A Beginner’s Guide to Goals and Goal Setting
Whenever we talk about goals and goal setting, the waters can become a bit muddied. This is because there can be so many varying aspects of this general topic. And, focus (staying on track, so to speak) is a definite part of this topic. So, staying focused on this topic, as well as staying focused on your goal is vital.
What do we mean by focus in relation to goals? Well, you need to make sure that you are constantly, continually keeping this goal in front of you. Make a part of your daily routine to go over your goals and work toward attaining them.
I could devote an entire article to just this subject, and I probably will. However, suffice to say that you need to stay focused on your goal.
In this article, I am going to give you some basic aspects about goals and setting goals. With this information, you should be able to begin to set some worthy goals and work toward their achievement.
Let’s get to it.
Goals need to be:
1. Specific. You need to have a definite “destination” that you want to arrive at. Now, please realize that success is a journey, not a destination-so, you never truly arrive. That’s because you are always moving, either forward or backward, in relation to a larger goal. What I mean by specific is that you need to know exactly what you want to achieve. The more specific that you can be, the better. It’s not enough to say “I want lots of money”, or, “I want to lose weight”. How much money, exactly, do you want? How much weight, exactly, do you want to lose? Asking yourself these questions until you arrive at a specific target helps you to create a more vivid mental image of the goal and what it will look like when you achieve it.
2. Attainable. The goals that you set need to be ones that you can actually attain, or achieve. This is all about personal talents, skills, abilities, etc. I’ve heard it said that if you can see it, you can be it. While this is true, you need to remember where you are in relation to the desired result. If, for example, you are 300 pounds overweight, it might not be so attainable to decide to lose those 300 pounds in a week. Miracles do happen; yet, it’s a good idea to keep your present circumstances a bit in view when setting those goals. Setting an unattainable, or unrealistic goal can often thwart your self image and future attempts at other goals. That brings us into another area of setting goals, that of making the goal:
3. Measurable. You need to have a way of determining that you actually hit your target. This, of course, is tied in with making your goal specific. It also has to do with seeing how close you came to your goal in instances where you may come up short. If you set as a goal that you wanted to lose 2 pounds each week for six months (a total of 12 pounds in six months), and you ended up losing 9 pounds, then you fell short-but would you have lost that 9 pounds without setting the goal? This gives you a bit of a positive push toward refining your goals and possibly adjusting your future actions.
4. Dated. Your goals need to have a date on them. You need to decide on when you want to achieve what it is that you want to achieve. When you set a date, you give yourself a bit of a deadline. This helps to create a sense of urgency, instead of a laissez-faire attitude about reaching this goal. That, “whatever” attitude will allow you to continue on a path without any true direction. With the deadline, however, you begin to hold yourself accountable to reaching the goal within a specific amount of time.
5. Believable. If you don’t believe, really believe that you can do it-do you really think that you will do it? Believability is necessary to set goals that you can accomplish. When you believe, in your own mind, with certainty, that you can accomplish a certain task, you are more enabled to reach that goal. This also, is a topic that deserves to be examined in further detail.
6. Impactful. This goal that you set needs to be something that will impact your life; something that will create a more positive experience for you and/or your loved ones. This, I believe, boils down to the age-old principle that everyone wants to know what’s in it for them. If there’s nothing in it for you (something that MATTERS to you), then your enthusiasm will surely wane when challenges arise. Or, you may not even take the goal serious enough to even begin to work on it. And this brings up another aspect of goals and goal setting; these goals need to be…
7. Your own! When someone else sets a goal for you, you usually do not commit to it as deeply as you do when you have set the goal for yourself. Yes, there are times in your life when others will set goals for you, and the secret there is to MAKE THEM YOUR OWN. You need to find a way to “buy” into those goals and find out what’s in it for you. By doing this, you personalize those goals into your own and will work more diligently at realizing their attainment.
8. Broken down into smaller, bite-size pieces. Take that Major Goal and break it up into specific action steps that are more achievable. As you move toward the Major Goal, you will see that the steps you have taken are not as daunting to you as the vision of that Major Goal.
Of course, there is more to goals and goal setting, but this brief introduction and overview will surely help you in creating the life you desire.
Chickey Motivational Institute
http://www.thefourpillarsoflife.com
http://www.thefourpillarsoflife.blogspot.com
Using the Four Pillars of Life, I help you to become a better you!
Principles of success, affirmations, conscious and subconscious improvement are all part of my focus.
Visit my website at the above link for more information.
Provided by: Programmable Pressure Cooker
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment