What’s your action plan?

Achieve your ideal life, one goal at a time

Are you living your ideal life? If not, you’re not alone. In fact, you are among the vast majority of people worldwide.

A recent survey of 20,000 people in 24 countries by global research firm Ipsos revealed more than 64 per cent have a desire to ‘live better’. And, while many share this desire, most are unsure of how to accomplish this goal with eight in ten (81 per cent) reporting that they wish they had a plan or recipe for living better.

“Many of us have an image of our ideal life but most people live day to day without any structured sense of purpose, direction, or clarity around their desired futures. To live the life you truly desire requires focus, dedication, and above all else, a plan,” says Stefan Wissenbach, founder of magicnumber.com, a virtual coaching site that calculates the amount of wealth a person needs to live the life they desire where work is optional — aka one’s Magic Number — and then helps them achieve their desired life through effective goal setting and habit management.

According to Wissenbach, a good plan gets you excited about where you’re heading and serves as a reference for daily actions and decisions. It keeps you in tune with where you are heading and makes you more aware of the opportunities and circumstances that line up with achieving your goals and objectives.

“People who plan achieve more than people who don’t. And people with written plans achieve far more than those with plans in their heads,” notes Wissenbach. “When you write things down, things happen. And when things happen, you end up living a more fulfilled, rewarding life!”

Following are some other proven strategies he suggests that can help you plan and achieve more than you ever thought possible:

Write goals in the past tense — Establishing life objectives as statements of success is a great way to start the planning mentality and reinforce the attainability of each goal. When defining your goals, use results-oriented phrases such as “In three years, I have _____, or I am _____.”

Prioritise — There’s an old adage that says if you chase ten rabbits, you won’t catch any. This definitely applies to goal setting. If you try to accomplish too much at once, you risk losing the focus you need to achieve the really important ones. Once you’ve listed your goals, identify four or five as primary goals based on what’s most important to you. As you achieve success you can reprioritise and replace those goals with others from your secondary list.

Buddy up — Sharing an important goal with a trusted friend or family member and having them act as a ‘goal buddy’ is a smart way to spur you on. Why? 
Because you’ve introduced accountability into your plan. Many successful business people and athletes have coaches because it enhances their performance — and that’s exactly what a goal buddy can do for you!

Think bites, not meals — For each goal, consider what needs to be done — in three years, one year or in 90 days — and create a detailed action plan. Breaking down goals into feasible actions makes larger aspirations less daunting and is a proven way to keep both feet firmly on the path toward success.