Achieving Goals

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I can still clearly recall that early morning in the plane on my way home to the southern part of the Philippines, Davao City. This was a few days after my last Certified Public Accountant (CPA) board exam in Manila. I was travelling alone.

One of the flight attendants handed me a newspaper and my heart skipped a beat when I saw that the CPA board exam results are out and is printed out in that issue. I almost fell off my seat when learned that I passed the exam. I was so ecstatic and didn’t realise that tears were running down my cheeks. I wanted to shout and hug the person beside me. I must have looked really silly as I caught one of the passengers staring at me. I didn’t care… I made it, I am now a Certified Public Accountant, I have achieved my goal and I knew that this is going to be an exciting life!

Here are 5 things I have learned about achieving my goals that I want to share with you:

• Goals should be written down. I find it most effective for me to write down my goals or dreams in a notebook. I want to be able to revisit them regularly so I could internalise them. You can have 10-year and 5-year goals as I do and it would be better to have a list things that you want to achieve or do in the next 12 months.

• Your goals should be specific and have a detailed plan of action to achieve it. It is better to write “I want to lose 6 kilos in 12 weeks” than just “I want to lose weight”. Break down the task to smaller portions or detail the plan of action so it does not get too overwhelming (e.g. play badminton every Wednesday, replace nightly ice cream with yoghurt, no eating after 6pm).

• Have mentors to encourage and guide you. Ask the help of people who have been “there” before. Books, audio books, seminars or webinars are also a powerful source of wisdom. Leverage on the experience of other people.

• Be healthy and well-rested every day. I can get very irritable and unproductive if I have not had enough sleep the night before, making it hard to motivate myself and think about my goals. So make sure you always have enough water, sleep and exercise. You will be amazed by how much energy you have during the day.

• Always think of the “why”. Thinking of why I want to achieve something or the loved ones I am doing it for always motivate me to carry on. With every major goal in life, we must always have a compelling reason to achieve it.

Now be the best that you can be,

Xiela Marie Dacyon