HOW TO EFFECTIVELY SET GOALS AND ACHIEVE THEM.

You have heard this before, but you must admit that it is true, without goals you will live your life drifting from one thing to another and your life can lack focus and direction. Once you set personal goals you are putting yourself in the driver’s seat of your journey. Once you set goals, you have the power to transform your own life in whatever direction you choose.  Goal setting not only allows you to take control of your life’s direction; it also provides a benchmark for determining whether you are actually succeeding or not.

If you want to accomplish your goals, first you need to learn how to set them, here I will give you some recommendations on how to set goals and create a check and balance process so that you will not abandon your goals along the way.

Have you thought about what you want to be doing five years from now? Are you clear about what your main objective is? Do you even know what you want to achieve by the end of today?

If your intention is to succeed, you need to set goals. If you don’t is like going on a road trip without a map or GPS, you will not know how far you have gone and how much further you need to go and you will not know which way to go. Goals act as a road map for your life.

So, if you want to succeed, you need to set goals.

Define Your Core Values

Before you set a goal, it’s essential that you define your core values.  Don’t start with goal setting until you’re crystal clear on your values. 

Your values guide your actions and decisions in life. They are the things that you believe are important in your personal and professional life, and they determine how you interact with other people and define your priorities. 

Your values guide the choices you make and determine whether your life turns out the way you want. When your actions and life align with your core values, you experience happiness and purpose in your life. On the other hand, when you don’t act in accordance with your values, you feel profound dissatisfaction.

Effective goal setting drives you toward the things you value. Andrew Carnegie said, “If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.”

Before you can set helpful goals, you need to know what you value most. Start by asking yourself these questions:

• Who do I want to be? 
• What things matter most to me? 
• What makes me happy?
• What energizes me? 
• What do I want people to say about me at the end of my life? 
• What am I willing to sacrifice for? 
• Who do I look up to and why?

By carefully examining your personal values, you can identify what matters most in your life. Then you can tailor your goals so that they align with your values and help you create a life that is meaningful.

8 RULES FOR GOAL SETTING :

1.  Set goals that motivate you.

One way you know is if they are important to you and that you see value in achieving them. If you are not extremely interested in the outcome, it will not work. Motivation is key to achieving your goals. Your goals should relate to the high priorities in your life what genuinely motivates you because goal achievement requires commitment. To motivate yourself, write down what those goals are important and valuable to you.  If it does not excite you is probably not worth pursuing.

2.  Set your goals to follow the SMART acronym (2)

Goals should be:

         Specific

         Measurable

         Attainable

         Relevant

         Time-Bound

SPECIFIC: Your goal must be clear and well-defined so that you know where you want to end up.

MEASURABLE: Include precise dates, amounts so that you can measure your degree of success.

SET ATTAINABLE GOALS: Make sure your goals are achievable, if you set a goal that you have no hope of achieving, you will only demoralize yourself and you will lose confidence in achieving goals.

SET RELEVANT GOALS: Your goals should be relevant to the direction you would like your life to take.

SET TIME BOUND GOALS: Your goals must have a deadline so that you can plan to celebrate your success.

Following the Smart goal setting will allow you to evaluate your progress objectively.

3.  Set your goals in writing:

Once you write your goals down, the goals seemed real, tangible, and important. It will be a reminder. Use action words like I will versus I would like or might because it gives you a mission to be accomplished.

4.  Make an Action Plan:

You need to write the individual steps that are needed to accomplish your goals. You can make a To-Do- List and cross each one off as you complete the steps. You will be encouraged to see your progress toward your goals.

5.  Stick with it

Do not quit. Review your goals and keep going down the list. Set reminders to keep yourself on track.

6.  Be accountable

When you are working towards a goal, things are bound to get tough. When facing adversity, you have to hold yourself accountable. Telling your family and friends about your goals may give you the responsibility you need, helping you gather the support system to give you a push. If you remain accountable in your everyday life, you will also surround yourself with constant encouragement from those who are following your progress.

7.  Anticipate Roadblocks

The journey to accomplishing your goal may not be a straight line, it means that you will be met with opposition, challenges, and obstacles on the way to your goal. If you are not mentally prepared for them, these are enough to

1. Take you off course
2. Stop you and make you quit

So, before you start, prepare yourself mentally to meet obstacles, and to find the means and resources to overcome them.

Make a list in advance of all the potential roadblocks you think you will or can encounter. Then make a contingency plan for overcoming those.

8. Reward yourself for accomplishments.

When you accomplish a goal, you've devoted time and effort to your success, so take the time to celebrate your success, too.

I hope these tips are helpful and that you will be putting them to good use. If you would like to know more about how I use these tips to help individuals set goals and achieve them, I offer a FREE 45-minute Purpose-Inspired Living Breakthrough Session.

 Where I will go over what you would like to accomplish, and we'll see if you are a good fit for my coaching program. To book your free session, click this link now:  

 <<Living with Purpose Breakthrough Session>>

 I'm looking forward to hearing from you!