Write a plan of action
It’s good to have goals but it is greater to have goals with a plan of action. Believe it or not, a good plan of attack is 90% of the battle when it comes to achieving your goals. Things to consider when writing your plan of action include:

• Define the why, how, and when because these items are the reason behind the goals that you set for yourself. Why is the goal important to you? How do you plan to reach your goal and when will you be done? Be sure to write down your why, how, and when because you will always be able to refer back to it if and when you need a little inspiration or feel discouraged!

• Create a schedule that you can follow and be sure to include check-in points to monitor your progress. The schedule should be a routine schedule that is repeatable. Depending on the timeline to reach your goals, the schedule can be daily or weekly as an example. Your schedule should also include milestones that are within your reach. When you get to the milestones, be sure to celebrate your success. These small victories can be the fuel you need to push forward.

Execute against the plan daily 
This step is critical because daily execution is where your discipline and consistency will become the habits necessary to remain focused on your goal. Creating habits can take several weeks so it is important to follow your plan thoughtfully to ensure that you reach your milestones, and ultimately attain your goals.

Evaluate your progress
Create a “Goals Journal” and be sure to document your plan, timeline, and weekly progress so that you can monitor what is working and what isn't. This is another critical step that is often overlooked but having the ability to adjust your plans and timeline could very well be the difference between meaningful progress or deferring your goals yet again. Minor adjustments to your plan will never equal giving up on your goals. Remember this!

Give yourself a little grace
All too often, we are so hard on ourselves that we quit on our goals. We expect perfection when we know what our weaknesses are and where our imperfections are hidden. Or we give in at the first sign of weakness (because that’s what we always do) as if there can never be a different result. Neither of these instances are ideal given the truth of the human condition. 

When setting goals or resolutions, we don’t take into consideration what didn’t work the last time we made the same resolution, and we likely give up at the exact same point each time we set the goal. It may make more sense to factor in that we are human, flawed, and prone to surrender to our weaknesses so that we can factor in the need to recommit along the way and focus on getting right back on course when we stumble. A little grace is all you may need!

 Celebrate your accomplishments

I’m big on celebrating no matter how great or small of an accomplishment. These celebrations have everything to do with your mindset. If you have a winning mindset your will gravitate toward success. If you have a defeatist mindset, I think you can imagine what you will be drawn toward in that case. Create a winning mindset by celebrating your accomplishments and before you know it, you’ll be celebrating the achievement of your goals!