Everyone wants to achieve their goals but sometimes you get a little sidetracked and the goals can slip away. But this tip may help you to succeed in achieving your goals.

A goal is simply a well defined project with many next action steps. The key is understanding the two types of next actions you can do to help achieve your goal. 

I just achieved and other of my written goals the other day. This goal was written down back in January. It took me surprise to be honest. I wasn’t actively working on that goal for a couple of weeks so I wasn’t expecting to achieve it. But I did! It made me think about the two types of next action steps one can take in order to achieve a goal.

The two types of next action steps:

Direct Product Action– Simple put if you do this step you will move the needle towards your goal. These actions have a straight forward cause and effect relationship.

By Product Action– This is more about a mind shift a different type of thinking. This won’t have an immediate effect on you achieving your goals but it will certainly aid in achieving your goals.

Let’s look at an example goal and see how this plays out: 

“I want to lose weight this year.” This might be the top goal of all time. Unfortunately it’s not a SMART goal. But it is a written goal.

Examples of Direct Product Actions: (remember do these and you will move the needle)

• Start to track the calories you take in with an app like this one My Fitness Pal.
• Start an exercise program and track with this Run Keeper.

Examples of By Product Actions: (these are shifts in your thinking)

• Don’t buy the cookies at the store. It’s much harder to eat them if they aren’t in your house.
• Find people that share a similar goal. Remember we are changing a mindset here and surrounding yourself with people that love to eat McDonalds isn’t going to help you.

Sometimes we have to work our butt off to achieve a goal. It requires hours and hours of direct product next action steps. But sometimes we need to make a mind shift and the goals will almost achieve themselves.

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