For many people, setting goals is not something they enjoy doing. In fact, one person told me that she does not believe in setting goals. She believes in creating a vision. Creating your vision for where you want to go is truly valuable. Your vision is like the ultimate destination you want to arrive at. Your goals are equally valuable because they create the path you need to take In order to arrive at your destination.
If you want to position yourself for success in life, you need to set goals. Without goals, you will lack focus and direction in your life. Not only do goals allow you to take control of your life, but they also provide you with the benchmarks for determining your success. Setting goals begin with a careful consideration of what you want to achieve and end with actions to achieve it. Here are five secrets of goal setting that position you for success.
Set Goals that Motivate You
If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes.
~ Andrew Carnegie
Set goals that motivate you to achieve the top priorities in your life. If you have limited interest in the outcome of your goals, or they are irrelevant to the bigger picture, your motivation to work on achieving them will be low. It requires a commitment to achieve your goals, thus it’s important to set specific goals that motivate you.
Set SMART Goals
For your goals to be powerful, they need to be SMART. This means that in order to increase your chances of success, your goals need to be:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Relevant
- Time Bound
Put Your Goals in Writing
The discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen.
~ Lee Iaccoca
When you physically write down your goal, it becomes real and tangible. It eliminates any chance that you will forget about it. Be sure to frame your goal statement in a positive way to help increase the rate of retention. Post your goals where you will see them every day as a constant reminder of what you want to achieve.
Create an Action Plan
Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.
~ Pablo Picasso
One of the things that will easily sabotage the success of your goals is a failure to create an action plan. Take the time to write down the individual steps that you will need to take to achieve your goals. You may need to break down actions into smaller steps so that they become manageable. As you complete each level, cross it off so you can visually see the progress that you are making.
Stick with It
Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.
~ T.S. Eliot
Goal setting is an ongoing activity, not merely a means to an end. Keep yourself on track by creating reminders, and schedule regular blocks of time to sit down and review your goals and progress. You want to make sure that the relevance, necessity, and value remain high as you work toward accomplishing your goals. Setting goals are more than merely saying you want something to happen. In order to set goals that position you for success, you need to clearly define exactly what you want and understand why you want it in the first place.
Implement the foregoing five secrets in all your goal setting endeavors and you’re much more likely to achieve them.
