1) Your goal should be specific to you
You should have your own goal, not a second hand one. Many people have their goals based on expectations and hopes of their cultural norms, society, parents, and teachers. By doing so, you cannot hold such a goal for long periods of time. Setting a goal truly means that you should have the fulfillment and happiness as you accomplish it.
Practice setting goal that is originally yours; not assumed or inherited. If it is not from you, will it be meaningful to you? Accomplishing them will not give you happiness and fulfillment.
2) Your goal should be inspirational
Your passion must represent the kind of goal you have. It must be something that will drive you to strive harder and be fulfilled. Passion is something that pushes you to do whatever it takes to achieve your goal. It keeps you on track. It strengthens your concentration and motivates you. It inspires you. It leads you to the right way to your desired goal.
3) Your goal should be harmonious
All your goals must be aligned with your perspectives, values, and dreams. They must not contradict one another.
4) Your goal must be realistic
Your goal must be achievable, realistic, and attainable. Do not let anybody set a limit for you.
5) Have an idealistic goal
Your goal must be based on your personal ideas, and who and what you are. They should be created based on the different aspects of you, such as the environmental and physical, relationships and emotional, financial and material, ethical and spiritual, and educational and mental aspects.
When you have an unrealistic goal, there’s a great chance that you will end up getting unsatisfied and bored.
6) Make your goal specific
You must have a specific goal in order for you to be able to work effectively. For example, if you want to be a rich person, specify how you will consider yourself as a rich person. Goals specifically give you clarity.
7) You should be flexible
People miss chances of gaining their goal because of their concentration with their goals which were too restricted to recognize that there were better goals.
8) You must visualize your goal
Visualizing your goal will help you. It will serve as your motivation. Imagining them makes them more realistic and believable. It energizes and inspires you to strive harder.
9) You should affirm your goal
You must believe in yourself that your goal is attainable and achievable. Let everyone know about it so that they can contribute to your achievement process.
10) You must have a list of goals that you want to achieve
People who write down their goals have a higher chance and ability to accomplish their goals rather than those who only list goals in their minds. People who don’t have a list are more likely to withdraw from the achievement process.
Being a goal-oriented individual will help you achieve the goals you want.
The term ‘goal’ is defined by the state which you want to achieve and the difference you are aiming for.
For example, your goal could be to be financially free by age 55.
Reaching your goal requires you to undergo the process that will give you experiences and learning that will transform you into a better person. The things that you are doing now in order to develop yourself will surely determine who you will be and what kind of life are you going to have in the future.
It’s time for you to start planning and improving your life. Be a goal-oriented person.
Everyone surely has their own dreams and goals. But it is very evident that most people just keep on dreaming and never try to do something in order to attain those dreams. They just keep on looking back and missing opportunities as they make the same goals all over again year after year. You need to do something different in order to make your dreams come true.
Do not wait for other people to encourage you to achieve your goal.
Have time to think about what your goals are.
You are responsible to shape your future and life. You have to do something now in order to improve your personal situation.
Don’t remain effortless and stagnant.
Do you know that you have a great power which most people do not imagine?
The super-rich and elite use this. Most of the people who are now in their peak performances use this technique. This very powerful activity is called ‘visualization’.
The daily routine of visualizing helps you achieve your dreams, ambitions, and goals.
Some things are accomplished as you visualize your dreams.
- Your subconscious is activated. This starts producing creative ideas that can serve as your platform to achieve your goal.
- Visualization programs your mind and brain. You will be more ready in recognizing and perceiving the resources that you need to be able to achieve your goals.
- The attraction law is being activated. It brings to your life the circumstances, people, and resources you need to achieve your goals.
- Your internal motivation is being built, motivating you to strive harder to obtain your goals.
It is advisable that you create images for each goal.
Have a list of goals you want to reach. Write them on index cards and keep them handy. Bring them with you as you travel. Every morning and every night, take time to look at these goals. Then close your eyes and imagine the perfect completion of the goals for a couple of minutes.
You must also consider affirmation as if you have already completed the goal.
Affirmations and visualization let you have the chance to transform your opinions about yourself, beliefs in life and assumptions. These techniques permit you to bind together the billions of brain cells inside your brain and let them work in cooperation and unity.
Avoid the ‘what-the-hell’ effect
Setting your goal can be a nice way for you to improve your performance. But this is not the case when you fall into a little side-effect.
Let’s take dieting for example. You have set a daily amount of calorie intake. You are planning to keep this for some days. Unexpectedly, your peers brought you to a restaurant one day. That resulted in a situation wherein you are having a meal in a restaurant, rather than a healthy one at home. And before arriving there, your group dropped by to a bar to buy and eat some snacks and drinks. By that time, you are already near your calorie intake limit. Inside the restaurant, you decided to have some bread and drink. You also order a salad. There’s something that attracted you to have a steak. You realized that you have already violated the amount of calorie intake that you are supposed to have. ‘What-the-hell’, you will take the steak.
The ‘what-the-hell’ effect is not just a momentary lapse or a sudden lack of self-control. Instead, it’s related to missing your goal.
Everyone should avoid this ‘what-the-hell’ effect. It’s related to goal setting. It can be about shopping, money, alcohol or other areas where you have set limitations. It is always expected that when you have this limitation, you will do your best to maintain it.
In order to fight back against this effect, it is important that you know the situations when this effect takes place.
You may have shifted your focus to other things over time rather than achieving your goals.
The following tips will help you focus on yourself.
- Be creative and critical in making your goals and plans. When it is clear to you what and who you want to be someday, it will be easy for you to get there. Once you know the actions that you want to occur, you can plan and think about the process that you are going to follow to get you there.
- Have one key improvement each time. Avoid making many improvements simultaneously. It will be wise for you to take action of improving one aspect at any one given time. Concentrate as you take the necessary steps in attaining your goal. You can start another action right after completing the previous one.
- Take time to reflect. Think about the reasons why you want to achieve your goal. Knowing this will take you one step nearer towards your goal. Make sure that you really know what you want to achieve.
- Write your goals down. If you have cards or a notebook, list your goals with regard to your daily schedule. They will serve as timely reminders for you and will make you more consistent in achieving your goal. You can also have these reminders on your mobile devices.
- Have a well-defined schedule for working toward your goal. Detail when and what kind of activities you are going to employ. You can set alarms and reminders on your mobile devices to remind you of the time you must take to achieve your goal.
- If you have missed or skipped an action for almost two weeks, back to it. If you have been very busy doing other things, don’t lose hope. Continue what you have started in the past. It is never wrong to pursue things as long as it is not too late.
- Have your way to maintain your motivation. Design a way to keep yourself motivated to achieve your goal. It can be listed in a calendar. Give yourself a reward for every achievement that you made.
After determining your goal, you have to identify the aims under it.
If your goal is to be financially free by age 55, then your aim could be to start an online business by age 55.
Once you have an aim, you can now brainstorm the steps you will take in order to arrive at that goal.
There may be some hindrances like insecurities, anxiety and being uncomfortable.
Never let problems rule you.
Whatever aim you have, good planning is the key to your success.
If your aim seems to be very large, then break it down into simpler chunks or steps. Aims and plans can be achieved when they are given more time and broken down into smaller chunks.
A plan to achieve a goal is usually best attained by working from your aim. Always ask yourself, “what should take place before this?”
To summarize:
- Begin with a clearly defined goal that is measurable and achievable.
- Identify the associated aim to set your goal.
- Understand and define the factors that can help you achieve your aim. Factors that can affect your aim includes qualifications, experiences, contacts, skills, reputation, outlook and attitude, space and time, support and encouragement, resources, style, wisdom and maturity, tools, enthusiasm and energy, commitments and decisions, persistence and determination, prioritization, redirection, and reallocation, disasters and mistakes, and assets and money
- Break these factors into further chunks and work on them one by one over time.
- Always remember that success is often based on knowledge about what is necessary prior to set out in achieving it.
Benefits of achieving a goal
There are several benefits that you can obtain in setting and achieving your goal. You should know the way to:
- Hold your focus and continue striving until you obtain your goal.
- Go on through difficult times even if it seems that you’re not making progress.
- Help you decide what is really important.
- Systemize your activities and concentrate on the knowledge that will propel you onwards your goal.
- Achieve long-term, short-term or even life-time goals.
- Set your priorities efficiently.
- Avoid setting goals that have great possibilities of letting you down.
- Avoid setting goals that are too high and unrealistic.
- Conquer situations where you suffer from a lack of motivation.
- Find sufficient time for relaxation, rest, and enjoyment even without doing much burnout.
- Ask the right questions which will help you get on the right track.
You can achieve your goal as long as you have enough knowledge and skills. You can acquire the required motivation, desire, and inspiration to overcome all challenges and shortcomings.
The very first thing you must have is to gain fundamental knowledge and basic ideas about your goal. This does not mean that you have to know everything in order to be capable of achieving a goal. All you need to have is a wide understanding and being flexible as you go along the goal-setting journey.
Fantasizing will not help you. It will persuade you to keep on believing that you are achieving something even if you don’t have any achievements at all. Leave those fantasies and start setting, actioning, and planning your goal.
You must start committing and doing something now in order to obtain your goal. Action drives success. Today is the right time. Be true to yourself.
Keep your attention on the process and not to the outcome. Do your best and never let troubles bring you down.
Avoid the ‘what-the-hell’ effect since it will not help you. Establish a strong and well-disciplined daily routine. Do not lose control over things. Be positive at all times. Engage yourself in a better way of living.
If you are on the wrong path, shift your focus to your goal. Eliminate things that will not help you achieve your goal.
Know the scope and limitations of your goal. Concentrate and be open-minded. Be flexible. This will help you get closer to your goal. One goal at a time is best.
Always believe in yourself.
Lastly, be happy. Be satisfied with your achievements.
In the end, you will surely reap the fruits of your hard work and perseverance.
So, what are you waiting for?
Start setting and reaching your goals.