In doing some mental preparation before writing this blog, I got to thinking about how I personally love goals.
To me, goals are a fantastic way to achieve success. So, my question have you got any goals? Personal or work goals? And what would that look like for you? What do you want to achieve?
And…how do you work towards achieving these goals?
The key to achieving your goals is setting out a well-constructed plan as to how you will get there and what you will do to ultimately achieve that goal. Getting to your desired end-point and achieving a goal is fantastic, but many people fail to get to theirs. Perhaps that is why some people shy away from or don’t like setting goals. The risk of failure can be detrimental to self-esteem, it can give us a distorted self-image, can be counterintuitive and make us complacent when we are congratulated for having a goal.
Top-level athletes, successful business-people and achievers in all fields set goals. Goal setting gives you long-term vision and short-term motivation. It focuses your acquisition of knowledge, and helps you to organise your time and your resources so that you can make the very most of your life.
Here are my simple steps to make you successful in achieving any goal you set.
1. Have a target!
Goals give you focus – Imagine having to shoot an arrow without being given a target. Where would you aim? And say you did aim at some random thing (out of sheer perplexity). Why would you aim there? And what would the purpose be? Get the idea? This is a literal example of what life is like without a goal or target in mind.
You are wasting your time and energy if you haven’t set yourself a clear target. Have you asked yourself what it is that you really want to achieve? You need to define what SUCCESS looks like in achieving this goal. This means that you need to consider all of those who, what, when, why and how questions to how you will get to the end point of your goal!
2. Make your goal achievable
When thinking about your goals you need to be realistic. Make sure your goal is challenging, but isn’t unachievable. A goal can be hard to achieve and realistic, but its important to know your limits. When setting goals I think about what I am willing to and able to achieve.
3. Have a plan of attack!
Now that you have an achievable, challenging goal in mind, its time to work out how you are going to make your goal a reality.
Almost any goal is attainable when map the steps or ‘mini-goals’ out, to achieve your goal.
For example, HR Central have a team competing in this year’s Run Melbourne event in July. So I now have a goal to run a Half Marathon. I have set mini goals of building up my distance running 5km, 8km, 10km, 12km etc as well as setting mini-goals involving my pace & fitness.
Goals that previously may of seemed out of reach eventually move closer and become more attainable. It is important to recognise that it isn’t because your goal is shrinking but rather you have grown and expanded.
3. Think Positively! – Create positive thought habits
Whenever you achieve one of the steps or ‘mini-goals’ it is important to celebrate. Achieving the steps within your goals is exciting and provides you with the motivation to keep moving forward – as your overall goal is becoming closer in reach!
It is important to think of your goal in a positive light and something that you will achieve. Negative thinking attracts negative results. If you want to achieve your goal believe that you will!
4. Put a time frame on your goal!
A goal is all well and good but what is it without a time frame? Having a time frame on your goal keeps you grounded, motivated and creates a sense of urgency. I’m sure you’ve heard someone say “I want to lose 10kgs.” If you don’t have a timeline and more of a ‘someday’ approach you’re never lose the 10kgs. As well as having an overall time frame on your goal don’t be afraid to put a timeframe on your ‘mini-goals’ or on the smaller steps in achieving your goal. Setting a time frame can help get you off the couch and striving towards achieving your goals, whatever they may be!
So if you’ve got some goals in mind, or something you want to achieve whether that be personal or work related, what are you waiting for?