Goals - Why I have been having problems achieving my them

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I am normally a planner.  I have lists...lots of list!  I have a goal list, a bucket list, a daily "to do" list but I had one of those moments this weekends.

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I do not know how I missed this critical part of goal setting...I mean after all...it is a definite part of goal setting.  When I set a goal - I need to be able to identify the steps to take to turn the goal into a reality.  For instance - for several years now I have had a goal to visit all 50 States in the U.S. but I really did not identify the steps that I need to take in order to accomplish this goal.  This in reality was only a wish and not a true goal since I had not have a plan in place to achieve this goal.  It took that light bulb moment to turn my wish into a goal.  I have now created a list of all 50 States with a tracking list.  It shows all the States that I have visited thus far and then identifies the States that I want to visit in 2017.  What I have now done is set a goal with a well defined time frame of when I will be accomplishing this goal.  ~Voila~  It is written down and I now have finalized a plan.  

Some of the steps that I have added to my goal of visiting one new State each year includes:

> Where am I traveling to?

> When am I traveling?

> Adding a pre-determined dollar amount into my travel fund each pay period

These three steps now may my goal of travel to a new State become measurable and I am now accountable for making this happen.  I have committed to write this goal down so it is no longer a wish but a well defined goal.

After all these years of lists and lists and goal setting, I realized the missing piece!

How about you?  Do you set goals as well as list the steps you take to achieve the goals?