For most, nothing feels better than setting a goal and reaching it—or even surpassing what we expected to achieve. Goals are an important part of healthy living. They help bring a sense of accomplishment and keep us moving forward.

According to Psychology Today, goal setting is one of the most important steps to take if you want to make improvements in your life.

Psychologists have been excited about goals since the beginning of the profession. Research shows that actually setting a specific goal makes us more likely to achieve the things we want, and is important especially when we want to make a change. The best news is that setting and striving for a goal, even if you don’t make it, will make you happier.

When you’re ready to set a goal, here are a few things to consider:

1. Get Out Pen and Paper

The first step to goal-setting is going old fashioned with pen and paper. Writing down a list of what we feel needs improvement in our life is intimidating, but it helps us paint a bigger picture. Visualizing your list of goals right in front of you will help you realize what you need to work on right away, and what goals can wait till later.

2. Be Specific

One of the biggest mistakes people tend to make about goal setting is generalizing. While it’s great that you want to lose weight, simply stating that you want to lose weight isn’t enough. Decide how much weight you want to lose (10 lbs, 20 lbs, etc.) and write it down. If you want to learn something new, do some research online about subjects that interest you. Sometimes there are courses available online to teach you about your topic, or you can dedicate 30 minutes of reading time for yourself every night.

3. Measuring Progress

When you’re working toward a goal, you’ll need to measure progress as you go. Otherwise, it’ll feel like you’re spinning your wheels. If your goal is to lose weight, choose one day a week that you’ll weigh yourself and record it. There are apps that will help you keep track of weight loss or other fitness goals, including weight lifting and running.

4. Give Yourself a Timeframe

An infinite amount of time to set a goal isn’t necessarily the best course of action. Giving yourself an allotted amount of time to achieve a goal will help you keep moving forward to achieve it.

5. Give Yourself Small Rewards

Remember that rewarding yourself when you reach milestones will help keep yourself motivated. You can reward yourself by doing even simple things, such as allowing yourself extra meditation time or binge watching your favorite Netflix show.

Here are 155 ways to reward yourself for completing a goal or task.

6. Get a Support System

We all might have trip ups, and it helps to have at least one person to serve as your support system. Even if it’s someone who you can text when you’re having a rough time, you’ll be surprised how much it can help when you need it the most.

Best Life Hub is here to help you set goals for self-improvement. Stay tuned for our next tip to celebrate self-improvement September.