How to Take Action on Your Goals: 12 Simple Steps

You should know that to accomplish goals, you must be a successful action-taker; there is no room for indecisive thoughts.

After all, words can’t help you reach your dreams in your life. If that wasn’t the case, you’d be able to talk your way to success.

If you are often caught up in your thoughts, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, you will learn how to take action on your goals. You will do everything necessary to knock down all your tasks.

1. Take Small Steps Every Day

Without continuous action, you will never achieve your goals. That’s why it’s crucial to build momentum by taking steps, even the smallest actions, every day.

Taking action on goals is not a one-and-done scenario. Do you truly think you can grow a successful business overnight? No, of course not.

So get your head out of the clouds and know that accomplishing big goals requires the daily accumulation of sweat and blood.

You need to be committed to everything you set out to do. Once you’ve got that down, you will be on your way to greatness.

2. Explore Your Motivation

Motivation is essential for completing a specific objective. Once you lose it, you’ll be in a tight spot. You won’t be as excited about work; your performance will suffer greatly.

How is that any different from self-sabotage? If you can, resolve your confusion. Find what drives you to continue forward.

You may ask yourself questions like “What are my personal values?” Make sure your values align with your goals. Doing so will shift your gear into action mode.

Don’t naively believe that the importance of motivation is exaggerated. Without a spark of motivation to start your engine, don’t even dream about the journey yet—you are way ahead of yourself.

Be it success quotes or motivational books, be intentional about translating your untapped energy into action. You will have a much easier time progressing toward your goals.

3. Write Down Your Goals

It would be a sound idea to write down your goals. Brainstorm and identify the things you want to accomplish in life.

If your overall goal is to live a healthier lifestyle, then come up with a list of actionable, smaller goals for yourself.

Use a goal journal or a goal-setting app to commit to your objectives. Continuing with that example, here’s what it might look like:

• Work out at the gym every weekend for 45 minutes
• Take a brisk stroll around your neighborhood each morning
• Sign up and attend a weekly fitness or yoga class
• Go vegan-only for an entire month

After you have curated your list, pick one straight away and do it. Naturally, each task should relate to a larger goal that you have.

Don’t procrastinate and leave things to the last minute. Although you don’t need to finish everything at once, try to make progress each day, no matter how big or small.

4. Set SMART Goals

One amazing way to take action on your goals is by making your goals SMART. SMART is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based.

By setting goals that meet these criteria, you increase your chances of achieving them. For example, let’s say you want to lose weight.

• Specific: lose 10 pounds in the next three months
• Measurable: weigh yourself once a week and track your progress
• Attainable: exercise for 30 minutes every weekday and make healthy food choices
• Relevant: losing weight is something you deeply desire
• Time-based: Set a deadline for hitting your target within three months

By taking action on your actions and using a goal-setting framework like SMART, you can boost your likelihood of reaching your objectives.

5. Lean on Your Support Circle

Do you often skip workouts to play some video games or scroll through your social media feed? I’ll bet something like this happens a lot more than you’d like to admit.

Instead of surrendering yourself to indolence, having supportive people in your circle could get you back on your feet.

If you are trying to exercise and be fit, a workout buddy can help you stick to your routine. Or if you hope to advance your career, a close friend may have a networking opportunity for you.

In any case, many times people don’t attain their goals because they’re facing obstacles with no means of help. Understand that receiving assistance isn’t bad at all; it’s expected. Don’t be afraid to reach out to those you trust.

6. Share Your Goals With Others

It is easy to get stuck in the planning phase and never actually take the steps needed to achieve your goals. But there is a way to change that.

One study has shown that people who share their goals with others are more likely to take action and attain those goals.

When you share your goals with someone else, you become more accountable. You are less likely to make excuses for yourself.

Hence, sharing your goals can also foster a sense of urgency. If you’re the only one who knows, it’s tempting to slack off. But if other people are aware of your goal, you’ll feel more motivated to take action and meet your deadlines.

7. Don’t Be Disheartened by Obstacles

There are many temptations out there that sabotage our plans. You can do whatever is necessary to ensure your plan goes smoothly. However, expectations never meet reality.

Say your goal of starting the right business goes wrong because you didn’t have a good enough understanding of the market needs. You end up failing your first startup company.

What happens next? Well, beating yourself up over your failure is the last thing you want to do.

Obstacles are a natural part of the goal-setting process. If you don’t overcome them, learn from your mistakes and try them again.

You may break down many times when failure runs you over, but you must encourage yourself to continue until you’re successful.

8. Aim to Be Your Ideal Self

Fake it until you make it.

This saying has some truth to it. It’s all about your mindset, picturing the ideal person you want to be. If you have the goal of being a successful chess player, visualize yourself as the world champion and dream ambitiously.

If you want to build a successful tech company, set your sights high and aim to be the next Microsoft or Amazon. Don’t go complaining, thinking, “It’s impossible. I’m not good enough.”

Not to sound cliche, but get this straight: Nothing is impossible if you set your mind to it. Never resign to your fate because nothing is ever set in stone.

Don’t be shy. Start imagining your ideal self in this vast world. That will position you to take action toward your lifelong goals and dreams.

9. Use Your Time Wisely

We only have so many hours in a day. And if we are not frugal with our time, we lose opportunities to take action on our objectives. We’d eventually squander it all away because of poor time management skills.

While many want to make the best use of our time, start valuing it first. After all, until you value time, you won’t make anything out of it. It would be extremely arduous to make progress with your goals.

This inspirational quote may bring you clarity:

“People who use time wisely spend it on activities that advance their overall purpose in life.”

-John C. Maxwell

That’s to say, direct your effort to things that put you closer to your aspirations. Anything less than that may require you to rethink your strategy.

10. Reward Yourself

To train your habit of taking action, reward yourself for it. Every time you complete a project or finish an exam, end the occasion with something special.

It can be a weekend getaway or if that’s too expensive, a movie night may be more suitable. Whatever it is, it all depends on your personal preference.

The key thing here is to associate hard work and effort with reward. This can help transmit a message to your brain to be more action-oriented.

It’s not wise to work continuously without a break; you’ll eventually burn out from all the stress and anxiety. Start living a healthier work-life balance. You fully deserve it.

11. Have Self-Confidence

Look at any successful goal-setter out there and you’ll see that all of them have self-confidence; they firmly believe in themselves.

Have you ever looked up to those billionaires in the world? In truth, they aren’t too much different from you.

I’m sure that if they can climb the ladder to success, you can do it too. Although you will face obstacles and self-doubt along the way, ensure you remain steady.

If you spend your life feeling down, you must work on your confidence. Not doing so will certainly harm your ability to accomplish greatness.

If you have trouble moving out of your comfort zone and mastering confidence in yourself, try reading How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie. This book delivers practical ways to approach your life positively.

At the end of the day, confidence is a powerful source of power. Use it to your advantage because it can make achieving goals more smooth sailing.

12. Be Agile and Resilient

Taking action on your goals means that you are always on the move. And that alone isn’t enough—you must be resilient against adversities.

Many people prone to inaction fail because they are crushed by abrupt changes. They likely tried some opportunities but could not handle stressful situations, so they huddled back into the comfort of their own home, scared to see the daylight.

If this pertains to you, even if slightly, know that adapting to your surroundings is crucial to success and goal attainment.

Be quick and sturdy, moving forward with all your strength. If you don’t advance, you’ll be swept by the wind and fall back.

Final Thoughts

Goal attainment requires you to take action; highly successful people know this the best. They develop good habits and consistently work toward their goals.

We all have ambitions and long-term goals we want to see actualized. But realize that being action-driven is a skill gained through deliberate practice.

Instead of wasting excessive time planning and strategizing, start putting things into action. Follow the 12 steps above to take action on your goals. You’ll see a positive difference in how you live your life.