Lifestyle | Nov 4

5 steps to
Achieving Your Goals in 2025

The last couple of years have been rough. It seems like we've all been through the wringer and couldn't catch our breath.

Most of us are just about fed up and ready to take control again. We are ready to actually achieve our goals in 2025, not just set them. Are you with me? Otherwise, we will just continue to end up in the same place we've been, like a hamster on a wheel.

If you do them right, goals will set you up for major success in your life.

When I started my journey to try to become financially stable, I quickly learned that I had no clue what to do. (You can read more of my story here).

The majority of the time, when you start out with any goal, you won't know what to do because it is new to you. That is a very challenging and confusing place to be.

In the end, goals helped me pay off my student loan debt, buy a house, and ultimately become financially stable. And you can set and achieve goals in any area of your life, such as your health, relationships, finances, or career.

So here are the strategies that you can use to not just set, but actually achieve your goals in 2025.

Step One: Set Your Goals (the right way)

You can follow along with this tutorial with just some plain lined paper, or you can grab my ultimate GOALS planner bundle, that I created years ago to help myself achieve my goals, including buying a house, paying off my student loans, and traveling to 5 different continents, just to name a few.

If you need some motivation and direction, you can grab yours here!

Below are some quick, easy steps to achieve goal success that you can start using today based on the S.M.A.R.T. method.

1. Start with your dream

You've got to know where you're going, or else you will go nowhere.

During this step, THINK BIG! What is your absolute dream to achieve "one day"? The sky's the limit. Money is no object. What is your ultimate dream? Write it down at the top of a fresh sheet of paper.

Consider creating a vision-board with old magazines or even a digital version you can use as your phone or computer wallpaper.

How to create a vision board?

Grab a couple old magazines and rip out anything that represents your dreams and goals. Then arrange them on a large poster board and place it somewhere you'll see it daily, like on your desk or by your vanity.

Alternately, create a collage of digital photos representing your goals and save it as your wallpaper on your desktop or phone.

2. Create long-term milestones/goals

Next you need to work backwards from your dream and list about 5 long-term goals along the road to achieving your dream. For example, if your dream is to be wealthy, one long-term goal could be to pay off all your debts.

Write these goals down underneath your dream. Make sure they are specific, so you will be able to know exactly when you've achieved them.

3. Create baby-step short-term goals

Now choose one of your long-term goals and list about 5-10 baby steps you can take to get closer to that goal. You don't even need to have steps A-Z yet. Just list the first 5-10 things you can do starting today.

These need to be specific things you can do, like "pay off credit card #1" or "go to the gym one time this week". If you are too ambiguous with your goals, you will end up frustrated and may give up.

For example, "get fit" is ambiguous. But "lose 10 pounds" is specific. Maybe you lose 10 pounds but still feel like you're not "fit enough". You'll get frustrated, feeling that you can never seem to achieve your goal. But if you say 'lose 10 pounds', you'll know exactly when you get there. And that feeling builds momentum psychologically due to knowing that you succeeded.

4. Add target dates and reassess regularly

When would you like to achieve each of your goals and baby steps? What about your overall dream? Write these dates down next to each goal/step.

Now you need to review and reassess your goal plan regularly to make sure you're staying on track.

I suggest coming back to it at the end of each month, checking off any baby-steps you accomplished, and then writing a fresh list for the upcoming month. This will keep you on track, moving forward and motivated. You become accountable to that piece of paper.

5. Rinse and repeat with each area of your life, if desired

My personal practice is to go through this entire process of setting dreams, goals, and baby-steps for each area of my life, including: spiritual, emotional, mental/educational, relational, financial, career, and physical.

Then I come back and do a full new set every six months to reassess and make sure I'm staying on track, and to keep myself motivated.

Note: It's ok to change your goals over time!

You don't have to stay tied to a goal you set three years ago and no longer care about. Forcing yourself to do so could seriously damage your success by demotivating you.

Step Two: Create some structure for yourself

Step two in setting and actually achieving your goals is to add in some structure to keep you on track. Ok, hold on! Before all my spontaneous friends leave, hear me out!

Structure is crucial to success. Spontaneity is also crucial.

So listen, I'm by NO MEANS going to tell you that you have to become rigid, put yourself on a strict schedule and have no fun!

What I am going to say is that you can really increase your chances of success by adding in certain types of strategic structure and balancing it with spontaneity.

Structure will look different for everyone, but it can be a game-changer in successfully achieving your goals. Maybe you decide to consistently work-out three times per week, or spend one hour per day on researching that side-gig you've been putting off. Maybe you force yourself to review your new goal plan at the end of each month, or even every single day.

The point is to implement some sort of structure or routine, which will help you develop your 'discipline muscles'.

For example, last year I started getting up earlier to meditate each morning. I take that time to reflect on my progress, dreams, goals, struggles and successes.

This has drastically helped me take stock of where I'm at and stay on track with my goals. In the past 6 months, this has helped allow me the mental capacity to make progress where I was stuck before: I've been able to deal with major business set-backs, reset my business, launch my blog, work on some personal issues (actually make progress), and prepare to follow my dreams overseas (including major planning, research, and buying our plane tickets!)

Like I said, structure will not look the same for everyone, so make sure you're choosing to implement what YOU need.

I'm a somewhat spontaneous person, and I can't usually stick to exact routines every day. I'll get excited to try something new, but then a week or so later, I find that it's not working for me anymore and so I adjust it. (That's also why my structure has room for spontaneity in it.)

And that's ok. We also have to make sure that the structure we're using is helping us, and not hurting us.

So try something, and then adjust later when you realize how it could be better for you.

The point is to try. To start somewhere.

For me, even though I often do something different each morning, I still have that same time frame carved out, and I force myself to stick to it even when it's hard.

Start Slow

Be careful not to overdo it from the start. Try starting with just one piece of structure you want to implement, and then add more once that is going well.

Don't bite off more than you chew. And, if it's not working well, adjust it, don't drop it. For example, maybe you need to get up at 6 instead of 5, if it was too early. Maybe you need to cut back your spending by $10 at first instead of jumping straight to $50.

Starting slow and then adding on later can really help ensure success.

It's not easy, but it's like weight training. You start with a little weight, and then add on when you're ready.

Step Three: Persist

People who tell you there's an easy way to achieve success are cheating you. I think we've all seen those people trying to sell a magic pill that will instantly make you skinny. It's just not real!

The truth is, success takes time and effort. But it's totally worth it, and you can totally do it.

Sacrifice

We can often achieve our goals much sooner when we are willing to sacrifice for a season to get there.

For example, maybe you can sacrifice your daily coffee habit for a month in order to pay off your smallest credit card balance. When you really want something, you'll find out there are ways to get there that you never even considered before.

It's not comfortable, but we don't give up.

Know When It Will End

Another thing you need to consider is the time-frame of your goal and sacrifices. You can't sacrifice sleep for years on end to achieve a goal. You also can't never get yourself a treat at Starbucks.

You have to have balance. And more than anything, you need to set a goal-date ahead of time so that you know when the season of sacrifice will come to an end. This will help you persist.

It's much easier to persist through challenges when you can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Give yourself that light by working backward from your goal date when planning. Then you'll know it's getting closer and closer until you can ease up on that intensity and sacrifice.

Give Yourself Some Saving Grace, It Might Save Your Goals!

Another way to help yourself persist is to work some "cheat days" into your plans.

For example, if you get up extra early to work on your goals every day like me, maybe let yourself sleep in one day a week to keep you motivated and going (my sleep-in day is Saturday). Or, if you're cutting out your coffee habit to save money, give yourself a small budget to indulge in a coffee treat occasionally when you really need it.

Having these little 'breaks' and special treats really helps me keep up with the season of sacrifice and stay on track toward my goals.

Remember, most goals are a marathon, not a sprint, so you need to have some saving grace worked in there. Just don't overdo it. Make sure you plan ahead so that you can reach your goals in the time-frame you want to!

Step Four: Get Organized

Do you have a planner? Yes, I'm looking at you. Planners really do help. If you do have one, do you know how to use it to your advantage?

I get it, some people are naturally gifted in their memory or prefer keeping everything in their phone. But a planner really helps me stay on track and be productive.

Here are three things you can start doing today to keep on top of your goals by using a planner:

1. Start each week by writing your top-three baby steps for the week, at the top of your weekly view in your planner.

2. Start each day by planning which of your top three baby-steps you are going to work on today.

3. Reflect on what you accomplished yesterday, cross those suckers off your list, and give yourself a pat on the back!


Why planners are important:

When you're organized, you can plan ahead so you don't drop any balls in the chaos of life. You can prioritize, which drastically helps save time and gain momentum. I've even found that just writing stuff down and organizing it visually gives me the peace and clarity of mind that I need to make progress and be more productive.

Step Five: Pace Yourself

If you run headlong into a new, exciting endeavor or resolution without a solid plan, chances are pretty good that you may burn out.

Remember to think about your goals as a marathon, and not as a sprint.

It's good to sprint sometimes, but have a plan of when it will end. And make it doable too. That way, you can push through the pain of the sprint, and then continue on with your marathon.

Don't forget to take care of yourself, in a balanced way. If you're just working non-stop, you'll over exert yourself and have to stop altogether.

Add in some self-care, treats, and rewards for yourself for reaching milestones. If you do so, it can help you reach those long-term goals by creating momentum and motivation, boosting your strength to keep going.

The truth is that all of us want the long-term successes, but it's never easy for any of us to make the journey there.

Planning for your journey along the way is what will help you reach success. Next thing you know, you'll look up and 6 months will have passed. Just remember, fighting for your dreams can be very difficult and even painful, but it's also painful to look up and find that six months have passed, and you haven't made any progress.

So choose your pain: the pain of fighting for your dreams, or the pain of never having even tried.

The pain of fighting for your dreams and sacrificing for them only lasts for a season. Once you successfully achieve a goal, you can relax and enjoy it. That is, until you're ready for your next challenge!

So let's get it. I am so proud of you! Reach out if you need any support. I'm here.

And again, if you need help and motivation, check out my goals planner bundle that I designed years ago to help myself achieve my goals, including paying off my student loans, buying a house, starting a business, and traveling to 5 different continents:

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