Yes, you read that right. Kissing is essential to achieve those goals you have set for so long, but cannot seem to achieve. By mentioning ‘kissing’, I am not referring to the physical act involving entangled tongues and lips though. This is all about the KISS principle. If you are not familiar with this acronym, it is about time you are. KISS is short for keep it simple stupid and it is really the key to setting and achieving your goals. So let’s break this whole thing down to some stupid simple steps you should bear in mind every time you set a goal.

Let’s get smart

Acronym alert again! SMART stands for: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. Make sure that if you set a goal, it corresponds to each and every of these qualities. It will make it so much easier to evaluate where you are at a certain moment in time and to stipulate where you are heading. A good example of a SMART goal would be the following: I commit to losing one pound every week for the next two months.

Small is the new big

Have you ever noticed in the past how much easier it is to reach your aims when you don’t focus on the end result, but take it one step at a time? When I first got this tip from a friend of mine back in the days, a whole new world opened up. I used to be the one always struggling with these big future objectives I had set out for myself. No more! I set and evaluate small goals every month now and it is working. For example, I have always had this dream of writing a book one day, but just the thought of the whole writing process would scare the hell out of me. So I started breaking it down into less scary expectations and committed myself to writing at least 2000 words every week. I have never missed a week since.

Believe and spread the virus

I believe that one day I will be helping young women out as a fulltime life coach. This is something I am really passionate about, so it is hard for me not to share it with every other person I come across. And you know what? The very fact that I am sharing my dreams and future goals with my friends, family and even you Femita readers, helps in getting closer to my aims all the time. This is because other people too now expect me to realize my dream. Let’s call this healthy pressure and be positive about it. I am now not only a believer, but a believer backed by an army of believers. How great is that!

Fun fun fun

Fun keeps us going, right? Having fun facilitates our lives and brings us into the right mood for progress. You know these people who always get what they want and seem to get it effortlessly? I used to envy them, now I am one of them. If you make your challenges more fun, you will have more fun facing them. If you want to lose weight, join a zumba class with your best friend and have a blast. Go out by bike and buy that crazy palm tree bikini you want to fit into next summer. Why not take pole dancing lessons instead of running on the treadmill for hours? You get the deal.

Pencil and paper

A.k.a. the preferred tools of the skilled goal setter. They allow you to write down your SMART goals and keep track of them. By writing aims down, you concretize them. A great challenge not written down is easily forgotten when the first temptations cross your path. That is why you need to keep them in a nice notebook. I prefer the moleskine for this, because of their size and build quality. I also make drawings with every goal I set. This helps me to visualize whatever I want to achieve and keeps me motivated like nothing else. By the way, if you want to learn more about how writing can help you in getting closer to your dreams, I suggest Write it down, make it happen from Henriette Anna Klauser. Also a powerful gift for that one person in your life that could do with some extra focus. One of the great tips she shares in her book is to write a letter to someone. This could be a letter to e.g. yourself, a friend, or even God. The letter format really helps you to organize your thoughts and find focus. It is something I truly enjoy doing too, just like writing this article.

Of course I cannot cover everything here, so if you have additional tips I would love you to share them with us in the comment section below. Always nice to get a conversation going, so we can all learn from each other.

Love,
Alison

(image credit: lululemon athletica)