How to set goals – tips and advice

How to set goals? Setting goals is not just writing down what you want on a piece of paper. There are various factors that make good goal setting practices. If you are going to spend some time setting goals, you might as well do the best job that you can.

One thing to remember is to set goals in various areas of your life. We need balance. What’s the point if you’re really successful in your career but you don’t have a good relationship with your family? Would you consider it a success if you are super rich but have various health problems?

Our lives are made up of various aspects. You do not want to neglect any part of it. Success in one area but failure in another is not a victory. It is a draw.

Personally for me, I set goals for the following categories;

• Physical

• Financial

• Career

• Emotions

• Mind & spirit

• Relationships

• Family

• Contribution

• Growth

• Community and;

• Friendship

How to set goals…..

Here are some guidelines on how to set goals ;

1. The reason – What is your reason for that goal? Write it down next to the goal. Having a strong reason keeps you on track when the going gets tough. It will keep you going and not give up.

2. Be specific – Be as specific and detailed as possible. Apart from increasing your motivation, being specific helps you determine where to start, what to do, and most importantly, how to know when you have achieved it.

3. Have an action plan - Develop an action plan as part of the goal setting. Identify what action would you take, how to do it, what resources would you need (and what do you already have) and what are the possible obstacles and how to mitigate those obstacles

4. Short & long term - Set both short and long term goals. Long term goals are your ultimate desired outcome, while short term goals are the steps to reach that ultimate outcome.

5. Schedule it - Have a timeline for achieving your goals. Make it practical but not too long. Set timelines for short term goal milestones, ultimate long term goal as well as schedule your action items. Schedule for action items should preferably be on a weekly or monthly basis.

6. Review - Review your goals constantly. Track your progress. As you see your progress, you will get motivated. In addition reviewing will help ensure that you’re not going in the wrong direction.

7. Get into a positive state when setting goals

8. Make it public - Making your goals public (telling everyone about it) will give you positive pressure to do it and not slack off.

9. Use power words - Use powerful words like ‘majestic’ ‘superb’ ‘phenomenal’ ‘invincible’ etc in your goal setting. It amplifies the effect.

10. Be decisive - Be decisive in your goal setting and stick to it. Don’t get into the habit of constantly changing your goals.

11. Reward & celebrate - Remember to reward yourself and celebrate when you have achieved a goal. Always reward yourself whenever you achieved a short term goal, and have a full on celebration for your long term goals.

12. Take immediate action - Finally, never leave the site of your goal setting without taking some immediate action. Immediately do something that you have identified in your action plan. This way you keep and continue to build on the momentum gained during goal setting.

Final thoughts….

Capacity to handle setbacks is one of the most important abilities for you to develop. Always remember that there are no failures, only feedback. Goal setting is not just about achieving the goal, it is about the journey to get there as well.

Take it as a lesson, an experience, learn from it and move on. Don’t take life too seriously. A failure to achieve something isn’t the end of the world. Pick yourself up and try again.

Hope this helps you know more about how to set goals. Have fun with it!!

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