Goal Setting

“All successful people have a goal. No-one can get anywhere unless he knows where he wants to go and what he wants to be or do” – Norman Vincent Peale

Think of a goal as a target; an ambition; a dream. Allow yourself to think big. What is it you really want? What is it you want achieve in your life and want do you want to achieve in your business? What prompted you to begin your business? Where would you like to go with your career; where would you like your business to take you or where would you like to take it? What is your ultimate goal? Now is not the time to feel restricted by mundane realities: dare to dream. After all, if you’re unable to imagine the possibilities, those possibilities can never become realities.

Why should I set goals?

Setting yourself a goal in life is a powerful way of motivating yourself to turn a dream into a reality. Setting yourself some goals in the running of your business will have an equally powerful effect. Once you set yourself a goal, you’ve created a vision of your future. Perhaps you have a particular financial goal in mind; perhaps your desire to be self-employed stems from the goal of achieving a particular lifestyle but knowing what it is you want to achieve allows you to focus your efforts on what you’ll need to do to get you there. Having that focus means you’re able to concentrate on the things that are really important in your life and you’re also less likely to become distracted by the things that really aren’t!

“If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time” – Author Unknown

How do I set goals?

Once you’ve set your sights on your ultimate goal, next you need a series of lesser goals to help you achieve it. Think of these smaller goals as stepping-stones to help you progress towards your bigger goals.

It’s often said that the game of golf reflects life. In golf, the ultimate goal is to complete the entire course but to do that, eighteen individual holes must be played. Each of these holes becomes a smaller, stepping-stone goal towards the big goal of playing the whole course and each hole in itself requires another set of mini goals to be put in place as a hole-in-one is a rare occurrence.

Think of life the same way. Plan a series of stepping-stone smaller goals to help you reach your big goal. Setting manageable mini goals in place will not only help you to stay on track but will also help to keep you motivated when the ultimate goal feels a long way off. Applying the same techniques in your business life will help to promote continuing growth and keep you on target to realizing your ultimate ambition.

Goals can be described as long-term, your ultimate goal, or short-term, your mini goals but all goals must be smart goals to be effective:

S – specific

What exactly is it that you want to achieve?

Perhaps your ambition is to be rich. How rich? Maybe you dream of being successful. How successful?  The desire to be rich and successful is a goal but it’s not a specific goal. The ambition to be rich could be made more specific by changing it to, ‘I want to have one million dollars in my bank account.’ The dream of being successful could be made more specific by changing it to, ‘I want to win the Business Of The Year award.’

M – Measurable

It must be possible to measure exactly the outcome of each goal set. For example, it would be very easy to measure the goal of having one million dollars in your bank account but it would be difficult to measure just being rich. At what point would you know you’d achieved the goal of being rich? If you dream of running a successful business, how would you quantify success?

A – Achievable

All goals, whether long-term or short-term, must be based on reality but this should never prevent you from aiming high. Becoming a multi-millionaire is realistic; winning a prestigious award is realistic, but aiming to achieve everything by close of business today is not!

R – Recorded

Without accurate records, it becomes impossible to track progress – or indeed, lack of it! If goals can be measured, they can be recorded and by keeping up-to-date records it becomes possible to ensure that all mini goals are keeping you on target towards your big goal. It’s important that all of your efforts achieve worthy results and keeping records  allows you to note where adjustments may be needed to keep you on the right track.

T – Timed or Time-Phased

By when will you have one million dollars in your bank account? In what year will you win the Business Of The Year award? Setting yourself carefully planned short-term goals can really help to keep your motivation high and achieving regular mini goals will boost your confidence, keeping you going when the going gets tough.

“Write it down. Written goals have a way of transforming wishes into wants; cant’s into cans; dreams into plans; and plans into realities. Don’t just think it – ink it!’

- Author Unknown

Can I Change My Goals?

Writing down your goals creates a sense of commitment but you’re not writing them in stone!

If planned goals are proving too difficult to achieve, motivation levels are likely to drop. This is also the case if goals are proving too easy to achieve. Research has shown that the most effective goals are realistic and challenging. Experience, along with trial and error, will determine how effective your planned goals actually are. The important thing to remember is that goal setting is just the beginning of a journey. Circumstances may change along the way, unexpected opportunities may arise, and the outcome of smaller goals may affect your approach to bigger goals. Be flexible – change can be a good thing.

Can I Side-Step?

Goal setting is a process that allows you to chart a path through your personal life or the life of your business. Although it’s important to plan your route, an equally important element of the goal setting process is to be flexible. It’s unlikely that your journey through life will follow one straight road so you must be prepared to navigate your way around occasional obstacles that attempt to block your chosen path.

In the game of golf, you may be aiming for the putting green as you take a swing at the ball but then find yourself in some rough ground at the edge of the fairway. This wasn’t part of your plan but it doesn’t mean ‘game over.’ As a golfer, you would simply continue to aim for the green with your next shot, planning that shot from where the ball landed.

This can be mirrored in the game of life. You may miss your target, your stepping-stone goal, but it’s not ‘game over’ in terms of achieving your dream. It wasn’t part of your plan but it must be viewed as nothing more than a side-step. Taking a side-step may add a little time to your journey but it needn’t prevent you from reaching your planned destination.

“In achieving your goals, you may run into roadblocks. Don’t let that stop you, go around, over, or under. If you are committed to your goal you will find a way”

- Catherine Pulsifier

What Happens When I Get There?

Arriving at your planned destination may be the end of one journey but this simply means it’s time to begin another. Achieving one goal creates an opportunity to set another. Goal setting should be a continuing process. Experience gained on your journey will allow you to broaden your horizons. Success builds success. Achieving your personal goals builds self-confidence and achieving your business goals builds the business world’s confidence in you. Set yourself some new goals. Continue to think big – think bigger! Continue to aim high – aim higher!

“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

Give yourself the winners edge & Learn how to attain any goal

Tags: business planning, Goals, How to set goals, Life Dreams, lifes direction, success coach

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