The beginning of another year is upon us. The time of year that everyone gets excited about the possibilities of what they can achieve with the fresh start of a New Year. To better help make your possibilities a reality, I would like to discuss Goal Setting and Goal Getting! Goal Setting is an extremely powerful technique for accomplishment, but for Goal Setting to really be effective it requires more than just writing down what we want to achieve. It is important to apply steps that will help to define exactly what your goals are and implement steps to achieve your goals with more success. Goal setting is about deciding, prioritizing, and organizing the ACTIONS that will be needed to realize achievement. Almost all successful people credit goal setting as the key ingredient of achievement. Anthony Robbins said, “Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.
The following are steps for Successful Goal Setting
1. Form a Goal Statement
A goal statement clearly identifies your specific goal and is the foundation for the goal setting process. Many goal setting experts use the acronym S.M.A.R.T., as a way to define their goal statement. SMART stands for: Specific, Measurable, Action-Oriented, Realistic, Time and Resource Constrained. Goals should be specific to the point that we know exactly what we want to achieve, measurable so we can chart our progress, action-oriented to indicate which actions will produce results, realistic so that we may learn and grow from our actions, and time and resources constrained meaning that there is a deadline for completion and we only have a limited amount of resources to apply toward obtaining our goal.
2. Break your Goal down into ACTION steps
Now that we have formed our Goal Statement, we must break down the actions that will be necessary in order to obtain your goal. Carefully define each action to insure that it contributes to the overall goal, assign and delegate actions if needed, and follow up to insure actions are complete.
3. Stay Motivated and Focused
Motivation and focus are the fuel that runs our goal setting machine. They enable us to continue to work toward our goals when the inevitable failure or challenges emerge, and they will! But from these small victories we gain a sense of achieve and satisfaction from moving that much closer to realizing our success, giving us the knowledge and confidence to set bigger goals in the future. Andrew Carnegie wrote, “If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes.
4. Stay on Track
Reaching our goal requires planning and regular review of our progress, with a little persistence thrown in for good measure. We need some sort of system to keep us organized and accountable. The best method is to keep all information and planning in one place. With either the use of a day planner or the Outlook program on your computer you can organize important task and track your actions.
5. Review your Actions
Goal Setting is a process that takes time and commitment. When breaking down our goals into tasks and actions, patience is definitely required. All tasks and actions should be reviewed at least once a week. The great thing about frequent review is that this forces us to take a realistic look at our progress and the decisions we are making. Regular review allows us to notice tasks and actions that aren’t being achieved on time.
6. Celebrate your Success and Renew Your Goals
Being a Goal Setter and a Goal Getter is a confidence building, motivational creating experience. Goal Getting allows us to gain the knowledge to increase our goals and make new ones. It builds a sense of pride in our self and our staff members. Finally, Goal Getting is mark of a true professional and separates professionals from amateurs.
Reachable goals are WRITTEN.
High achievers always know precisely what they want, because they’ve written it down. Often, they write a short description of their goals every single morning, as a personal reminder of their priorities and their objectives. The act of writing your goals down vastly increases your chance of success. Write it down! Then, keep your notes where you can see and read them every day.
Reachable goals are SHARED.
We are far more likely to stick to our plan and reach our goals if we know our friends and family support us. Being part of a team increases our determination, our stamina, and our courage. Caution: Never share your goals with anyone who may ridicule, tease or discourage you! The world is full of doubters and you have no time for them. But, find a support team, a group of cheerleaders, and a coach who will encourage you every step of the way. High achievers count on and work with other winners!
Reachable goals are CONSISTENT WITH YOUR VALUES.
One of the biggest reasons people fail to achieve their goals is that they have conflict between their behavior and their values. However, when your values and your goals are in agreement, there is no stopping you! Clarify your values first, then set simple, specific, measurable, tangible, written goals that are consistent with those values. You will achieve them, every single time!
