Reaching Your Goals

Whether you are gathering your dream pets, collecting avatars, trying to win game trophies, seeking to win a Beauty Contest or training a pet for the Battledome, setting goals helps you stay on course. Meeting the small goals you set along your path to the major goals also helps keep you invested in the process without getting discouraged.

Here are a few pointers to get you started. Firstly, be realistic. If you want to earn 15 million neopoints in 30 days, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. It is an unreasonable and unrealistic goal. However, if 15 million is your target, backtrack to earning it by using my second tip, take small steps. Breaking large goals into smaller steps keeps them reasonable and manageable which makes it much more likely you will reach your larger goals. If you are limited by time but can easily make 30k a day, then setting an earnings goal of 900k a month is reasonable and in about 16 months you will have reached your target goal. Of course, if you can earn double that, you’ll reach your goal twice as quickly.

Don’t hesitate to jot down on paper all the various goals you have—a process I call mapping it out. I like to make a yearly goals list and then further break those goals down into monthly chunks. By mapping out the process, I am more confident that I will stay on track to reaching my end goal. For example, if I want my shop size to be 300 by the end of the year, I know I will have to increase my shop size about 6 times a week, nearly once a day. Or, if you prefer to save and increase all at once, around 25 increases a month (in addition to having the items to stock that increased shop size). As long as you meet your smaller goals, you know you’re still on track for the larger ones.

A major point to consider is flexibility. Even if you’re online every day, give yourself some leeway when mapping out your goals. Everyone gets sick once in a while or has their internet or power go out. Sometimes you just need a few days away from your goals. Plan that leeway into your goal map so you don’t get hopelessly behind when something unexpected comes up.

It’s very important that you not to take on too many goals at once. No matter how many goals I am working on at once, they all have their priority order. Pick the goals that will take the longest and/or are the most important to you and prioritize them. My priority list looks like this: savings goal, pet training, shop, avatars, and gallery. Those are the five goals I try really hard to meet daily—everything else comes second. If I’m short on time, I start from the top of the priority list and work my way down. Other goals lower on the priority list might be playing world challenge, writing, creating art for the Beauty Contest, battling, etc.

It works well for me, actually, to make a daily checklist for all of my goals; that way I can clearly see their priority and I don’t forget to do anything. I must admit I get a little bit of pleasure every time I make a check mark too. If you enjoy a checklist by all means go for it. If you hate the idea of a checklist, then find an idea that works for you. Possibly a reminder note is more your style.

Balance is very important. You will need to find a balance that you are comfortable with--some things to consider are: Finding a blend of goals that require neopoints such as a gallery or training a Battledome pet with goals that earn you neopoints such as game avatars, trophies or a shop. At the very least balance them with goals that don’t require extra neopoints, increasing the amount of your 1-player battles. As well as balancing spending time working on goals that are creative like writing and art as opposed to less creative activities such as battling or restocking. Anyone gets bored or frustrated if they repeatedly do too much of the same thing.

It works best for me to work on several goals at once. The beauty of having several goals to work on at once is that when you are frustrated with one goal, you can move on to another for a while. That way, hopefully, no single goal will overwhelm you. For example a person could earn 150k a day and put all of that into a savings goal and grow their bank account a lot faster. However, then they wouldn’t have enough for training their pet and would not be able to reach their yearly training goal. So, saving a smaller amount and working on several goals at once is the best way to complete them all.

A few final thoughts—make an attempt to enjoy the process. Don’t let it become a burden or a stress. Remember in your quest for a perfect account, Neopets is just a game. If you will indulge me another example-- when I’m trying to earn a new game avatar, I start by just playing the game. Then I look for a game guide to help me play the game better. Next, I practice by playing the game at least once a day, while really trying to get the best score I can. I celebrate every time I improve my all-time high score because I know I’m that much closer to the avatar I want. Sometimes, if I’m becoming frustrated with a game, I’ll take a break from playing it for awhile. Eventually, I know I’ll get the avatar. The more difficult a goal is for you to reach, the slower the process will be. Be sure to celebrate every step you take in the right direction. Carry with you the confidence that comes from setting and attaining your goals.

A summary of pointers: Be realistic, take small steps, map it out, be flexible, prioritize, find balance and enjoy your time spent playing!