How To Reverse Engineer Your Life

Do you feel like no matter how hard you try, you’re just spinning in circles, not really getting anywhere?

You’ve got our goals mapped out for the year, your planners filled with pink and yellow highlighter, you know the exact roadmap to get where you want to go, so why is it so hard to get results?

A lot of people get hung up setting a bunch of small, vague, safe goals that pull them in multiple directions and keep them from producing any specific results. We see busyness as a good thing, so we fill our schedules with tasks that aren’t moving the needle for us and then get frustrated when we aren’t getting results that matter.

What if instead we got laser focused on a couple of big goals and created an action plan around conquering them?

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to pivot in my business and life just to get one step closer to achieving my dreams. It’s not easy, but I wholeheartedly believe that the ideas which excite or frighten us are worth pursuing over anything else.

When I look back on all that I’ve achieved over the years, I started off with my end result in mind and worked backwards from there. I reverse engineered the results I have in my life and I continue to work that way, inching closer to my dream life every step of the way.

“Make your life a masterpiece; imagine no limitations on what you can be, have or do.” – Brian Tracy

Look At The Big Picture

Maybe you aren’t sure exactly what direction you’re headed, but you know a change is necessary in order to move forward in your life. Or maybe you aren’t setting your sights high enough and you’re making small, attainable goals that keep you in the same comfortable box you’ve always relied on for security.

Whichever camp you’re in, it’s important that you get a clear picture of your life visions. Don’t be afraid to dream big and set your sights high!

Grab a journal and take a few minutes to write out your biggest dreams without judgement. Close your eyes and envision yourself living your dream life. What does that look like? What does that feel like?

Sit down, grab a cup of coffee, find a cozy space and let yourself go in the pages of your journal. Don’t think too much about it, just write without judgement.

Set SMART Goals

You’ve probably heard the term “SMART” goals before, perhaps on the internet or in a book. You constantly hear about how SMART goals are the best kind of goals to set, and yet I’m willing to bet that you’ve never actually made your goals SMART before.

Too often we get carried away and set many generic goals without taking the time to sit down and craft a measurable goal that produces the exact results we want.

That’s why we want to take those visions, break down the goals that collectively make the vision a reality, choose one big one to start with and make it SMART.

So now that you have one or two big goals picked out, it’s time to do the work to go through and make sure they’re following the criteria of a SMART goal.

A SMART goal is one that’s…

S – Specific

M – Measurable

A – Attainable

R – Relevant

T – Time-bound

In other words, they’re narrow and not vague, they produce a measurable result, they’re achievable, they’re related to your values and they have a set deadline.

Write S.M.A.R.T on a piece of paper and check to make sure your goal is following the criteria. Don’t be tempted to skip this step, but rather stick to this tried and true goal setting method so you’ll stay on track and slay your goals with confidence.

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Be Determined and Committed

What if you got up 15 minutes early every day to focus on your big goal? What if you just did one small task a day that’ll move you closer to achieving it? Where would you be a year from now?

I know 15 minutes doesn’t sound like much, but it adds up quickly – 90 minutes a year to be exact. So the “I don’t have enough time” excuse simply doesn’t cut it anymore. If it’s a priority you’ll make time.

Make a daily commitment to yourself to work on the needle-movers in your life, even if it’s something small. Maybe it’s as simple as spending 5 minutes setting your top priorities for the day or as complex as writing your plans for the next 6 months.

Whatever it is, carve out time out of your day to get it done (and if you really want to stay on track, set deadlines for yourself with reminders on your phone.) I want you to finish each day feeling refreshed and empowered, not defeated.

Break It Down

You’re making all of these plans, you’re setting your goals and intentions for the year, but when the time comes to take action, you clam up.

You’re paralyzed by the overwhelm of having these huge goals hanging over your head or maybe you just don’t know where to start so you shut down. Amiright?

Well the first thing I want you to do when you feel that anxiety boiling up is to take a deep breath. Anxiety tends to make things look way bigger than they really are, so just know that you’ve got this and that it’s not as big of a deal as it seems (I promise).

Next, it’s important that you break up your larger tasks into smaller, more manageable pieces. The key here is to focus on each small step you need to take, rather than look at the big picture as a whole because that’s when it gets overwhelming.

So after you’ve mapped out your SMART goals, write down the action steps you need to take to achieve them and then transfer them onto your calendar. Give yourself strict deadlines so you’ll be motivated to stick to them.

Honor yourself and your calendar by following through with your goals. Then a year from now you can give yourself a big refreshing pat on the back because you accomplished everything you set out to do.

Evaluate And Adjust

As circumstances and situations change, so do your plans. If you feel like your plans are out of alignment with the direction you want to take then that’s a sign that it’s time to adjust them.

At the end of each month I go over my accomplishments and failures, what worked well, what didn’t work so well and what can be improved for next time. I also ensure that my goals still apply to my life visions, and if not, then I make necessary adjustments.

This ensures that I’m always staying on track towards my goals and I’m not veering off path, wandering into a direction that I never intended to go.

There has been plenty of times that I had to make pivots in my business when I was no longer passionate about my work. I wish I could say it was easy, but it was sooo worth it because I serve people much better when I feel good about what I’m doing.

The point here is that it’s never too late to make a change. It’s better to take a risk and change things up then to stay stuck in a place where you’re miserable and uninspired because that doesn’t help anybody.

You serve people much better when you’re working in your strengths. So if you’re not where you want to be, then in the wise words of Ross from Friends, “Pivot!”

Final Thoughts

Imagine the end results you want and work backwards from there. Picture yourself achieving your biggest goals, make sure those visions are vivid enough for you to stick through and visit them whenever you feel like throwing in the towel so that when they play in your head, they keep you grounded and moving forward.

Remember – no matter if you’re taking huge strides or baby steps, forward is forward! So show up for yourself, take that next step, hold onto that vision in your mind, and keep inching forward because you deserve the best life possible.