Setting Goals
Goal setting is a way for you to achieve the life of your dreams. Goals create energy and motivation. Worthy goals add value to this world.
As you are probably aware, goals should be specific as opposed to general and vague. For example, a goal to increase your income is general. A goal to increase your income by 50% is specific!
Goals should be measurable. As many have stated, “you can’t manage what you can’t measure.”
Goals should be actionable.
For the novice goal setter, goals should be realistic. For example, if you have no idea about a new product to offer, and you set a goal to generate $1,000,000 with a new product this year, that would probably not be a realistic goal.
All goals should have a due date, a time frame for their achievement.
The acronym to help you remember this is SMART.
Earlier, realistic goals were mentioned for novice goal setters. For the experienced goal setter, it can be a fun and challenging exercise to set an unrealistic, or impossible goal. The acronym for this type of goal is SMIT.
The idea with a SMIT goal is that within the limits of your current knowledge, capabilities and assets, the goal would be impossible to achieve. The purpose in setting this kind of goal is to live and dwell in the excitement of possibility. These types of goals can inspire you to learn new skills and capabilities, BUT, they can also drain your resources, so be cognizant of that if you decide to set such a goal.
Especially in business and your career, MTO goals can be utilized. MTO goals establish the minimum, target and outrageous achievement levels for a specific goal.
A business example could be a profit goal of $1Million, $1.5 Million and $3 Million. These types of goals in an organization are useful in maintaining enthusiasm and keeping individuals out of the gap.
As Dan Sullivan taught, the gap is the space between your progress and where you planned to go. Gap thinking leads to demotivation and pessimism.
Avoid gap thinking by focusing on progress over perfection!
And now, the moment you have been awaiting! Let’s set some goals!
First, get into an anticipatory state like a kid on Christmas Eve! Either think yourself into such a state, or use music, video, or visuals to stimulate your emotions.
Next, decide what you want to do, be, or have in these four main categories:
Faith - Finance - Family - Fitness
Next, just brainstorm and create a list of things wanted in these various categories and list your goals here, or in your journal, or on this worksheet.
Know your why and the compelling reason behind your goal! What are the benefits to achieving this goal
Write your goals down and give each one a due date.
As soon as you do this your brain kicks into gear with a bunch of obstacles and reasons why you should NOT proceed.
Use opposite thinking to overcome obstacles and create your plan. Include in your action plan the people and tools you will need to achieve your goals.
Take action every day towards most important goals. By the way, many goal gurus suggest limiting yourself to just one goal every 3 months on which to focus. This type of constraint is believed to increase overall success. Just sayin…
Be sure to share them with supportive people (accountability).
Read out loud and see them daily (use a vision board if you cannot visualize), pray on them, or meditate on them. This keeps them top of mind and keeps your reticular activation system (RAS) engaged. Think of the RAS as your personal research assistant. As such, it is constantly engaged in research to bring to your mind everything you need to be successful in achieving your goals.
Expect the best and expect your goals to be achieved!