert willpower in order to do so. You have to force yourself to do something you don’t really want to do. Each of you has a finite supply of willpower in a day. Once it’s used up, your ability to will yourself into doing something is drastically reduced.

But habits hardly take any willpower. They happen in a different part of your brain. (3) Once your behavior has become automatic or habitual, you stop having to use willpower.

Setting small low-level goals is your first step in creating a new habit. Once these tasks become habitual, you won’t even have to think about performing them. And it’s these teeny-tiny little steps that will eventually lead to you achieving your big goals!

Over time, these seemingly insignificant tasks add up. Think of it like compound interest. If you invest just $100 every month for 40 years, you’ll gain over $150,000 in interest! But if you invest $1000 every month for 15 years, you’ll only make $110,000 in interest.

Over time, your small processes add up. They form new habits. These new habits change who you are as a person. Which is why low-level goals are the most important part of how to set goals.

Why SMART goals are DUMB

I’m sure you’ve heard of SMART goals before. The SMART acronym has become synonymous with goal setting for as long as I can remember.The formula for SMART goals was developed in the 1970s. After more than 40 years of research, researchers concluded that making SMART goals were the best way to help people put their ideas and aspirations into action. (4<)

For the uninitiated, SMART is an acronym that stands for:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Realistic
• Timeframe

If you search how to set a goal on the internet, you’re bound to find a ton of recommendations on how to set SMART goals.

But if SMART goals are so amazing, why isn’t everyone achieving their goals?

It all comes back to the goal hierarchy. SMART goals are mid-level goals. There’s nothing inherently wrong with SMART or mid-level goals. But when you fail to also include top-level and low-level goals, all you’re left with is sheer force of will to achieve your SMART goal.

If all you do is set SMART goals, you’ll likely never end up achieving what you want. SMART goals need to be a part of your goal ecosystem. It’s fine to stick to the SMART principles. Just be sure they are not your only goals.

Big Hairy Audacious Goals – why they should be a part of your goal setting ecosystem

Big hairy audacious goals, or, BHAGs (pronounced: bee-hags) are inspiring mid-level goals – also called stretch goals. The thought of achievement should bring up feelings of excitement and fear. BHAGs should seem out of reach – a stretch. These types of goals tend to push you out of your comfort zone.

Implementing a BHAG is important because it balances the task-like nature of SMART goals with the freedom to think about big and personally meaningful things.

There are two important parts to a BHAG (5):

1. Extreme Difficulty
   • A BHAG needs to go well beyond your current ability.
     • For example, if you can comfortably run 5-10km, setting a goal to run a marathon (42km) is probably not a BHAG. But running an ultra-marathon (100+km) or a triathlon is.
2. Extreme Novelty
   • To achieve a BHAG you need to step way out of your comfort zone.
     • If you’re an avid runner, a marathon will probably push you outside your comfort zone. But an ultra-marathon or a triathlon will push you WAY outside your comfort zone.

The inherent challenge with BHAGs is creating a balance. Designing a goal that challenges and inspires you at the same time is difficult. Often, audacious goals can have a morale-crushing effect. When this happens, the thought of achieving the goal seems so impossible that you may give up before trying.

Most importantly, your BHAG still needs to align with your top-level goal. No matter how cool your BHAG is, if it doesn’t align with your purpose or who you want to become, it’s not a fit.

Now that you know all the essential ingredients to goal setting, it’s time to put them into practice! I’ll show you how below!

The Best How-To Guide On Goal Setting

Ok, you now you know the essential components needed to successfully set, implement, and achieve your goals. These three components (in top-down order) are:

1. Top-level goals
   • These are less about achieving a desired outcome.
   • Top level goals are more like your sense of purpose. They’re your reason why.
   • Top level goals are about who you want to become as a person.
2. Mid-level goals
   • If you’ve ever set a goal in the past, it was likely a mid-level goal.
   • Combine SMART goals and BHAGs to create 1-3 tiers of mid-level goals.
3. Low-level goals
   • These are the most important (and most neglected) part of your goals.
   • Once you have some mid-level goals set, distill them into daily actions/habits that move you in the right direction.
   • Make sure you perform these habits every day.
   • Low-level goals need to take you less than a day to complete. Think of them more like a task list.

To illustrate this goal hierarchy in action, I’ll use the example of changing your diet. You can use the below template whether you want a paleo, keto, or any other nutrition/diet plan.

The key difference here is the goal is not to change your diet for 30 days. But for life.

Step 1: Determine your reason why (top level goal)

Why do you want to change your diet?
To be healthy and fit.

Why is being healthy important to you?
So that you can be a more engaged parent.

Why do you want to be more engaged in your parenting?
To offer your kids the best life you can.

Why is it important for you to offer your kids the best life possible?
So they can carry on with conscious initiatives that continue to improve life for others.

Why do you want to improve life for all?
Just because.

The top-level goal in this example is:

To improve life for others.

All other goals and tasks should align with practices that improve life for others.

Step 2: Apply the SMART criteria to your goal

• Specific
  • You want to follow a keto diet. You currently do not have any food/dietary restrictions in place.
• Measurable
  • You can check ketones in your blood or urine to determine if you’re in ketosis. This is measurable.
• Achievable
  • Achieving this goal is going to require a lot of work, however with the right knowledge and support it is certainly achievable.
• Realistic
  • Plenty of people follow a keto diet. This is a realistic goal.
• Timeframe
  • You have given yourself 12 months in which to change your nutrition. With the proper support, this is a very achievable timeframe.

Step 3: Create tiers of mid-level goals

Following a keto diet is at the top of your mid-level goals. Break this down into some smaller mid-level goals that can act as signposts or markers along your journey towards a keto diet.

• Subgoal 1: Adopt a gluten-free diet for the next 90 days. Since all wheat/bread products are avoided in a keto diet, starting with a gluten-free diet is a perfect stepping stone towards ketosis.

• Subgoal 2: Adopt a paleo diet for 90 days. After removing grains, the next logical progression towards a keto diet is a paleo diet. This will have you removing all grains and processed foods from your diet.

For all your subgoals, run them through your high-level goal. Ensure each goal helps improve life for others. If it doesn’t, that goal should be re-worked until it aligns with the high-level goal.

Step 4: create low-levels goals or tasks for each day of the week

Remember, this is the most important section of goal setting. What you do or don’t do each day will determine whether or not you’re moving in the direction of a keto diet.

• Week 1
  • Day 1
    • Identify all the foods in your fridge that contain gluten.
  • Day 2
    • Identify all foods in your pantry that contain gluten.
  • Day 3
    • Avoid purchasing all gluten-containing foods from the grocery store.
  • Day 4
    • Remove all gluten-containing foods from your fridge.
  • Day 5
    • Remove all gluten-containing foods from your pantry.
  • Day 6
    • Rest
  • Day 7
    • Meal plan 1 dinner that is gluten-free.
• Week 2
  • Day 1
    • Identify where all the gluten-free products are in your local gorcery store
  • Day 2
    • Purchase gluten-free condiments
  • Day 3
    • Purchase gluten-free bread/pasta
  • Day 4
    • Prepare a gluten-free breakfast
  • Day 5
    • Prepare a gluten-free lunch
  • Day 6
    • Ensure there are no hidden sources of gluten in your fridge or pantry
  • Day 7
    • Eat gluten-free for an entire day – breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.

Notice how each day has a specific task to complete. And that each task is easy and straightforward. If you find yourself unable to achieve a daily task, make them smaller and easier.

I also want to draw your attention to how these small goals will result in massive changes to your behavior over the long-term. By the end of the year, not only will you be following a keto diet, you’ll have changed all your eating habits.

This will make sticking to keto effortless. You will have taken willpower out of the game. Yes, it takes longer. But it’s sustainable. By changing your habits, you change who you are. This is how these small. low-level goals connect to your high-level goal/purpose!

And that, my friends, is how to set goals!

Now, I want to hear from you!

How do you go about setting goals?

What helps you stick to your goals?

Leave your answers in the comments section below!

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