In order to achieve success, you need to set your goals. Goal setting is a very important factor that determines your path to success.
Success is determined and measured by the goals you have accomplished. Goal setting gives direction to your life and boosts your motivation and self-confidence.
According to the Webster’s Dictionary, the definition for goal is “The final purpose or aim; the end to which a design tends or which a person aims to reach or attain.”
As can be seen from the above definition, you can deduce that one of the main reasons why people do not achieve what they want, is that they do not have clear goals.
Without clear a goal or purpose, you will not have a clear sense of purpose for your life. You will be moving with the wind and believe me, it can be very frustrating and brings a lot of unhappiness.
The other thing that can be can be seen from the definition is that a goal is the final purpose of an aim. If your final aim is not clear enough, you will surely have an unclear and unsatisfactory end result.
When you want to achieve good results, it is better to be more specific with what you want to achieve with your life, your goal must be clear.
If its finances you want, rather put an amount of money you want to earn say, $10,000 per month by a specific date and not just say I want to earn a lot of money.
The more specific and precise you are, the easier it is to measure your progress towards your set targets.
Here are 5 simple tips that you can use when setting your goals:-
Write Down Your Targets
Why should you write down your goals? There is power in writing. Writing down your life’s objectives helps create a vision in your mind that constantly reminds you of what you want to achieve with your life.
They say you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down.
You become what think about every day. What you think about becomes what you see every day.
Make a list of your goals by writing them down. This will also serve as your commitment to the goals that you have set. Studies have shown that goals are more motivating when you put them into writing rather than just enumerating them in your mind.
Read them every day until they become embedded in your mind. Know your goals by heart they are yours after all.
When writing your goals, be sure to include your action plan and put a timeframe. This will help you work hard knowing that you have a timed target to meet.
Make a Regular Check of Your Goals
Assess yourself regularly based on the progress you are making towards the achievement of your ambitions and intentions.
Evaluate how many goals you have achieved. Also, assess yourself if you were able to accomplish your action plans within the set timeframe.
Be honest with yourself when evaluating your progress. The good thing about checking on your progress is that it gives you an idea of how far you are from achieving your overall objectives.
I evaluate my progress on a monthly basis. I also have a quarterly review that I use to make major adjustments and changes to both the processes and the plans.
You should not be afraid to make changes when necessary. Change is important and should be embraced.
Regular review of your goals is very important as it gives you the motivation to know what you can do better or what should be done to improve on your progress.
This also gives you an overall idea of whether you are in tandem with your life’s purpose or not.
Take Action
Perhaps the most important tip is taking action. You can have all the beautiful goals in the world but without taking action they are just but a dream.
A goal is nothing but a dream if you do not do something to accomplish it.
Based on your assessment, you can either continue or change your action plans.
If one was not effective, then find other ways on how you can achieve your goals.
The most important thing in all our endeavours is taking action. Do not let procrastination or anything else stop you from acting on your set objectives.
Do something, anything, every day that will help you move closer to your objectives. The more positive action the closer you move towards your success.
I have come to understand that the small things I do every day help me move closer to my goals.
I do not put them off instead I make sure that I tick off most of my daily tasks on my daily to-do list. Yes, I know that sometimes I just feel like not doing anything, but I do them anyway.
I review my action list on a daily basis. You see over time I have learned to carry a small personal notebook. I call it my ideas notebook.
This is where I write my ideas and all things that have to be done on a daily basis. This book has become so important to me that I cannot leave home without it.
Constantly taking action creates a positive cycle that helps you move confidently towards your desired success.
Taking action also allows you to overcome the fears of life. We fail mainly because of fear. Those who succeed are those who act on their dreams.
Be Motivated
You may want to share your goals and aspirations with your family or close friends. Your family and friends can help motivate and support you in achieving your goals.
They can also help you in your action plans and even remind you whenever you tend to forget the goals you have set.
Sharing your life’s objectives with your family is helpful. You need people you can trust, who can help you achieve your goals and your family is the perfect fit.
They may not help you financially but the moral support and love they give you can help to keep you motivated.
When you know that you are loved and that you have the support of your family it gives you peace of mind.
It motivates you to work even harder. You concentrate on the things that matter to ensure that you do not let your family and friends down.
Look, at the end of the day, we all work so that we can provide a better life for our families. They are the number one reason why you wake up early in the morning, every day.
If you are a parent you will agree with me that your number one priority are your spouse and children.
Be Determined
Always be confident that you can achieve the goals that you have set. However, it is important that you set goals that are realistic and can be achieved in a specific timeframe.
If you set unachievable goals, they may only cause you frustrations.
Conclusion
To me, a winner is someone who recognizes their God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses those skills to accomplish his goals. Even when I lost, I learned what my weaknesses were and I went out the next day to turn those weaknesses into strengths. – Larry Bird.
Goal setting can change the way you look at your life. I encourage you to develop a habit of goal setting.
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