“Almost everybody set goals……… Almost all goal setters fail!”

Goal setting is one of the first steps of accomplishing any task. However, if the first step is itself misguided, the whole process goes wayward!

It is important that you set the right goals for yourself, which are not only achievable but also in the right direction.

There’s a very common knowledge that to achieve success you must first set goals. May be this is why at the beginning of each year, we all write loads of new resolutions and goals.

People often say that if you want to make something meaningful outta life, just set some goals, make plans, and work hard until you reach there. Yet there are many people who attempt to reach their goals but end up missing their lives, as they discover that those were wrong goals and the path taken were also not correct. Such people do not know how to set the right goals that would give them the life and the career they wanted. Or the goals were too well set and the directions were lacking…..

However, this article talks about various aspects of goal setting, and how you should set the right goals to stand out from the company of failures.

1. What’s Your Reason For Setting This Goal ??

What is your reason for setting this goal? Why is achieving this goal so important to you?

We all want a better life and that is the reason behind setting any goal.  Better life now differs — It can be getting a better job, a grander home, more number of cars, having a well-known brand, standing on top of the competition or earning greater peace of mind.

The first thing that you need to do while setting goals is to decide on the reason. Plus — instead of solely focusing on the destination, also try to ensure that the journey is as joyful and enriching as your life would be after achieving the goal.

2. Set SMART Goals:

Setting goals for a successful outcome is not as easy as the casuals. The process requires the vision to predict future obstacles as well as a method to measure and benchmark progress.

If you want to successfully implement an effective motivational strategy it is essential to fix effective goals and discover the ways in which one can pursue these goals.

Experts have given a SMART method for doing the goal setting exercise in the most effective manner. SMART is an acronym used for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-targeted.  Here is a brief summary of each of the aspects of this method.

Specific: While targeting a successful outcome, it is essential to set a specific goal rather than a generic one. Your goal should be able to answer questions like who is involved, and the time deadline within which it should be achieved.

• For instance, a general goal would be — To learn coding. While a specific one would be — To learn programming C++ within four weeks.

Measurable: It is essential to establish methods and criteria that can measure the progress of goal achievement. Unless you are not able to measure and assess the progress in quantitative terms there will be no motivational checkpoints to ensure that you are on the right track.  The questions you should ask while determining if the goals are measurable or not is how much?, or how many?

Achievable: It is important that you do not set unattainable goals or impractical targets if you want to be successful in achieving them. You might be tempted to challenge yourself but it is vital that you have knowledge of your abilities, (self-awareness).

Nonetheless; All goals are achievable if you strategize wisely and give yourself enough time to carry out the strategy.

Realistic: To be realistic, a goal should have an objective that can be achieved provided you are willing to put in all efforts and work for it. It totally depends on you to decide how challenging the goal should be.

More often than not, it is easier to achieve a bigger goal rather than a smaller one; as the motivation for accomplishing a massive goal is always going  to be greater than a minor one.

Time-targeted: It is important that you set time bound goals. The success of your goal totally depends on achieving it within the established deadlines. If you do not set a deadline there will be no sense of trigger/urgency.

From the earlier example, if you do not set the deadline of four weeks to complete learning programming with C++, you could go on procrastinating forever, and the purpose of setting the goal would stand defeated. It is essential to know the time frame in which to complete the goal to ensure the end product remains useful and relevant.

3. Reset Your Goals When You Seem Clogged-up

Some people only stick to their paths owing to their persisting nature.

Persistence is counted amongst the good virtues and is also essential for achieving tough targets.

However, does that mean you have to remain a slave to a goal or remain entrenched to a path that is draining your life force?  Does that mean you have to stick to a path even if it does not provide you any joy or satisfaction?

Remember, a destination is only as good as a journey, and if your goals require you to take a path that saps your enthusiasm to live, then even achievement of those goals is of no good.

For instance, if your job frustrates you because all it involves is staring at screen and maintaining records, then even if you become the head of department in that role, it won’t give you the necessary satisfaction because you already spent a significant part of your life miserably doing something you never liked. In such situation, it’s perfectly necessary to make a job reset.

In Conclusion

“Think little goals, and expect little achievement. Think big goals and win big success.” — David Joseph Schwartz.

However — If the journey to that goal is itself not helping you achieve this target, hoping that your life will change once you reach the target is mere wishful thinking. You would spend a whole lifetime in achieving that goal, a life that is miserable, tough, lacking any joy of living and enthusiasm to stay alive.

“Instead, you should dream wide, set the right goals and make the journey itself awesome, fun and good for your growth as a person. Then success rolls in like a ball in your court”

Best Regards

Author: Saurabh Tyagi

Saurabh Tyagi is a blogger and a professional career author with proven expertise in writing for topics related to jobs, job trends, different job opportunities, various workplace and industry information, tips and strategies for job seekers.

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