Goals are like blueprints – it takes work to turn them to reality. Yes goals setting are great, but you also need a plan to reach them. Otherwise, they will always be goals and never achievements.
January usually is that month of the year, a lot of individuals including me set goals for the year. Setting of new goals when small and attained usually instill confidence on an individual to take on bigger ones and more confident when facing day to day challenges. The bigger the goal, the greater your feeling of accomplishment upon reaching it. Are you ready to get started for the year?
Then follow the 3 steps listed below that can gear you towards reaching your goal.
1. IDENTIFY
- Brainstorm potential goals. Have fun with this step! Don’t analyze; just write down as many ideas as you can. See if you can come up with at least 10 or 20 possibilities.
- Evaluate your ideas. Which ones seem the most exciting? The most Challenging? Which would you be especially proud of achieving? Remember, the best goals are the ones that mean the most to you.
- Prioritize. First choose some short-range goals that you could reach in a few days. Next choose some long-range goals (reachable within several weeks or months). Number your goals according to the order in which you would like to achieve them.
2. PLAN
- List your goal. An example is trying learn a language of your choice.
- Set a deadline. After all, a goal without a deadline is just a dream
- Plan the steps involved. Steps on learning a new language
- Anticipate obstacles. Then think of how you’ll overcome them. Potential obstacle might be that no one nearby speaks the language you are learning and overcoming it is by downloading audio recordings online.
- Make a commitment. Promise yourself that you will do your best to reach this goal. Now sign and date it.
3. ACT
- Start immediately. Ask yourself,” what can I do today to start toward my goal?” Granted, you may not have every detail worked out, but don’t let that keep you from getting started. Find something you can do today-even if it’s small-and do it.
- Review your goals daily. Remind yourself why each one is important to you. Track your progress and strike out or put a completed-on date next to each step as you complete it.
- Be flexible. No matter how good your plans are, they may need to be adjusted as you go along. That’s OK. Don’t worry about rigidly sticking to a plan. Just keep making progress toward the final goal.
- Use your imagination. “Fast-forward” and imagine yourself achieving your goal. Feel the sense of accomplishment. Next, “rewind” through the individual steps, and visualize each of them. Finally, press, “play.” See yourself completing each step, and imagine how great you’ll feel when you reach your goal. Now go for it!
Have you set a goal already? Share steps on how you have achieved them.
Image Courtesy: Obi-Akpere
Article sourced from The Awake! Magazine