Accomplish Your Goals in Life

You deserve to get what you want out of life. You may already be wondering how to focus on yourself. That doesn’t mean you’re a selfish person; it simply means you’re the one who has to work for it.

Before you can give others your best, you have to sort out your own priorities and learn to tell yourself, “Focusing on myself is important.” And again, it has to be constant: Your goals might change, and that’s OK as it’s part of focusing on what you really want. What isn’t OK is focusing on others at the expense of yourself.

Accomplish Your Goals in Life
Accomplish Your Goals in Life

How to Focus on Yourself

1. Face Your Triggers

You’ve been told to avoid your triggers, but when it comes to learning how to focus on yourself, that isn’t the best advice. How can you grow as a person if you run away from every trial? If you truly want to focus on yourself, you have to face your triggers.

Say your heart is set on holding public office. If you want to accomplish your goal, you’re going to do things that might scare you, including:

  • Speaking in public
  • Saying no to people
  • Taking personal attacks in stride
  • Working with people who you disagree with

Remember, you grow most when you’re challenged. Focusing on yourself means putting yourself in tough situations.

2. Put Your Health First

What better way to focus on yourself than to prioritize your health? When you feel better, you’ll get more done than you would be working yourself into the ground.

You can get a long way by taking a “mother’s advice” approach to your health. That means:

  • Get at least 7-8 hours of sleep a night.
  • Exercise for 30 minutes at least three times per week.
  • Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.
  • Spend less time on social media day to day.
  • Meditate for 10 minutes per day.
  • Avoid drugs and alcohol.
  • Take breaks often.
  • Ask for help when you need it.

If you struggle with maintaining healthy habits like consistent exercise, then try to make it more fun.

3. Practice Constantly

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Do the thing, and you will have the power.” That “thing” is whatever your goals require of you.

One way or another, you have to put in the work. Writing skills don’t build themselves. Strong families aren’t forged by an absent parent.

The good news is, you don’t have to do it all today to start feeling good about where your goals are going. Break your goals into small, manageable pieces.

4. Spell out Your Dreams

Get a college education, land a job that makes a lot of money, and reach that next rung of your career. The traditional vision of success appeals to a lot of people, but it may not be right for you. Ask yourself: What does the life I actually want look like?

It’s up to you to create a vision for your life. You don’t need to know all the details, but you should be able to paint the broad strokes.

Say you know that you enjoy history and writing. The key stages of your life vision might include:

  • Work for a state historical society.
  • Become a freelance writer.
  • Write a historical fiction novel.
  • Win the Booker Prize for Fiction.
  • Become the modern Leo Tolstoy.

Or, let’s say you are working in healthcare, and while you don’t want a complete career change, you do want to pivot toward something different. You can start looking into online programs that would allow you to earn certifications without having to go back to school to earn another degree.

Accomplish Your Goals in Life

5. Switch It up

Focusing on yourself isn’t the same as being single-minded. If you want to achieve your goals, you need new experiences to help you climb higher.

Every so often, try something new. It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to do it again; what’s important is that you learned something about yourself.

Not sure where to start? Try one of the following:

  • Go ziplining
  • Learn a foreign language
  • Dye your hair
  • Travel to another country
  • Fix an unfamiliar car or home problem yourself
  • Invert your schedule

Experimentation helps you build skills and deepen your sense of self. Both of those things are critical if you want to reach your goals.

Achieving your goals has to be a lifelong endeavor. That’s why it’s so important to start today. If you’re asking, “How do I focus on myself,” use these strategies to go after your goals and get your life moving in the best direction possible.