How to be more pragmatic: 10 tips for achieving goals

Tips and recommendations for adopting a more pragmatic mindset and reaching our goals.

Many times, people fail to achieve fail to achieve their goals because they don't know how to organize themselves properly.In order to achieve our goals, it is not enough to think about them or wish for them, we need to put them into practice in a feasible and structured way.

In this article we are going to review some tips to increase our effectiveness in the elaboration and achievement of our projects. In other words, we are going to see how to be more pragmatic in daily life..

What does it mean to be pragmatic?

To understand how to be more pragmatic, it is necessary to see exactly what this change of habits and behavioral patterns consists of. Pragmatism indicates the ability of a subject to follow procedures in an efficient and regular way, avoiding improvisations and procrastination that are only due to poor emotional management.avoiding improvisations and procrastination that are only due to emotional mismanagement.

Generally, people with pragmatic behavior are able to achieve important things in their lives; They look for ways to accomplish their goals in a practical way.They apply them (going beyond pure theory and the realm of desires) and avoid taking uncalculated or irrational risks. Thus, being a pragmatic person has a lot to do with being goal-oriented, moving from words to deeds.

If you are able to understand that in order for things to work properly you must have a high level of commitment and make sure that all the necessary pieces work properly, and you put this work philosophy into practice, then you may have a tendency towards pragmatism.

The methods exist for a reason, and they are effective because they have been designed and tested to be effective.. Therefore, in many cases the best we can do is to be faithful to those methods and follow them as firmly as possible in order to obtain satisfactory results.

How to be more pragmatic?

Now we are going to review some effective tips to promote our level of pragmatism and achieve the best results in our projects. However, keep in mind that the most effective way to learn to adopt new habits and behavioral patterns that will help us achieve our goals is to have professional psychological support, since in psychotherapy we will have the help of an expert in the science of behavior who will study our case individually and propose tailored solutions.

1. Look for reliable sources

The best way to make sure we are following the procedure correctly is to make sure that the source from which we obtained the information is reliable. make sure that the source from which we obtained the information is reliable..

Avoid taking information from the first source we find, go and corroborate elsewhere to make sure of its veracity. In this way, we will get used to being more pragmatic in our search for useful information.

2. Commit to the project

In order to reach an acceptable level of pragmatism it is necessary to commit to the goal we want to achieve, then we can look for the best ways to achieve it.Then we can look for the best ways to carry it out in an efficient way and with a method that we can accomplish without major complications.

The state of motivation that tasks generate in us is what makes us want to carry them out, that is to say, the motivation towards something is what makes us want to do it, motivation towards something is what makes us want to follow a procedure. to get that object of desire, which can be anything.

3. Base yourself on real evidence

When we are going to look for a pragmatic method to achieve our goals, it is necessary to review whether that method has been used in the past, and what results it has given in the same or similar situations we areto which we submit ourselves.

In this way, we will avoid disappointing results, which can demotivate us and make us give up prematurely. and make us give up our projects prematurely. It will always be best to take into consideration past evidence to carry out our plans.

4. Share ideas

When we come up with a new idea, the ideal is to share it with other people who also have the same enthusiasm for doing things pragmatically as we do. In this way you will be able to have different points of view that will allow you to re-evaluate the feasibility of your project.

5. Learn from mistakes

No one is free from making mistakes at some point in time.Even when we take precautions not to make them, something could always go wrong.

It is important to understand that this is a normal circumstance of life, and that it is best to take the positive side of mistakes to avoid making them again.

6. Assume that we are what we do

To realize our projects it is not enough to wish for them or say that we will do them, we need to put them into practice. It is then when we can begin to act more efficiently in our lives. Action always exceeds desireAlthough, ideally, they should go hand in hand.

7. Avoid conformism

Conformism is the silent enemy of pragmatism. When we begin to conform on a frequent basis, our level of enthusiasm drops and with it, so does our enthusiasm, our level of enthusiasm drops and with it also goes our capacity for action.. To be pragmatic it is necessary to have aspirations, and to adapt our concerns and interests to new goals and concrete objectives. To do this, we must pay attention to detect the areas of life in which we could be stagnating without realizing it, and set ourselves challenges that take us beyond our comfort zone.

8. Set goals

When we set goals we are making an organizational structure of the objectives that we have to achieve before we can access new ones.By setting goals, we are already having a pragmatic thinking and action that will allow us to be efficient.

Regardless of whether they are short, medium, or long term goals, it is important to evaluate the feasibility of all of them to avoid being exposed to the frustration of not being able to achieve our projects after having invested a large amount of money in them. after having invested a great deal of time in them.

This is one of the tips on how to be more pragmatic that is easier to follow, because it is based on setting deadlines and defining concrete goals.

9. Avoid underestimating challenges

When we underestimate a significant circumstance for us, we are sabotaging ourselves, taking into account that when we underestimate the importance of something, our level of enthusiasm to do it decreases. our level of enthusiasm for accomplishing it gradually decreases..

If we are not careful with this situation, it could happen that when we realize that the issue is more important than we thought it would be too late and we will not have the opportunity to use any method to solve the issue.

10. Plan ahead

Time is a determining factor in the achievement of goals, and in order to obtain adequate results, it is necessary to understand that a structured procedure requires time for planning. requires planning time.

The ideal is to start setting timetables for each of the activities we intend to do. In this way, in addition, we will have time references that will accompany us in our progress and that will help us to be aware of the progress we are making, and of what works and what does not work when approaching our goals.

Bibliographical references:

• Bandura, A. (1998). Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control, W.H. Freeman and Company, New York.
• Forés, A. & Grané, J. (2008). Resilience. Growing from adversity. Barcelona: Plataforma Editorial.
• Peiró Silla, J.M. (1990). Organizaciones: Nuevas perspectivas psicológicas. Barcelona: PPU.
• Truxillo, D.M., Bauer, T.N., & Erdogan, B. (2016). Psychology and Work: Perspectives on Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Nueva York: Psychology Press-Taylor & Francis.