How to Achieve Your Goals

Do you have a goal you are currently working on? My current personal goal is to sing a solo with my choir. Working as an American Accent coach, I've learned a lot about setting goals and what makes people achieve them or abandon them.  It often comes down to a few simple things. 

1)  Set a small, achievable goal.  Maybe you want to be the CEO of a major corporation. Maybe you want to be indistinguishable from a native English speaker.  Maybe you want to be as thin as a model. These are fine goals, but they require a great deal of time and and effort. Focus first on the steps you need to reach this end goal - getting a promotion to team leader, changing one accent pattern in your speech, or losing 2 pounds.

By setting a small goal, you greatly increase your chances of achieving it, and staying on the path to your bigger goal.

My first step to singing a solo is to audition for one.  I may not get it this time, but I will be happy if I have the courage to try out.

2) Make it a habit.  We humans are creatures of habit, and sometimes we have a hard time changing.  Instead of fighting this about yourself, use it to your advantage.  Take your small goal and develop a new habit that will help you progress towards the goal. Find a way to fold it into your routine and you will be much more likely to do it.  For working on your accent, this could be something as simple as listening to your practice words for the first five minutes of your daily commute, or reading aloud for the first page of your usual reading in bed routine.

To reach my goal of auditioning for a solo with my choir, I am listening to recordings of my rehearsals when I go out for a walk.  If I don't have time to practice, I can listen and work on the music as part of my already-established routine.

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3) Take advantage of low-tech and high-tech tools.  Keeping your goal fresh in your mind is essential to achieving it.  It's easy to let time go by without working towards our goal.  Use a variety of reminders to stay on track.  Put your practice time in your calendar.  Even if you don't do it at that exact time, you'll be reminded that you want to work on it.  Set an alert or an alarm on your phone.  Put a sticky note on your computer, or phone, or tv that has your goal on it.  Be creative, the important thing is to use what works for you.

I put my choir folder near the entrance to my office so I see it as I walk into work.  This reminds me to look at my schedule and find a time to practice.  I also set a reminder on my phone and I leave it on my pop-up screen until I have completed it.

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4)  Tell people your goal.  If you know that other people know what you hope to achieve, you may feel more pressure to actually do it.  Post your goal and your progress on your social media.  Tell your friends or colleagues what you are trying to do, and enlist them for reminders and feedback.  A little bit of social pressure can be motivating, and having support for your successes can inspire you to continue to work hard.

I will tell my friends in my choir about my goal so when it comes time to audition, I will know that they are expecting me to take part.  I will tell me daughter that I have this goal and she will encourage me, and ask me if I have done it yet.

These are all small things, but put together they will be effective in helping you to make real progress towards achieving your goal.