Effective Goal Setting
Goal setting is a very effective and common technique used by high-achievers. It is also a technique that has been tried unsuccessfully by a lot of frustrated people. Both set goals, but only the achievers were able to use them effectively. Why is that so? Is it a flaw with the goal setting method itself or is a flaw with how you go about doing it?
If you want to be a highly successful individual, you need to know how to set goals effectively. Note the use of the word "effectively." It is not enough to set goals, it is important to set them effectively. This article examines how you can set effective goals that will further your personality development, growth and success.
The method used in this article is to help you get to an effective goal, from just any goal. It will help you identify where your goal setting is flawed, and help you correct it.
Step 1:
You need to choose a goal at this step. It is not advisable to set a lot of goals at the same time. You can focus on a single goal for a month, and if things go well, you can start working on another goal while still working on this one.
It is extremely important to write down your goals. Why? When you write down a goal, it changes from being an abstract idea in your head to a written down requirement. It channels your mind's resources because now it is a solid statement to your brain, rather than a fuzzy ambition.
So as a first step, write down a goal. Go ahead, write down the best goal you can think of. It will give you an idea of where you goal setting techniques are at this moment. By the end of this article, you would have transformed this goal into an effective one. For example, we will consider your goal to be "Don't shy away from public speaking"
Step 2:
Now take a long, hard look at your goal. Ask yourself the following questions, and proceed only if the answer to all these questions is Yes. Otherwise, go back and choose a different goal.
Is this goal important to me?
Is this goal going to help me move up in my life?
Is this my own goal, and not something my family/friends/media/society wants for me?
Is this goal attainable? (You may want to ponder this question hard. If you don't believe a goal to be attainable, it simply won't be so, however trivial it may be. If you think it is possible, however, then you can move mountains!)
Is this goal in alignment with my overall life plan?
Is your goal something that does not contradict your other goals?
Is your goal consistant with your values?
Is your goal independant of factors beyound your control? (Otherwise you may want to reword it so that it would be a performance goal and not an outcome goal)
Step 3:
Now that you have an important, helpful, attainable, value-bound goal of your own that is aligned with your life plan and other goals, you can move to the next step. It is about the "action word" in your goal. Does your goal have a positive action word, like complete/finish/improve/do/perform/study etc? If not, rewrite your goal so that it has one. Also, your goal should not contain words like don't/mustn't/won't/shouldn't etc. So now we will examine our goal.
You can see that the example goal has a negative word "don't" and no positive action word in it. So rewrite the example goal as follows: "Improve my public speaking skills." There, now that is much better!
Step 4:
This step is about setting a time limit for attaining your goal. Look at your written goal statement. Does it contain a completion date attached to it? If not, then write one down. Make sure it is realistic - that means you can't change your goal so it reads "Be the best public speaker in my country by next week." Also make sure it is not too easy either. Find a balance. We will rewrite our example goal as follows "Improve my public speaking skills by 31st December of this year."
Step 5:
Make it specific. Write an elaborate goal which details what exactly you are expecting to achieve - so that you can MEASURE your success. It is very important that goals are specific and measurable. So we will now rewrite our goal to be "Speak confidently and enthusiastically in front of ten different groups of an average 100 people each by 31st December of this year."
Step 6:
Drill it down to mini-goals. If your main goal has a timeframe of one year, divide it to many shorter term goals, of timeframes of months. Again drill them down to timeframe of weeks, and maybe even days. Make sure each of these mini-goals follow all the steps given above.
Step 7:
Visualize it. Imagine yourself having already achieved these goals, and visualize it in elaborate detail. Get creative, and motivate yourself by visualizing your desired outcome. Get into a positive frame of mind.
Step 8:
Share your goals with positive, encouraging people. Enlist the help of a supportive, understanding and helpful friend in keeping you focussed on your goal. The fact that someone else knows your goal could create enough peer pressure to keep you on your path. If you don't have any supportive friends or family, you can join support groups of other people working on the same or similar goals. If there are no such groups in your locality, you can always find some online.
Step 9:
Lay the ground-work. Educate yourself if in detail about your goal - read extensively about public speaking, research the various tips and tricks, join public speaking groups, start with speaking in front of a couple friends and move up the ladder and so on.
Step 10:
Be passionate about your goal. Great things will only be achieved by those who have sustained passion and are willing to commit to their goals. Enjoy working on your goal. Keep a goal journal and track your path. Blog about your goal. Review your goal periodically and assess your performance. Rewrite it if necessary.
These are some methods that can propel you towards a high success rate with goal setting. You may also want to check out the article on Overcoming Procrastination so that you can get things done on time.
This article was featured in the Carnival of Inspiration and Motivation, Personal Development Carnival - 39th Issue and Carnival of Personal Power and Self Help.
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