How can you turn your dreams into reality? (hint: it’s not by sleeping)
“Without goals, a dream will always be just that…”
– Uncle Nathan
If you can’t set real, achievable goals to reach your dream, you never will!
The only way you’ll ever get there is through small, measured steps taken every day.
This post is all about exactly how you can turn that dream into a reality through a subtle, but important thing called SMART goals.
With the strategies you’re about to learn, everything you put your mind to will suddenly seem achievable. You can use these in your everyday life (think subjects at school, subjects at Uni, relationships, etc), and in your professional career (think promotions, starting your own business, building your own empire).
If you want something, but you’re not sure how to get there, this is the post for you!
Table of Contents
What’s the difference between a Dream and a Goal?
Dream – noun – a cherished ambition, aspiration, or ideal.
Goal – noun – the object of a person’s ambition or effort; an aim or desired result.
In normal speak:
A dream is something you want. It’s a big picture, future version of yourself.
A goal is an action you make to achieve that dream. It’s a small milestone that brings you closer to the big picture.
Basically, a dream is the end product and goals are what help you get there. Without goals, you’ll never have a foundation to reach your dreams. This relationship is what most people never truly understand, and that’s the main reason why they never turn their dreams into reality.
What are SMART goals?
A SMART goal is simply a method of goal setting that allows you to create an objective and actually reach it.
SMART stands for:
- Specific – is your goal written out with certain steps?
- Measurable – how will you measure its success?
- Achievable – is this something that you can achieve?
- Relevant – is it relevant to the end dream?
- Time-bound – have you put time constraints on it?
Let’s take a look at this in action:
I hope you can see the difference between these goals. The first is a non-SMART goal and isn’t particularly helpful to your dream because there’s no accountability. The second is a SMART goal that’s certain to help you push closer to your dream because you can actually determine its success.
Using SMART goals to turn your dreams into reality
Now that we know what a SMART goal is, we have to figure out how to turn a dream into a bunch of SMART goals so that we can actually get there.
The first step is to write that dream down and dissect it into milestones.
A milestone is essentially a bridge between where you are now and reaching your dream. It should look something like this:
After you’ve figured out your milestones, you’re going to come up with around 4-10 SMART goals (depending on the significance of the milestone) that’ll ensure you hit each one. Treat each of these milestones as a sub-dream of sorts. I’ll give an example with my first milestone “Achieve an ATAR above 90”:
If the milestone itself is a super big one, it might be worth breaking it into smaller milestones again.
Basically, the process is this:
- Write down your dream
- Break it up into milestones (might have to repeat if the milestones are overly broad)
- Set SMART goals for each milestone
- Assess the goals as they fall due (must be time-bound, remember!)
- Set new SMART goals if the previous goals or milestone hasn’t been reached
Addressing the scary side of goal setting
It’s probably a good idea to quickly touch on the not-so-productive side of goal setting.
I’m talking about what happens if you set a goal and then fall short (or don’t hit your milestone on time).
The key here is to not give up on turning that dream into reality. Remember, you will fall down, a lot! There will be certain goals that you don’t reach and that’s OKAY!
Let me share a story:
I had a milestone of a 96 ATAR throughout my entire HSC year for the uni course I wanted. I worked super hard, set myself different goals and hit all of them. Did my HSC exams, went well, waited for my marks and boom!
ATAR of 94…
As selfish as it sounds, I was devastated. I mean yeah 94 is good. But, it’s not 96. I couldn’t just try again and do my HSC another time over. That was hit, I had to live with 94.
Here’s where I could have given up. My milestone wasn’t hit, how was I gonna get to my dream?
Let’s just say I’m in a better position to reach my dream now than I could have ever imagined, despite not hitting that goal.
I won’t keep blabbering on. The point I’m getting at is this:
If you don’t hit your goals, that’s fine. Just set a new one. The reason we set goals is so we stay motivated on the path to our dream. These goals aren’t supposed to be make-or-break, but simply add a level of accountability to our actions.
Don’t get disheartened if you don’t reach your goal, just try harder next time.
As some famous person once said:
“You can fall down a million times, and that’s fine, as long as you get back up a-million-and-one times“
Your Dream: a soon-to-be reality
That’s basically all there is to turning your dreams into a reality. It’s as simple as breaking that dream down, setting some milestones and then using SMART goals to get there.
Remember to keep grinding and don’t give up if you miss a goal. It’s not the end of the world and you’re sure as hell better off for setting one in the first place.
For a more in-depth breakdown of how to create a SMART goal, have a read of this post by Mind Tools. There’s also a video explanation if you’re sick of reading.
If you want to learn how to study less, but get better results; or even how to reach these goals quicker, have a read of my 80/20 Principle post.
As always, leave your questions in the comments below or shoot us an email!
Stay SMART,
Uncle N.