Knowing how to set and achieve goals is undoubtedly one of the most beneficial skills you can develop throughout your life. Without goals, you end up leading a very different kind of life, often filled with constant boredom and dissatisfaction. On the other hand, setting goals that encourage you to push yourself and be bigger in every facet of your life leads to greater satisfaction and fulfillment in both your professional and personal endeavors. Of course, it’s not just goal setting that’s important, right? You have probably set thousands of goals throughout your life. How many of them have you followed and achieved? Unfortunately, many people achieve only a fraction of the goals they set for themselves. Why is that? Do they lack strength and will?
Do they choose the wrong goals or just don’t have the determination to see them through? Surprisingly, most of the time the culprit is the lack of a clear and achievable plan. You see, effective goal setting is simply a skill! It can be learned, even if you have never been successful at setting and achieving goals in the past. The problem for many people is that they have never been shown how to set themselves up for success, so they run into obstacles and eventually give up before achieving their goals. Does this also describe your previous experiences with goal setting? Understand one thing: your previous “failures” have nothing to do with your abilities, strength or potential. I just didn’t have the right tools and mindset to succeed at the time. You had the right destination in mind, but someone gave you the wrong map!
There are numerous benefits to be gained from a lifetime commitment to consistent goal achievement, but here are some of the most important:
1) Clarity and purpose.
Goal setting forces you to examine your current life circumstances and take an active role in choosing what you want to experience. Rather than stand idly by as outside influences determine your quality of life, recognize your power to choose and create more meaningful and enriching circumstances. The result: greater clarity and purpose in every aspect of your life! You will no longer experience that hollow pain of dissatisfaction and helplessness. You know exactly what you want and believe in your ability to make it happen.
2) Continuous personal and professional development.
How easy it is to forget that life is not meant to be static! To live truly fulfilling lives, we need to constantly grow, evolve, and improve, both personally and professionally. Imagine how bored we would be if nothing changed! Would you be happy if you still had the same job you had in high school? Or was he still driving first because he ever had? You are not the same person you were ten years ago, or even a year ago! Goals are necessary if you want to continue to grow and develop. When you constantly work to strengthen your skills, talents, abilities, and aspirations in life, you enter a process that keeps your life circumstances fresh, new, and increasingly exciting. Not only do you gain a greater appreciation of your true potential in life, but you also end up feeling much more in control of who you are and who you want to eventually become.
3) Greater fulfillment and satisfaction in all areas of your life.
When you know how to set and achieve goals effectively, you’ll never end up stuck in unsatisfactory circumstances again! You will be able to create a career you love, unbridled success in everything you do, and healthy relationships that add great meaning and joy to your life. Your life will become one fantastic journey of fun, empowerment, joy, love, and fulfillment. You can’t help but feel happy and excited about who you are and all that you are capable of doing!
The following steps should be followed when setting goals:
- Evaluate your current situation
- What do you want really?
- What is the essence behind desire?
Before setting a goal, you should first assess your current situation to identify what area of your life you want to improve or change, such as your:
- career
- Relations
- finance
- Health & Beauty
- mental/emotional; and
- Spiritual
There are three terms for goal setting:
- Short-term goal: within a few months
- Medium-term goal from 6 months to a year
- Long-term goal more than one year
“Keep in mind that a goal must have a time frame”
Qualities of an achievable goal
The objectives must be specific:
For example, don’t set a goal about making more money or losing weight, these are general aspirations, instead be specific about the result and the daily actions that will create the result.
The objectives must be measurable:
For example, you need to be able to point to specific benchmarks that confirm you’re making progress, most benchmarks will be clues and outward signs, such as increased revenue. Do you feel like you are progressing? Are you constantly stepping out of your comfort zone and taking action to achieve your goals? If so, you are progressing.
The objectives must be positive:
For example, try to avoid setting a goal with a negative focus, instead turn any negative views into a positive one, instead of setting a goal to quit smoking, you may want to set a goal to become a healthy and energetic non-smoker. The way this objective is worded creates a very different image in your mind.
The objectives must be written in the present tense:
For example, instead of saying that I will lose 130 kg in six months, try writing something like this: I am losing 2 kg per week and I feel lighter and healthier every day.
planning and preparation
Now that you have a good idea of the goals you want to work towards, it’s time to start breaking them down as much as possible and form a clear action plan to achieve them. Since we are focusing on one or two goals at a time in this course, you may want to choose a goal that is not too difficult to achieve. Once you’ve worked through the process and accomplished a simple goal, you’ll have much more confidence to repeat the same process on bigger, more strenuous goals.
Now, consider if your target is made up of smaller segments. For example, if your goal is to lose 25 pounds, obviously you won’t lose all 25 pounds at once—you’ll lose a pound or two at a time. You may decide that your goal of 25 pounds can be broken down into a weekly weight loss goal of 2 pounds per week for twelve and a half weeks. Another example: If your goal is to quit smoking, you might decide to quit slowly over a period of a few weeks and set a complete quit date. You will find that most objectives can be broken down into smaller consecutive objectives that will lead you to completing the larger objective.
Preparing for obstacles
In addition to having a clear plan, you’ll also want to plan ahead for potential obstacles you might face as you move forward. We call this “Plan B.” This is not something that is fun to think about, because when most of us set goals, we are overly optimistic that everything will fall into place. I wish it would always work like this! You can probably remember at least a few of your previous goals that were completely derailed because you ran into an obstacle that you didn’t know how to overcome, right? This is one of the main reasons why some people never achieve the goals they set for themselves.
Very often the only difference between success and failure is being prepared! If you can think ahead and be prepared for potential obstacles and challenges you may face as you pursue your goal, you will empower yourself with the ability to overcome them quickly and with enthusiasm. While it’s not possible to predict every possible obstacle you’ll face, it’s a good idea to prepare as much as you can because you’ll have a higher level of determination from the start, rather than unrealistic expectations.
Remember also that there are usually two types of obstacles:
1) Obstacles caused by external influences
External obstacles are usually related to things that are out of your control, such as circumstances or events that block progress on the path you have chosen. You may think that it is impossible to plan effectively for these types of obstacles; since they’re usually out of your control, that means your goals and plans are doomed if you run into one, right? Not necessarily! Very often, it is your own reaction to these obstacles that determines your outcome. If you have planned and prepared alternative actions in advance (instead of banging your head against the wall in frustration!), chances are you can avoid them with a minimum of effort.
2) Obstacles that come from within you
Internal obstacles can often be more daunting than external ones! He may think he’s excited and ready to make progress on his goals, but suddenly discovers one day that he has some internal resistance or limiting thoughts kicking in, and before he knows it, he’s stuck. Preparing for this possibility in advance gives you the clarity and self-awareness you need to notice any tendencies toward self-sabotage and nip them in the bud before they cause major problems.
Commitment and perseverance
As you move forward with your goals, you should keep the following points in mind:
- Commit not only to the end results, but also to the action steps that will get you there.
- Believe in yourself, in your abilities and in your potential
- Behold the power of impulse
- Beware of self-sabotage, and that includes procrastination, excuses, and distractions.
- The key motivator is to visualize the end results daily, keep getting excited and savoring the satisfaction of the progress.
have a goal partner
The partner will be there to:
- I support you
- Remind you of your goals and plans
- encourage you
- to push you
- to be honest with you
- Being committed to helping you
“I hope you enjoyed this article”
