5 Steps for Turning Your Vision Into Reality

Most people start the New Year by setting goals. With just over half the month of January done, now is a good time to look at HOW you’re actually going to achieve all those goals you’ve set.

Likely some of your initial enthusiasm is starting to fade and old habits are settling back in. You may have even completed your vision board and while you are excited about it, you’re not sure what your next steps should be.

Lucky for you, I’m here to help give you some guidance on how to turn your vision into reality. But first, let’s talk about your WHY!

Start with WHY

In his brilliant TED talk and best-selling book, Simon Sinek suggests that without a strong WHY, you will never create or achieve anything meaningful.

Achieving a goal requires change; change requires you moving outside your comfort zone. But the minute you start edging towards your comfort zone, your inner critic shows up with her tried and true tactics for making sure you stay inside it.

It might be fear, a rational explanation for why it can’t be done, or even reminding you of all the times you failed in the past. For a little while you might be able to resist that voice but eventually, she’ll convince you to go back to where things are easy and familiar.

Being outside your comfort zone is HARD. You can do it with ease but you are still working hard to make something happen.

A strong WHY is the anchor you come back to when things become challenging.

What’s your WHY

I have a friend who was diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening disease. She chose to make some significant changes to her lifestyle, not because it was the fashionable thing to do.

No, her WHY was about saving her life. When it becomes inconvenient to do the things she has to do, she comes back to her WHY and she does it.

So what’s your WHY? Looking over the goals or visions you have for yourself this year, what is the overarching WHY behind them?

Get really clear about what that is for you. Once you’re clear about your why then you can move on to the next steps.

Write Them Down

Did you know a whopping 80% of people never even think about goals? Of the remaining 20%, 16% of people will think about them but never write them down.

They ruminate about them in their mind and how great it would be to achieve those goals but they don’t do anything beyond daydream about it.

ONLY 3% of people write their goals down! So your next step is to write down your goals.

Break Them Down

BUT to make your goals really happen, you have to go a step further. Once you have your goal set, brainstorm all the steps that will be required to achieve that goal. Break that bigger goal down into smaller, actionable steps.

These are the milestones that have to be reached if you are going to achieve your goal. You also MUST assign a deadline to these milestones or, once again, you won’t get it done. A million excuses will come up to derail you. So put a date on it 

Then schedule time in your calendar to actually work on it. My coach calls this process blueprinting your time and I love that concept. It seems like extra work but I promise it will help take your vision from just a dream to making it a reality.

Review REGULARLY

This is the place where most people miss it and where, I confess, I’m not consistent myself. You have to review your goals regularly.

Back to our original statistic, only 1% of people who set goals review them regularly. Those 1% are the game changers, they are the people who are killing it and being really successful in their lives.

If you want to be counted among them, you have to get in the habit of reviewing your goals. I recommend quarterly because that’s a rhythm most people know how to work with.

Start of a new quarter: change your toothbrush, pay your taxes (if you’re self-employed), and review your goals.

The mystery of serendipity

In the midst of all this goal setting and planning that you’re doing, be sure to leave room for serendipity to create unexpected outcomes in your journey.

You don’t have to know how everything is going to work out. Start with what you know and then trust the Divine/Universe/God/Spirit will make the rest clear in time.

Holding space for the mystery allows you to remember that you are co-creating your life with the Divine. You are not alone in this journey BUT you do have to do your part.

I’ve created a FREE worksheet to help you get started with doing your part. Click here to download it now. 

Here’s to killing some goals this year and rising into your greatness.

From my heart to yours,

P.S: Be among the 1% who achieve their goals. Click here to download your FREE worksheet today.