The 5 Essential Steps to Setting Achievable Goals.

bySatauren

831 followers

Updated 9 years ago

Do you have a picture in your mind of the life that you want to be living 5 years from now?

In order to own that life you must set goals that will guide you into becoming the person who deserves that life.

The 5 Essential Steps

1. Set a Goal That Will Motivate You.
Think about your dream. Let that dream drive your desire to succeed. Remember, if you have no destination in mind any direction will work! Define your goal based on the dream that fires your imagination. Only then will you have a goal that will motivate you. Whenever you start doubting yourself, which will happen often at the beginning, renew your determination to succeed by focusing on your dream.

2. A Good Goal is a S.M.A.R.T. Goal.
For your goal to be effective it should be:

Specific...laser focused on the desired outcome. Your goal must clearly show you the way to succeed. Write down your goal, set it aside for a day and then read and modify your goal until it expresses exactly what you desire to accomplish. Then, post your goal in several places around your home. Make it a habit to read your goal out loud whenever you see it.

Measurable...Your goal should consist of separate, incremental steps so that you can easily measure your progress. Break it down into smaller segments and work towards accomplishing each step in sequence as they are due. Remember, you can eat an elephant if you do it one bite at a time!

Attainable...Goals should be realistic but not so easy that they can be completed with little effort. If your goal is unobtainable, you will eventually give up, deciding that setting goals is not worth the effort. On the other hand, if your goal is to easy, you will not feel any sense of victory upon completion. Balance is important!

Relevant...Keep your goals in line with your dream. If you dream of helping others, but your goal is to earn millions of dollars without a plan to use that money for the good of others, you will be disappointed when you realize you have not accomplished your dream.
Don't waste your life pursuing goals that do not serve your purpose in life!

Timely...Setting goals without deadlines means that you are only wishing. Without the pressure generated by firm time constraints you will never reach the outcome that you desire. A sense of urgency helps to increase the motivation needed to succeed!

3.Write it Down.
Write your goals down!! The importance of this cannot be overemphasized, When you write it down, in a very real sense you are telling yourself that you are serious about your goals. You can read those goals which then take on an existence outside of yourself becoming tangible and real. When writing, use power words like I Will instead of I should, or I want to. Write your goal as a positive statement of unshakable intent, then hold yourself accountable to following through on that commitment.

4. Design a Personal Action Plan.
Write down each and every step that you will take to accomplish your goal. Check each step off as you complete it and write the date completed next to it.
This will provide positive feedback on your progress.
If possible, find a "Goal Buddy" who can help you review your progress and provide encouragement when needed.

5. Don't Stop.
This is not a process that you do once. Regularly review your progress and modify your plan as needed. Follow the P.D.C.A. procedure, Plan, Do, Check and Adjust. When you reach your goal, already have a new set of goals defined. This will give you a life of constant progress towards fulfilling all of your dreams.

Joe