Goal setting is a process of determining what sort of outcome you want and developing a plan to make that outcome a reality. It is one of the most important skills you can develop because the goals you achieve will have a direct effect on your level of happiness. It’s the process of wanting something and going out there and getting it. There are correct ways and incorrect ways of doing this however. This article will give you some tips on how to set goals in order to have the best chance of achieving them.
There are a couple of criteria when it comes to setting a goal. The first is that your goal needs to be specific. Many people make the mistake of creating a goal that is way too broad such as wanting to losing weight or wanting to make more money. That’s like getting into a taxi and telling the driver you want to get from point A to point B but not telling him where point B is.
If you want more money, you need to determine exactly how much more money you want to make. If you want to lose weight, exactly how much do you want to lose? By being clear on what you want, not only will you be able to come up with a better plan, you will also be able to know when you actually hit your goal.
The next thing you want to do when it comes to goal setting is to set a deadline. The reason for this is because it will create a sense of urgency. If you set a goal to start a business but don’t set a deadline, chances are, you’ll just end up putting it off. It’s like a teacher telling the students to write an essay but not telling them when it will be due. Chances are that the students won’t ever get started. The deadline you choose should be reasonable. Don’t set goals like losing 20 pounds by tomorrow.
The last thing you want to make sure you do in order for this session to be more effective is to come up with a bunch of compelling reasons why you want to achieve the goal. Most people fail to achieve their goals simply because their desire isn’t strong enough. Sure, we’d all like to be a millionaire but how many people are willing to put in the work that is necessary to get there? We would all like to have the perfect body but how many people are willing to workout every day and eat the right foods for years?
Saying you want something and having the burning desire to get it no matter what are two different things.
If you don’t know what sort of goal you want, then what you can do is a brainstorm session. Basically, you will take out a sheet of paper and start to write down anything and everything you can think of that you want to have in your life. Don’t worry about how you are going to achieve it, just write. You should write down financial goals, fitness goals, relationship goals, personal development goals, and even spiritual goals. Write down where you want to travel, the kind of things you want to have, anything you can think of. Do this for about 10 minutes.
Once you are done, you will go through your list and write down a 1, 3, 5, 10, or 20 next to each goal. This is the amount of years you want to achieve the goal by. You will have long term goals as well as short-term ones. Once you are done, circle all of your 1 year goals. Once you do that, it’s time to choose one out of those 1 year goals. This is the goal that you will focus on. This is basically your goal worksheet that you may want to keep. As you complete each goal, just cross it off the list.
The reason why you want to narrow it down to one goal is because you will have a much greater chance of achieving it if you can put all of your focus into it. Before you start on the goal, the last part of this goal setting process is to write down all of the reasons why you absolutely must achieve this goal. Also write down the consequences of not achieving this goal. Remember, making it compelling. These are the reasons that will help you keep going even when you feel like giving up.
This is just one way to go about setting goals. There are software that you can buy to help you choose the right goal as well. The more you set and achieve your goals, the better you will get at it and the more incredible your life will be.