Since we have moved to Chicago and Adam started working at Aon, I haven’t had a “real” job.  It was a conscious decision on both our parts and it is working well for the moment. I knew with all this new found free time, I would need to make sure that I had things to keep me occupied and moving forward on my goals and dreams.  It could have been so easy to just waste the day away and not do much at all, but I didn’t want to be complacent.

I think that the idea of moving forward and reaching goals can be applied to pretty much any area of life.  Whether it be losing weight, completing a home project, getting a promotion at work, or getting into the college of your choice.  I don’t have all the answers on how to achieve those goals but I do have a few tips on how to keep moving towards those goals.  These are some things that I have used to help from keeping me sitting on the couch all day eating bon bons.  Does anyone actually eat bon-bons all day?

Create a vision board

Have you ever heard of Pinterest?  If you haven’t, it’s like a giant cork board on the internet  You can save all the recipes, workouts, outfits, etc you find on the internet in one place.  You can create different boards to sort all your pins.  Having a visual representation is a great way to keep your goals at the front of your mind.  You don’t have to use Pinterest (even though it’s awesome) you can just use a regular pinboard.  Find images that embody your goal and hang them where you can see them everyday.  You can add or subtract as you reach your goals or they change.

Tell someone

Share your goals with another person, preferably someone that you trust.  It’s really helpful to have another person know exactly what you want to accomplish.  That way you have someone that can support you and keep you accountable.  Ask them to check in with you every once and awhile to see your progress.  While you might think you’re really independent and can do everything on your own, it’s really important to have someone there to support your dreams.  You will be much more likely to reach those goals with that little extra oomph.

Do something everyday

It doesn’t have to be a huge or monumental task but do something everyday to propel you towards your goal.  If you want to lose weight, try keeping a food journal each day to see where you can make changes.  If you want to write a book, try writing a chapter or paragraph everyday.  Little steps like this will get you closer to your goal and before you know it you’ll be there.  Also little steps can lead to bigger steps and you can reach your goal even faster.  This is also another great way to keep yourself from stalling.  If you actually do something you’ll feel more motivated to keep working hard.

Be kind to yourself

This one is tough for me.  I often get down on myself for not reaching my goals sooner or I keep beating myself up for not doing more.  Don’t worry if you aren’t going at the rate you think you should be.  You will reach your goals at your own pace.  Don’t compare yourself to others or give up because it isn’t happening as soon as you want.  As long as you are continually working towards something, you don’t need to beat yourself up.  Be kind and keep going.

Like I said, I don’t have all the answers and maybe these tips will not help you in any way at all, but give them a try.  They might be a good starting point if you are at the beginning of your journey.  No matter what you decide to do, start making decisions and steps to accomplish your dreams.