How To Reach Your Goals: Step 2. Prioritize Your Goals

Have you noticed – the year is not waiting on anyone and neither will your dreams.

Hopefully you’re doing better than the 48% of Americans who say they never accomplish their New Year’s Resolutions. Not us, not this year.

This post is 3rd in a series dedicated to making this the year we finally do all the things we’ve wanted to do and accomplish all the dreams we’ve put off.  If you’re just jumping in, make sure to visit How To Reach Your Goals and together let’s make this the year of “Yes, I did.”

Today we’re looking at Step 2 of How To Reach Your Goals.

Prioritize Your Goals

Now that you have Identified Your Goals from the vast improbability drive of the world and found what is unique and specific to you, it’s time to move on to step 2.

Prioritize Your Goals.

This step is absolutely vital unless you only have 1 goal.
Not 1 big goal and a few smaller goals; 1 goal.

Since most people have more than 1 thing, making the right priorities is critical. I’m not talking about making your goals a priority (that will be a natural by-product if you follow the 4 Steps) but rather how to prioritize your goals from one another.
Reaching your goals means focusing your attention on the right things, in the right ways.

Here are 2 methods to help you Prioritize Your Goals

Everything Can’t Be Everything

In Neslandia, once we’ve identified our goals we write them down, lay them in front of us and place them on a calendar. (specifically the one pictured in the post)

There’s something about writing the vision and making it plain that speaks to us. Then we get real honest with ourselves.
“Here are all the things we’re going to do. So, what gets done first and what gets done last?”

Deciding which dream, which goal has a higher priority can feel a lot like deciding which kid to throw the first life vest too. “Hold on, I’ve got something for you too, I promise, just give me a second!” – It’s gut-wrenching but it must be done.

One of the most important things in life is to know what the most important things in life are.

Placing a priority, what has to happen first, on your goals gives them life and makes them immediately actionable.

RealNes
We have 4 flights to get for our 2017 EuroNes Part Deux.
That takes priority over the Disney Vacation planning and Nicaragua with the kids.
Will the others happen? Yes, but one has our attention, focus and money before the other.
A combination of miles & money, layovers and reservation linking requires some attention plus this is just more important to us than the others.

Your dreams, your goals need an order or they will all scream and beg for your attention till the sound becomes a deafening noise. When you lay your goals out you must determine what you value more, what you desire more and make that the most important thing you have to do.

You’re not saying “No” to the other goals, you’re simply saying Not Now. Someone, something has to go first. Everything can’t be everything.

The Goal Snowball

I remember the day we were sitting in a Financial Peace University class when Dave Ramsey introduced the concept of the Debt Snowball. The Debt Snowball is a method of paying off debt where you start with the smallest balances first, while paying the minimum payment on larger debts.

Mathematically, it makes more sense to pay on the debt with the highest interest rate but the Debt Snowball is about eliminating your debts in a way that keeps you motivated to keep going until you’ve wiped them all out.

We take this same concept with our goals. We attack the most important goal first (Everything Can’t Be Everything) while continuing to fan the flame of the others just enough so the fire doesn’t go out.

RealNes
We must get our flights but…
We’ve looked at over 50 lofts, flats, and apartments across Paris.
We’ve plotted out the “must see’s” & “ehh” of Disney.
We’ve looked at stables for horseback riding and the best rock-wall climbing in Gwinnett.

While you’re focusing on your #1 priority keep the others fed, keep the vision in front of you. Remind yourself of what’s to come. Allow the accomplishment of one goal to motivate you to keep going until you’ve wiped them all out.

When the top priority (Paris flights) is accomplished we move to the next.
Maybe it’s a portion of the same goal or the beginning of another – we let the snowball roll.

Prioritizing your goals allows you to focus on them with intentional intensity and watch them materialize one by one. You can do it, we can do it together.

Next up, Step 3. Reverse Engineer Your Goals.

-N