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Tips to Setting Your Goals

Do you set goals? Unknowingly, you probably do. Many people set goals on a daily basis (what to eat, what to wear, how to travel to work), yes, even these are all goals. However when it comes to setting goals for life or career purpose, many feel as though they’re stumbling. Here’s a few tips…

Be Specific

Goals need to be specific, so that you know which part of the process you’re currently in and the particular ways on how you will achieve it.

Most people have goals to ‘get promoted, get rich, improve relationship’ and the like, but these are very vague and your mind can become confused about what you truly mean.

General descriptions usually don’t have boundaries, so you always leave room for mistakes and compromise.

If you want results that you can be proud of, be specific.

To be specific, you need to include the full details.

Write down something like, “I want to get £20,000 in savings by October of this year.” or “I need to become key supervisor of the sales division by next week.” or “I want, my children, to become best friends beginning tomorrow.” Include the names, the position, the amount, the date and everything else needed to train your mind to start working towards that goal.

Be Measurable

Goals need to be measurable so that you can gauge how well you have done lately.

To help measure your paths and goals, you should include measurable details.

For your job, you can include: details such as the number of hours you’re working, the amount you’re earning, the staff you’re handling, etc.

For the goal of money, you can include details such as the amount you want to have as a whole, the number of companies or businesses you own, your contact persons, etc.

Always have things and items to be measured so you can understand how close you are to getting your goals. If your goal is to earn £50,000 a month, then you know you’re halfway there if you’re already earning £25,000 a month.

Be Attainable and Realistic

Only set goals that can possibly be accomplished.

Some people set goals that are too high to reach, that they are almost setting up things that are impossible.

Make sure you only set objectives that you can reach within a given amount of time, provided the current resources and capabilities you have.

Some examples of impossible goals are doubling your salary overnight, getting a promotion higher than your boss’s position, etc. Some goals can be achieved faster compared to others if you have some strengths and paths to back these up.

Always include a strategic plan for big objectives.

Time-Bound

Set deadlines to achieve your goals or else you’ll never going to finish anything. Stay specific when setting timelines and schedules.

For example, indicate things like “To spend an hour with my wife everyday starting tomorrow (indicate exact date and year)”.

Setting the exact time and date will spur you to start working on your goals, instead of putting it off for another available time.

Some goals can take years to accomplish so it is wiser to break these down into smaller objectives, still complete with deadlines. You can finish everything in a sequence to finally reach the biggest one.

Life is like a road. There are long and short roads; smooth and rocky roads; crooked and straight paths.

In our life many roads would come our way as we journey through life.

There are roads that lead to fame and fortune on one hand, or isolation and poverty on the other.

There are roads to happiness as there are roads to sadness, roads towards victory and jubilation, and roads leading to defeat and disappointment.

Just like any road, there are corners, detours, and crossroads in life.

Perhaps the most perplexing road that you would encounter is a crossroad.

With four roads to choose from and with limited knowledge on where they would go, which road will you take?

What is the guarantee that we would choose the right one along the way? Would you take any road, or just stay where you are: in front of a crossroad?

You do not really know where a road will lead you until you take it.

There are no guarantees.

This is one of the most important things you need to realise about life.

Nobody said that choosing to do the right thing all the time would always lead you to happiness.

Loving someone with all your heart does not guarantee that it would be returned.

Gaining fame and fortune does not guarantee happiness.

Accepting a good word from an influential superior to cut your trip short up the career ladder is not always bad, especially if you are highly qualified and competent.

There are too many possible outcomes, which your really cannot control. The only thing you have power over is the decisions that you will make, and how you would act and react to different situations.

Wrong decisions are always at hindsight.

Had you known that you were making a wrong decision, would you have gone along with it? Perhaps not, why would you choose a certain path when you know it would get you lost?

Why make a certain decision if you knew from the very beginning that it is not the right one. It is only after you have made a decision and reflected on it that you realise its soundness.

If the consequences or outcomes are good for you, then you have decided correctly. Otherwise, your decision was wrong.

Take the risk: decide.

Since life offers no guarantee and you would never know that your decision would be wrong until you have made it, then you might as well take the risk and decide.

It is definitely better than keeping yourself in limbo. Although it is true that one wrong turn could get you lost, it could also be that such a turn could be an opportunity for an adventure, moreover open more roads.

It’is all a matter of perspective. You have the choice between being a lost traveller or an accidental tourist of life. But take caution that you don’t make decisions haphazardly.

Taking risks is not about being careless and stupid. Here are some pointers that could help you choose the best option in the face of life’s crossroads:

Get as many information as you can about your situation.

You cannot find the confidence to decide when you know so little about what you are faced with.

Just like any news reporter, ask the 5 W’s: what, who, when, where, and why. What is the situation? Who are the people involved? When did this happen? Where is this leading? Why are you in this situation?

These are just some of the possible questions to ask to know more about your situation. This is important.

Oftentimes, the reason for indecision is the lack of information about a situation.

Identify and create options.

What options do the situation give you?

Sometimes the options are few, but sometimes they are numerous. But what do you do when you think that the situation offers no options?

This is the time that you create your own. Make your creative mind work.

From the most simplistic to the most complicated, entertain all ideas. Do not shoot anything down when an idea comes to your head. Sometimes the most outrageous idea could prove to be the right one in the end.

You can ask a friend to help you identify options and even make more options if you encounter some difficulty, but make sure that you make the decision yourself in the end.

Weigh the pros and cons of every option.

Assess each option by looking at the advantages and disadvantages it offers you. In this way, you get more insights about the consequences of such an option.

Trust yourself and make that decision.

Now that you have assessed your options, it is now time to trust yourself. Remember that there are no guarantees and wrong decisions are always at hindsight.

So choose… decide… believe that you are choosing the best option at this point in time.

Now that you have made a decision, be ready to face its consequences: good and bad.

It may take you to a place of promise or to a land of problems. But the important thing is that you have chosen to live your life instead of remaining a bystander or a passive audience to your own life.

Whether it is the right decision or not, only time can tell. But do not regret it whatever the outcome. Instead, learn from it and remember that you always have the chance to make better decisions in the future.