Do you feel like setting yourself a new challenge? Regularly, we feel the need for a fresh start and make good resolutions. And yet, a few weeks later, we’re back to our old habits.

But why do we lose our motivation along the way? How can we give ourselves the best chance of achieving our goals? And what if everything happened before we even started?

Why I lose my motivation

There are 2 main causes of demotivation: choosing goals that don’t suit you and/or defining your goals incorrectly.

I’VE SET THE WRONG OBJECTIVE
This may seem obvious to you, but many of us set the wrong goals because we don’t know ourselves very well. I made this mistake a few years ago, and it led me straight to failure. So, when we set out to change our lives, we draw heavily on our own resources. And I know from experience that it’s very difficult to re-motivate ourselves once we’ve realized that we’ve misdirected ourselves.

I HAVEN’T DEFINED MY GOALS PROPERLY
Finally, the second reason why we give up on our goals is because we haven’t defined them properly. We tend to launch ourselves headlong into our challenges without clearly expressing what we want, and by remaining too vague. This is one of the main reasons for discouragement.

Yet it’s easy to avoid. In fact, there’s a simple method to help you define your goals: the SMART method.

How to reach your goals

I’M SMART
From now on, when you set a objective, make sure it’s SMART, meaning:

Specific (or simple): your objective must be simple to understand, clear and precise. If it doesn’t meet this criterion, perhaps it’s still too vague and needs to be broken down into several objectives.
Measurable: your objective should be quantified or qualified so that you can measure whether or not it has been achieved.
Acceptable (or ambitious): your objective must represent a challenge that is sufficiently ambitious to motivate you and make you want to achieve it.
Achievable: while ambitious, your objective must remain achievable. In other words, it must remain within your reach, so as not to discourage you and lose your motivation.
Time-bound: your objective must be time-bound, with a target date and, if necessary, intermediate dates. This way, you can measure its progress and achievement.

And in concrete terms?

Enough theory! More concretely, how can you give yourself the best chance of achieving your goals?

For example, you’ve come to the conclusion that your home no longer suits you because it’s far too cluttered. So you want to do something about it, and you tell yourself that your objective is to sort out your belongings.

You’re on the right track, but it’s still too vague.

To clearly define your objectives, I suggest you follow the 5 steps below.

It may seem like a lot of work. But, generally speaking, this moment of reflection makes all the difference between those who achieve their goals and those who give up after a few weeks.

Why not give it a try? You have everything to gain.

1 – I THINK THINGS THROUGH
Once you’re sure you’ve chosen the right objective, continue to think about it in greater depth. In the case of our example, sorting through your belongings, this could be the following questions:

What causes a cluttered home? You think you have too much stuff. But think about the things you haven’t bought yet. So there are 2 paths to follow: what you already have and what you’re likely to buy.
Are you alone in this clutter? Or do you live with someone? Perhaps your family and friends are also taking part by giving you gifts? Yet more avenues for you to explore.

2 – LOOKING FOR SOLUTIONS
Once you’ve identified the various sources of your clutter, you can start looking for solutions. Each of these solutions will be a objective in its own right. Using our example, we’ll come up with 4 objectives:

You’ve got too much stuff: your n°1 objective is to sort through your possessions.
You buy a lot of new things on a regular basis: your n°2 objective is to limit your unnecessary purchases.
You live as a couple and your partner contributes to the clutter in your home: your n°3 objective is to get him or her involved in decluttering.
Your mother has decided to help you be a good housewife and regularly gives you kitchen utensils without asking you if you need them (any resemblance with reality is purely coincidental): your n°4 objective is to make your mother understand that, although you appreciate her gesture, you don’t need all these gifts.

3 – I SET SMART GOALS
I continue with n°1 objective identified above: sort out your belongings. And I apply the SMART method:

Specific (or simple): this objective is still too vague. We can divide it into several sub-objectives, sorting by room in the house for example. For example: sort out the kitchen. Then sort out the bathroom. Then sort the living room. And so on.

Measurable: Sort out the 4 rooms in your home.
Acceptable (or ambitious): sorting out your entire home implies that you’re going to have to go through your possessions one by one. I think that’s a pretty ambitious task, don’t you?
Achievable: while ambitious, sorting out the 4 rooms of your home is still within your reach.
Time-defined: sort one room per weekend, i.e. 4 weekends, starting on the date of your choice.
Our n°1 objective will therefore be to finish sorting the 4 rooms in your home in 4 weeks’ time. It is divided into 4 sub-objectives:

1) first weekend: sort all kitchen items
2) second weekend: sort all bathroom items
3) third weekend: sort all living room items
4) fourth weekend sort all bedroom items

4 – I CONGRATULATE MYSELF
Finally, don’t forget to congratulate yourself every time you achieve a sub-objective and a objective. Your efforts deserve to be rewarded.

ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS WITH A BULLET JOURNAL
Last but not least, having a tool to track your goals is an invaluable aid to success. Personally, I use my bullet journal. It lets me know where I stand and motivates me to continue my daily efforts.