Talk to successful people and they'll tell you the secret to their success is having a vision that compels them to succeed.
Achievers from every walk of life and in every field of endeavor all share a common factor – they set goals and then work towards achieving those goals.
Finding the right tools to add meaning and purpose to the goals you set, creating a vision of what you aim to achieve, then developing the motivation and determination to achieve your goals, can give you the kind of rewarding and successful life you desire.
Many of us get trapped by not being able to plan our goal setting, aiming for goals that are simply unattainable and striving for too many goals at once, creating conflict.
Let's look at how to start goal setting:
1) Write down your goals
The first goal of goal setting is to simply write down EVERY GOAL you wish to achieve.
You can either do it on paper, or better still, set up a document on your computer so that once you've recorded all your goals, you can easily prioritize, update or alter your goal plan. At MyGoals you can set up a super-easy goal setting system where they will support you every step of the way.
Establish short and long term goals. The shorter ones will give you a greater sense of achievement when you reach them and provide inspiration to keep on setting new goals.
Longer term goals keep you headed in the right direction and provide the excitement that will motivate you to keep going.
2) Make your goals realistic
You must believe that it is possible for you to achieve your goals or you will quickly lose motivation and quit. More importantly, you must believe that it is possible.
Possible does not mean that you expect it to be easy or even probable. Set the goal posts high enough that you have something to aim for but not so high that you can't see them.
Some of history's greatest moments were the result of people attempting the “impossible,” like flying a plane or putting a man on the moon.
What may seem very achievable for one person may be utterly impossible for the next. It's up to you to decide what you believe is possible, and will achieving it give you a greater sense of satisfaction in a job well done?
Almost any goal, no matter how difficult, can be made easier by breaking it down into several smaller goals, to be tackled one at a time. The completion of so-called “baby steps” is one of the best ways to build confidence, momentum, and a track record of performance.
3) Make your goals measurable and specific
Most of your goals won't be completed in one easy step – you will aim to achieve them in incremental steps, then acknowledge your achievement each step along the way. With the MyGoals plan, you can record each step along the way and measure your achievements as they happen.
Setting a goal like “I will lose weight” is NOT specific. You need to be able to say “I will lose 1 pound each week for the next 10 weeks.” It's too convenient to accept wishy-washy goals; if you're not specific about EXACTLY what it is you want to achieve you can easily lose focus and give up.
But specific and measurable doesn't mean they have to have a specific deadline. A goal like “I plan on making my life more spiritual, relaxed and calm” is an ongoing goal that doesn't require an end date.
4) Your goals don't all have to be difficult
Highly driven goal-oriented people believe that all goals should be leveled at that small spot just before “impossible”, when in fact you should also set goals that don't require a great degree of difficulty. Setting a goal like “I intend to be a nicer person around my family” shouldn't be that difficult to achieve, should it?
Creating a balance of easy and difficult goals, short and long term goals, realistic and bordering on outrageous goals are all in the ballpark.
Understand that it's OK to change goals mid-way through.
Your life doesn't remain stagnant so nor should your goals. People's ideas, opinions and perceptions change, so if a goal becomes redundant or you discover it's simply not going to work the way you intended, change it for a new goal.
The important thing to remember is don't simply discard your goal if it changes – modify or alter it to another goal that's more workable.
The trick is to be honest with yourself and not change or discard your goals so you don't achieve anything.
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