I have always been big on setting goals. To me, how do you accomplish anything of substance in life if you don’t have goals? Needless to say, I’m a big fan of goal setting. I have daily, monthly, and yearly goals for myself and my businesses.
One of the biggest traditions known to modern man is the setting of goals around New Years. I know I’ve been guilty of doing this but that was till it finally dawned on me how silly it was. Since then, I’ve been kind of notorious for my goal-setting practices. Goal setting took me from living with my parents with no job, no money, or college degree to living on my own in a new state with a job and a bachelor’s degree in a matter of three years! It all started with setting some goals for myself.
Setting Goals
One thing that people often do when setting goals is they come up with goals and that is it. That doesn’t work and here is why: for each goal you have, you also need a reason or reasons why you want to achieve this goal. You don’t need a ton of reasons why you want to achieve some goal. But you do need empowering reasons which will fuel your fire and push you towards reaching your goal.
So the first thing you must do is write down what your goal is. The more specific the goal is- the better. Don’t just write down, “I want a new car”. Put down, “I want a brand-new, black Mercedes-Benz convertible with leather interior and the following features…” And don’t fall into the trap of telling yourself you’ll just remember what your goal is and leave it at that. Your goal is not “real” till you write it down- trust me.
The Whys Behind Your Goals
Now, for each goal you have, write down why you want to achieve this goal. It could be a couple of reasons or it could take a couple sheets of paper to write them all down. It doesn’t matter as long as they inspire you to reach your goal. So come up with reasons which will empower and inspire you to want to reach your goal. And take your time with this step because if the Whys behind your goal don’t inspire you, then you have failed before you even started.
For example, say your goal is to get a new job. Some of the Whys you could write down are:
I want a new job because I want to make more money so I can travel more and buy a new house.
I want a new job where I am appreciated for all the hard work I do.
I want a new job which will help me achieve my career goals and allow me to move to a different country.
Like I mentioned before, it doesn’t matter how many Whys you come up with. What is important is they inspire you and give you the juice you need to achieve them no matter what happens.
Putting Together Your Goal Plan
At this point you should have your goal wrote down along with empowering reasons why you want to achieve it. Now you need to figure out how you are going to reach your goal. For example, say you want to lose some weight. On another sheet of paper (or you could just use the one you have been using), write down the steps you think you will need to take to lost weight.
One step could be to see your doctor to get a physical. Another step could be to start a gym membership. Another could be to join a weight-loss group in your community. It is best to just set aside a good 15 to 30 minutes and just brainstorm.
Then, once you have some steps wrote down, you need to take immediate action. This means getting up and doing one of the steps you just wrote down. Using our weight-loss example, you could get on the phone and schedule an appointment with your doctor to discuss your weight-loss plan and to have your physical done. Another example would be to go into your kitchen and throw all your junk food and pop out. Taking immediate action like this will help get you into the right mindset to achieve your goal.
Having goals can be fun and very rewarding. You may find yourself changing your goals or even discarding some goals as your life and needs change. That is to be expected. If you have never set goals before or if you have but became frustrated because you never reached them or you would achieve a goal but feel like it didn’t really matter, give my suggestions a try. You just may find yourself achieving things you never thought possible!
What are your thoughts on setting goals. Do you do it? Do you follow these steps or do you have another methodology? Let us know in the Comments section. Thanks!
Photo courtesy of Eschipul
