Top 5 Tips for Goal Setting
July 4th, 2008 by hbond{{stephanie}} Goal setting is extremely important but only a small number of us actually participate in it. By outlining what we want in the future and how we are going to get there…the difficult part is complete.
Goals are an important part of any segment of one’s life. You can have personal, professional, athletic, leisure, spiritual, familial or relationship goals. All of which can create who you are and who you want to be. I started writing out my goals about 2 years ago. I never thought that it was making a difference until one day I sat down with a friend of mine and looked at my goals from a year ago. Each and every single one had been met. WOW!! Fantastic. It was very exciting because when I thought back to how I achieved each one, I realized that by listing them and looking at them regularly, I did not feel as though the goals were huge unachievable things. Rather, my goals started to feel like logical next steps. Below are my top 5 tips for goal setting:
1. Think before you write…and don’t be afraid to edit
Really go through that head of yours and think about all of the different things that truly make up what others see as you. Think about who you want to be in life and how and what it will take to get you there. Write out each one in a journal or notebook that you will look at regularly. Most importantly, feel free to edit. Feelings change and life throws us surprises that we never expected…so don’t worry, just change them. Your allowed!
2. Be Realistic
The worst thing you can do is write out goals that you will only ever achieve if a miracle happens. Write out goals that offer a challenge but that are also in the realm of possibility.
3. Take Baby Steps
Try writing out goals that are incremental steps to a greater purpose. For example, join a local running group. This goal focused on something attainable and realistic but something you have to work for nonetheless. The fact is that your goal could be that you want to run a marathon but you have never run before in your life. Baby steps!
4. Look at them often
Look at your goals daily if you can. They will keep you focused and a constant reminder for what you want. Some people like to use visuals on a goal board and others enjoy journaling. I have tried both and liked them each for different reasons so try them out and see what works for you.
5. Have both Short and Long Term Goals
Although baby steps is important, you also need to have a bigger picture in mind. Write out your long term goals and then break it down. What little steps will help you get to the greater goals?
Good Luck!!
~S
“It was very exciting because when I thought back to how I achieved each one, I realized that by listing them and looking at them regularly, I did not feel as though the goals were huge unachievable things. Rather, my goals started to feel like logical next steps” This is amazing i completely agree with you and appreciated your steps of achieving goals. Very nice post
I like your post and it is really relevent, taking baby steps seems to be one of the hardest things for people to do, yet one of the most important so that you don’t end up feeling overwhelmed and quitting altogether.
I like to add that one of the ways I teach my clients to keep to the baby steps idea is to imagine their goal is accomplished in all its glory and then trace a timeline back to the present, noticing what steps lead to events and note these steps down, it can really help to follow this trail as your mind knows where to go and your imagination can take you there and help create the right state of mind a lot more quickly than you can without it.
Annie
http://infinitelisuccessful.blogspot.com
Hi there, Thank you for a good article. I am having trouble focusing on my goal (profession and in general life). But after reading your blogg I found out that I am following all your steps except “take baby steps”. I guess I should try to small steps at the time instead of trying to make major jumps as I am doing today.
Yea, if you’re not realistic when writing goals, it’ll do you no good.
Annie I think that you hit the nail on the head. To have your clients imagine. their goal accomplished, they are able to see the big picture and therefore able to trace how to get there.
Mylovelywardrobe–baby steps was my issue too! I would say, okay, I want to make 1o sales but I wouldn’t map out how many calls that would take or what activity would be needed to get there. Baby steps was a huge discovery for me. It is very helpful!
Thank you for your comments everyone!
~S
Well, no matter what they say I really like your post. Thank you so much for the good article. It is very helpful to me.
that’s a good article.goal setting is important for life with out which you can’t accomplish anything. these steps how to set goals would help who have not yet set any goal
I love goal setting. Thank you for the valuable tips.
Great article…I think the key point to remember is to look at your goals often. I personally like to review my goals first thing in the morning and last thing before I go to bed.