Goal setting
“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
“You have to set goals that are almost out of reach. If you set a goal that is attainable without much work or thought, you are stuck with something below your true talent and potential.”
—Steve Garvey
When you are new to the world of personal development and goal setting, you may be wondering what it is and how to set goals. This article will tell you what goal setting is and how you can set goals.
Setting goals is a worthwhile activity when you wish to achieve anything in life, but following through with these is paramount to success. The advantages of goal setting may not always be that apparent. But in case you continue to persevere, you will learn to realize why setting goals is really important and how it can help to improve the quality of your life. Here are some of the key advantages of setting goals:
1) Come up with a Sense of Purpose
Developing a clear goal will help to give you a sense of purpose. It will give you something important to concentrate your efforts on and strive towards. You will be more likely to attain your goals whenever you feel that you’re doing something important.
2) Take More Control of Your Future
People who set goals take control of their lives. They don’t just let things happen to them. They are clearer about what they need, and they are more determined to achieve those outcomes. If you don’t know what you would like, then it’s highly unlikely you will get it.
3) Concentration on the Main Issue
Having a clear and specified goal gives an individual an emphasis on the future. Keeping this target, all of the relevant actions for achieving the goal start to become better. If you wish to lose weight, for example, you can begin to know the eating style that you have to modify.
4) Keeping Motivated for the long term
It’s not easy to keep motivated about a dream, particularly when it may take many years to get there. But once you get smaller and even more realistic goals, you, in turn, become more inspired. You are able to set smaller milestones that you can concentrate on your efforts on. And every time you achieve a milestone, you feel an excellent sense of accomplishment and stay motivated towards your dream.
5) Stay Focused on What’s Important
We should cope with enormous number of temptations in our daily lives. And you can easily ignore what’s important to us. We usually look back after several years and ask ourselves why we didn’t do something important. But once you set clear goals, you are able to focus better. You are specific about your priorities, and therefore you become more determined to spend some time focusing on your goals.
6) Develop a More Positive Thinking
With clear and appealing goals, you also begin to build a more positive attitude. You know what you have, something crucial in your life that you have to achieve. And as you make progress towards your goals, you feel more excited and develop much more self-confidence. All of this results in a more positive attitude in your life.
While there are various important things about goal setting, one benefit stands out above the rest. The ability to accomplish a major task or to achieve a dream is the greatest benefit of all.
The Number One Secret in Goal Setting Activities
Goal setting is the most powerful tool you can ever use to achieve your dreams. In fact, most successful people have set goals to achieve amazing results in their lives. So, if you want to get the same amazing results, you need to follow in the footsteps of these successful people by setting goals.
Although goal setting is a powerful tool, most people who set goals fail to achieve them because they do not take steps to achieve their goals. And the main reason most people don’t act is that their goals aren’t interesting enough. Their goals did not lead them to action.
If there is one thing you can do to achieve whatever you want in your life, it is to set goals. Studies have shown that goal-setting works and works great when you know how to set strong, inspired, and motivated goals. However, most people do not know how to set goals.
Many people just set their goals and forget about them. Once they set their goal, they thought they could sit and watch TV, and their goals would be fulfilled automatically. This is not possible. Therefore, you need to use the power of goal setting to achieve much more in your life. What you want here is smart goal setting, not just simple goal setting.
Most people fail when they set goals because they don’t really know what they want. Maybe you have a very clear financial goal today, and maybe you want to earn $ 1 million in 2 years. The question is, do you know why you want to do it? Too often, people do not know why they want to achieve their goals. As you know, reason leads you, not the end itself.
Therefore, you need to make sure that you know exactly why you are trying to achieve your goals. If your reason is not clear, even if you have a clear goal, you will soon lose the drive to achieve it. This is because you do not have a strong reason to do so. Now, all you have to do is figure out what you really want before you really start. This is your life and your future; Take time to figure out what you really want in your life.
If your desire for your goals is very strong, no matter how impossible it may seem, you will somehow achieve your goals. Remember, your motive is to take the necessary steps to achieve your goals.
This is because working harder and exercising is not enough to achieve your goal of stretching. You need to think outside the box and use specific strategies to achieve them.
Final Verdict:-
If you want to set goals, set broad goals, not set incremental goals. This way, you will be more motivated to take action, and achieving your goals will be easier.
Good books have been written on “Goal setting”. Some of them include: –
Ø Creating Your Best Life – Caroline Miller, MAPP
Ø Your Best Year Ever – Michael Hyatt
Ø The Book of Mistakes – Skip Prichard
Ø Big Potential – Shawn Anchor
Ø The Desire Map – Danielle LaPorte
Link for some learnings: –
https://www.mindtools.com/page6.html
https://collegeforadultlearning.edu.au/effective-goal-setting-set-and-achieve-goals/
Questions for reflection: –
- What was the biggest change you made within the last year?
2. What were your top three personal and professional accomplishments within the last year? How did they make you feel?
3. What were three of your biggest personal or professional challenges? How did you feel when you were faced with a challenge?