I was reading something, and I came across a dismal statistic. A study done by the University of Scranton says that only 8% of people achieve their goals! It made me look back and analyze the factors that have worked for me in my journey. Sharing a few elements to keep in mind while setting goals and creating an action plan. Mind you, these are in addition to making your goals SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-bound) –

1. Is your goal something that aligns with what matters to you? Such a goal will energize you. When your ‘why’ is personal, your motivation is high and more likely to be sustained. If your goal is something that you think you should do because everyone is doing it or because it is an expectation from others, sustaining the commitment to will be harder.
2. As you put in additional hours towards your growth, what/who else in your life would be affected? How will you support this change?
3. Consistency of effort is important for achieving goals. What will you do every week to keep moving towards your goal?
4. How will you measure progress? What will be your early wins? Focusing on interim wins keeps the momentum alive.
5. Working towards goals means giving up on immediate gratification. Moving out of the comfort zone is never easy. What will you do to make your journey towards your goal fun? If you enjoy the journey, you are more likely to stick to it.
6. If the fear of failure holds you back, think about everything that can potentially go wrong and plan to avoid/mitigate the risk. Do you have the appetite for that portion of the risk which can not be mitigated?
7. Identify the naysayers in advance and think about how you will deal with them.  
8. How will life change, once you succeed? What support will you need to accommodate this change? Figuring this out is vital, otherwise, this may translate into the fear of success.
9. Manage your energy. Ensure you have the stamina to pursue your goals.
10. Finally, making any change requires time and patience. Lionel Messi said – it took me 17 years and 114 days to be an overnight success. There will be challenges on the way. Learn from the setbacks and keep moving forward.