Most of us want to create some kind of change throughout their lives. The only difference between who you are today and the person you want to be is your routines. So, why are routines important in goal setting?

If you establish which routines will get you closer to your goals, you can implement change from the start. Then you don’t have to think or think about it, you just have to do it.

If you can also set clear goals and associate your identity with your desired behavior, it will start to feel natural. It will be difficult not to reach your goal.

Goal-Setting

We all have different goals over the years about what to accomplish in the new year, like starting to run or raising your grades.

In my opinion, most of them make a big mistake when it comes to setting goals.

You fail to create a plan. It’s great that you want to start working out, but how? Should you go to the gym, go to yoga, start running? When should you exercise, Every day, Once a week or every full moon?

Do you want to answer the questions whenever you feel like it, or do you want to make it easy for yourself?

Create Smart Goals

One reason why we don’t reach our goals may be because we set unclear goals. A framework that can be valuable to use is smart goals (S.M.A.R.T. Goals) first introduced by George T. Doran in a research paper “There’s a S.M.A.R.T way to write management goals and goals“

We want to set specific and clear goals so that there is no room for interpretation or misunderstanding. They should answer the questions: who, what, where, when and why?

“I want to complete a 10-kilometer marathon.”

A smart goal is measurable and can be objectively assessed whether it has been achieved.

“I will measure my success with my smartwatch with GPS function.”

It must be achievable and realistic. You won’t reach a goal that you don’t even think you can reach, it will stop you before you even try. Smart goals are aligned with your ability and available resources.

“I will follow a plan and increase the distance every week.”

Relevant to your values and priorities, helps you stay focused and ensures you stay engaged.

“Running a 10-kilometer marathon is in line with my desire to improve my fitness and health.”

By setting a target date and staying time-bound, you give yourself a clear timeline for actions and evaluation.

“In 3 months, I will participate in a marathon.”

If we start from this framework when we set our goals, we can ensure our priorities and stay committed.

How we practically reach our goals?

Do I want to work towards my goals today? It’s a stupid question. But it’s something we ask ourselves very often when we don’t set clear goals or plans.

The secret ingredient lies in mastering our routines. We create change by changing our behavior and routines.

Create daily routines that support you towards your goals. This could mean setting a specific time for exercise or studying each day.

The idea is that we should not have to think about whether we should do something or not. We should not have to rely on motivation. The new routine should be as obvious as brushing your teeth or washing off your make-up.

Break your goal down into smaller parts

In order to ensure and not have to think about whether we should work towards our goals today, we will break them down into as small sub-goals as possible. The easier you make it for yourself to reach your big goal.

Break your goals down into smaller sub-goals to make them manageable and more measurable. That way, you can celebrate small progress along the way.

You have more control over the small sub-goals than the bigger goal. This also makes it easier for us to establish what kind of routines we should set up.

Your routines = identity

Basically, you are your routines. The goal is not to run, but to become a runner.

It is your routines that will lead you towards your goal. So instead of just focusing on the goal itself, focus on creating the routines that will get you where you want to go.

How do our routines affect our identity?

Your daily routines are the habits and actions you perform regularly every day. They can be things like waking up at a certain time, exercising, eating breakfast, reading, working, spending time with friends and family, and going to bed.

These routines reflect your identity and influence how you achieve your goals. By creating positive and productive routines, you can shape the person you want to become.

“Every action is a vote for the type of person you wish to become”

– James Clear

Your routines confirm and strengthen your idea of yourself. If you see yourself as a runner, you will create space to run.

Your brain wants to strengthen and confirm your identity, so you will subconsciously look for opportunities and behaviors that confirm your identity.

How do we change our routines?

It is easy to get too involved in the new habit when we are about to start. This is of course because we are motivated and full of energy.

Which we of course will stop being one day. Therefore, we have to create our routines for our worst days. When you’re at your worst, you shouldn’t have to think or ponder, just do.

If we take exercise as an example. We put up a 3-day training plan where we run every week, and it feels great the first and second week. Then we start to get tired or something happens and all of a sudden we “don’t have time”… There is too much friction.

What feels easiest:

1. 10 minutes walk
2. Take 10,000 steps

Taking a 10-minute walk is obviously much easier. So the idea is that if you commit to taking a 10-minute walk after work, you will succeed in doing it pretty much every day. In addition, you will most likely go longer than 10 minutes most days.

1 % Method

James Clear the author of Atomic habits (affiliate) recommends habit stacking. Based on your established routines, link with a new desired behavior.

For example, you want to start reading. You drink coffee every morning and choose to create your new routine by reading while drinking coffee. You leverage an already established habit to support your desired behavior.

You want to make it as easy and clear for you to reach your goals. If we continue with the same example, we can put the book by the coffee maker. It becomes both a visual reminder and easily accessible for us to complete our desired routine.

The two-day rule

If you want your new routine to become a natural part of your daily routine, I suggest The two-day rule by Matt D’Avella.

It’s an effective method of maintaining new routines, which is that it’s okay to miss one day, but never miss two in a row.

The only exception is if you are sick. If you can commit to your new habit for at least 5 minutes, that’s enough. The goal of the two-day rule is for you to show up every day.

If you want to create lasting change, you can’t expect to become a new person overnight. You will get further by taking one step a day instead of 3 steps twice a week.

Your Mindset

Your attitude determines how you experience life. If you have a positive and optimistic attitude, you can face challenges with a sense of possibility and growth.

On the other hand, if you have a negative and pessimistic attitude, you can limit yourself and feel discouraged by adversity.

We are confirmation biased

This is something that is usually brought up in relation to studies and investigations. When we analyze and interpret data, we tend to make somewhat mixed interpretations depending on what we are looking for.

It is therefore important to be open to different interpretations and perspectives when analyzing information, including our own.

If you think you are a couch potato, you will look for things in your life to confirm you are a couch potato. It makes no difference if there is logic behind your conclusions or not.

Your brain wants to protect you by confirming what you already believe and experience, because if it’s not true, it rubs against your identity.

Btw, how’s your victim mentality?

Victim mentality is very common and something most of them themselves have had at least for a while in their lives.

I myself have had periods when I’ve felt sorry for myself and think that everything is unfair. And not to say that can’t be the case sometimes. BUT, going around feeling sorry for yourself is only creating suffering and a hindrance in your life.

If you can change the victim mentality to a growth mindset, you will see challenges as opportunities to learn and grow.

You are stuck in a victim mentality if:

• You believe that life is outside your control
• Believe that it is impossible to achieve success without luck
• You expect to be disappointed or let down by others
• You have lots of excuses for not acting on your goals

By simply changing your attitude, your life will become easier because you will stop putting a stop to yourself. It’s about taking responsibility for your own life and your own choices.

How does our mindset affect our experiences and results?

Having a positive attitude towards life makes a big difference. It’s not about ignoring problems, but actively choosing to focus on the good and being grateful for it.

It also doesn’t mean that you should go around thinking how good life is when some bad disaster has happened. Allow yourself to grieve, be sad or angry about things that happened. But don’t ruminate.

“Our greatest freedom is the freedom to choose our attitude”

– Viktor E. Frankl

The best way to break a negative spiral is to focus on the positive and look for solutions instead of getting stuck in the problems. By having a positive attitude, you can increase your motivation and energy to tackle the challenges.

How can we switch from a victim mentality to a growth mindset?

Become aware of your thoughts. Be objective and reflect on how you talk about and with yourself.

Work on your self-image, start believing in yourself and your abilities. All people have the capacity to learn and develop. That means you can too.

Change your behavior. Your behavior affirms what you say and think about yourself, affirm the positive things you think and say about yourself.

Who do you want to be when you grow up?

By setting smart goals, we lay a strong foundation and through our routines we can take regular steps in the right direction. We cannot rely on our motivation, but need the right conditions to succeed.

To build the right prerequisite, we need clear goals, the right attitude and routines that confirm your identity that is in line with your goal. Have a clear vision. You can be whoever you want to be if you are methodical and take steps every day to get closer to that person.

The only difference between the person you want to become and the person you are today is the right habits and routines.