Personal
Goal Setting
Six steps to
success
Everyone can use a little help in setting goals. Perhaps you want to
take a really fantastic vacation, make a life-changing move, advance
your career, gain better grades or pay off debt. Your personal goals are
just that - personal. However, how you set your personal goals and how
you achieve those goals can be remarkably similar for everyone.
Follow these six steps and you're on your
way to personal goal setting success.
1.
Dream the goal
Make
a list of everything that you think you want ... all the goals you
think you want to achieve. They may involve money, or material things,
or better relationships, or a special vacation, a career change or a change in your
personal attitudes or habits.
Take paper and apen and go somewhere where you can be uninterrupted. Write down everything that comes to mind.
Don't judge or dismiss any of your ideas.
After
you have written down your list of goals, put the list away for a
few days. Some of the things you wrote may begin creating a burning
energy in your mind.
Review your list in about a week and see which of the goals you're still
interested in. Anything that you don't feel strongly about should be
removed from the list. Goal setting will not work if you're not really
committed to achieving the goal.
After
you identify the goal or goals that you want to work on start writing
everything down. A notebook just for your goals can be very
helpful. Write down your goal on the first page of your notebook and start
rating them in order of the least to most important.
2.
Identify the
obstacles that may prevent you from achieving the goal
After
you've set your goal, make a list of things that may threaten the
successful achievement of the goal and what you can do to remove those
threats.
For
example, will the pursuit of your goal create a conflict with another
member of your family? Write down ALL the obstacles that you feel may prevent you from
reaching your goal.
This
is a particularly important part of goal setting because it takes all of
the obstacles that seem so huge and reduces them to no more than words on
paper. Once the obstacles are clearly defined frequently they are easily solved.
3.
Identify the
things you need to help you achieve the goal.
After
you've identified the obstacles, make a written list of the things you
will need in order to achieve your goal.
This
list should include any people whose cooperation will help you work
towards your personal goals. You may find that some items on this list will represent solutions to the problems you wrote down earlier.
4.
Set a date for the
achievement of your personal goal
Setting a date for the attainment of your goal is the ignition for the
goal-seeking missile in your mind. Make sure that your date is
realistic... not so soon that it's impossible, but not so delayed that
you'll lose interest.
Make
sure you write the date of your goal down next to your goal. Once you've
set this date, avoid changing it unless absolutely
necessary.
5.
Write down the
goal. Review it often.
Once
you have your goal and the date in writing, make more reminders of your
goal. Put these reminders all around your house, your car, your
bedroom, your office.
They
will remind you of your goal and the date that the goal will be achieved, and each time you see this
affirmation you will be programming your
mind to take action toward your goal. This is a vital step.
WRITE
IT DOWN. REVIEW IT OFTEN
5.
Make a
step-by-step plan
First, let's review: You know what you want and you know you want it
badly.
You
have identified the obstacles you need to overcome before you can achieve
your goal and you know whose help and cooperation is required. You've
set the date for the attainment of the goal.
Now,
make a step-by-step action plan. Write down every little thing, no
matter how small, that you must do in order to reach your goal.
Break
down
the project into small chunks... If you have a complicated
list, jot down all the ideas that come to mind and later put them into
date order.
If
necessary, number them and then type them into a word processor or
re-write them in date sequence. Each item should also have a deadline
for accomplishment so you can remain on target.
This
is an important part of your goal achievement so don't cut corners on
your plan, especially if it is a complicated goal or there are a lot of
obstacles to overcome.
6.
Follow your plan!
This
is the fun part, because after you've set and reached your first
milestone,
you'll know that all you have to do to achieve your goal is to follow
your plan!
Review your plan every single day. Work on something on your list every
single day.
