When you hear those two little words – goal setting….what goes through your head??
Is it something you’ve always done?
Something you’ve never done?
Something you think you probably should do?
If you do it, does it come naturally?
If you don’t do it, why not?
I know, so many questions!!
Personally, I think I missed the boat when it came to goal setting and learning how to do it at school. I certainly do not remember it being an integral part of my education. In fact I distinctly remember when I first started learning about goal setting properly (which wasn’t until I was in my early 30s) I was a little cranky that I hadn’t had the foundational learning that most kids, mine included, got at primary school.
My first real venture in the world of goal setting was in my second year of my direct sales business. I’d been plodding along, learning little bits and pieces as I went, celebrating some small milestones and then I attended a workshop on goal setting and how to do it well. The program was called Goal Power and I still have the journal here at my desk. 11 September 2005 is the date I’ve written in there as the start date for my Goal Power Journal and essentially the beginning of my love for all things personal development. That goal power program is, I believe, the catalyst for me to have sustained success in my direct sales business for the last 18 years. It’s probably also the reason why I have a dream to build online training courses and to support women to dream, plan and achieve their own success. Even now in 2022 I’m using those strategies to build this platform, provide this information and to create my courses to achieve my dreams.
Why is having goals important?
Now if you were to google “How do I set my goals?” you would receive upwards of 880 000 000 hits! That’s a lot of information! Everything from “The 7 golden rules of goal setting” to “The ultimate goal setting formula” and of course “The scientific method of setting your goals”. All of which have merit and are vital to setting and achieving your goals.
Goals are the most proven technique in psychology to bring about personal change and success. There are literally thousands of research papers you can review describing the benefits and methods of setting and achieving goals. In more recent years, goal setting has become an important feature of starting a new business, developing new products and measuring productivity in the workplace.
On a personal level, goal setting is used by people to improve their health, reduce or eliminate debt, ensure that spending time with loved ones is prioritised, along with pretty much anything else you can think of!
The goal I set for myself way back in 2005 was to qualify for an incentive trip with my direct sales company to Dubai. It would be my first time overseas and reading over my notes from way back I can transport myself back to that person I was back then…..A little unsure, a little bit scared while also being incredibly excited at the prospect of going on that trip for free! As it turns out, that trip, and that process I followed for setting my goals, was just the beginning. I went on to qualify for upwards of 20 more trips and many other accomplishments, and I don’t see how that could have been achieved without those foundational principles I learnt from that program.
What are some good goals to set?
I believe a good goal to set can be based on either a dream you wish to achieve or an area of your life that you feel could be improved.
If you’d like to build some goals around a dream you have, please go back and read my blog “What is it you are dreaming about”. That will give you some work to do around identifying the dream you’d like to work on first.
If you already have some idea about a personal goal you’d like to achieve, then why not start there?? Sounds like a good idea to me!
But what if you don’t have a clue? Firstly, let’s take stock of where you already are. Perhaps your personal relationships are lacking some zing. Maybe your relationship with your partner, husband, significant other is secure but blah and you’d like it to be more romantic and intimate. Maybe you are not doing so well financially but with a secure job you really should be in a better position. Maybe you’ve let yourself down when it comes to healthy habits and you’d really like to feel better in yourself. Whatever it might be we all need to make an honest assessment of where we are being successful and where we aren’t. When we have that assessment we can determine how to move forward.
How do I write a good goal?
My good old goal power program says that a good goal should give you:
- Direction
- What is the goal? Write it down (With a pen, on paper. Research shows you are much more likely to achieve your goal if you write it down)
- Focus
- Give your goals a deadline
- Create an environment around you to support your goals
- Who can help and support you?
- The know how
- What are the steps you need to take to achieve your goal
- The motivation
- Ask yourself why is getting the goal so important
- What are the benefits I will gain by taking action now
- Make a list of those benefits and keep adding to it.
How to improve goal setting
Hands up if you heard the mnemonic SMART?
Specific/signficiant, measurable/meaningful, attainable/action oriented, realistic/rewarding and timebound/trackable.
What about SMARTER?
E- evaluated/exciting
R – revised/reviewed
Using SMARTER goal setting techniques is a great basis for ensuring that you get on track to achieve your goals. But I also found this is where I came undone. I don’t think, actually I know, that it is not that easy. You cannot simply think about what you want, write them down, come up with a goal and then sit back and hope that it will come true. It’s something I will go into more detail in later blogs but taking into consideration your values, your mindset, your system, your planning style, your time constraints – mastering these things will dramatically improve your outcomes when it comes to goal setting.
3 personal qualities you must have to accomplish your goals.
1 Learn to embrace fear
An old mentor of mine used to say, there is no such thing as failure, only feedback. I see so many people stuck in fear, the fear of failure, the fear of success, the fear of not being good enough, the fear of being judged. If you can learn to embrace the fear you will step outside your comfort zone straight into the learning zone, finally having the chance to do something you’ve always dreamed of. Don’t you deserve that?
2 Cultivate a positive attitude
Glass half full, glass half empty? Do you view your situation with a pessimistic or optimistic view? Practising positive thinking means that you are focusing on the good in any situation. Don’t you agree that the world could really do with a whole lot more people thinking positive thoughts, acting in positive ways?
3 Strive for completion rather than perfection
Done is better than perfect – aiming for perfection will only lead you to failure as perfection is an unattainable idea. What you should do is to aim for complete. It’s a huge mindset shift to make but one that will give you freedom to achieve your goals without being paralysed by needing a project to be perfect.
I’m really curious, what goals have you set for yourself? Do you achieve more often than not? Or is it something you really struggle with? If you’d like to learn more about goal setting, dreaming and action planning, be sure to sign up for my newsletter and like my FB page at https://www.facebook.com/jacquihh I’d love to see you there!
Jacqui Hillas 