Goal Setting - Keeping the Momentum!
The passing of a time related milestone is a great opportunity to assess our progress toward accomplishing goals and to get back on track as we move forward.
One Quarter of 2010 Down -Three More to Go!
Wow, one quarter of 2010 is gone. Already! The passage of time is the best barometer for assessing our progress. Did you start that business? Did you establish that nonprofit? Did you keep those receipts neatly organized? Are you holding your staff more accountable? Are you striking that elusive "work-life balance" that we all strive for? These are just a few things that many people in business (or who aspire to start on that path) have planned to accomplish this year. Well, many of us have fallen way short of the "mark". Instead of becoming discouraged, let's take the "glass half full approach".
In order to keep or reestablish the momentum we had early on let's not focus on what we did NOT get done. Let's focus on two other areas instead: (1) What we DID get done, and (2) On becoming more effective at setting the goals that we'd like to achieve.
Let Us Count the Ways
The first area (what DID we get done) should be pretty straight forward. Simply assess each goal and acknowledge that you have made progress toward accomplishing them. For example, perhaps you decided that this is the year to begin that pet sitting business you've always dreamed of. Well, maybe so far you have not chosen a business name, earned money providing this service or even solicited the services of a business consultant to help guide you in the process. But, what DID you do? Did you research other pet sitting businesses to see how they work? Did you tell friends and neighbors about your plans to begin providing this service? Did you "crunch" some numbers to determine the kind of living you can make? If, when asking yourself similar questions about your goals, you responded with a resounding YES, then you are not as far "off" as you might think as this quarter comes to a close. Begin writing these smaller accomplishments down and attributing them to the attainment of a larger, related goal.
I believe that when we focus on the positive, with regard to what we did accomplish instead of dwelling on the negative and what we have not done, we are in a better position to achieve our goals. So even though, when "all things are considered" you didn't get as far as you would have hoped, be your own coach and celebrate the small things that you can identify as being a step closer to getting, doing or being what you want.
Creating Your Recipe for Success
Now, after we have done the "happy dance" to celebrate mini victories - let's get down to work putting together more concise, achievable goals and a plan for accomplishing them. Here are some important goals setting tips that will help you move forward: (borrowed from: http://www.mindtools.com/page6.html)
Be precise: Set a precise goal, putting in dates, times and amounts so that you can measure achievement. If you do this, you will know exactly when you have achieved the goal, and can take complete satisfaction from having achieved it.
Write goals down: This crystallizes them and gives them more force.
Keep operational goals small: Keep the low-level goals you are working towards small and achievable. If a goal is too large, then it can seem that you are not making progress towards it. Keeping goals small and incremental gives more opportunities for reward. Derive today's goals from larger ones.
Set performance goals, not outcome goals: You should take care to set goals over which you have as much control as possible. There is nothing more dispiriting than failing to achieve a personal goal for reasons beyond your control. In business, these could be bad business environments or unexpected effects of government policy. If you base your goals on personal performance, then you can keep control over the achievement of your goals and draw satisfaction from them.
Set realistic goals: It is important to set goals that you can achieve. All sorts of people (employers, parents, media, and society) can set unrealistic goals for you. They will often do this in ignorance of your own desires and ambitions. Alternatively you may set goals that are too high, because you may not appreciate either the obstacles in the way or understand quite how much skill you need to develop to achieve a particular level of performance.
Achieving Goals
When you have achieved a goal, take the time to enjoy the satisfaction of having done so. Absorb the implications of the goal achievement, and observe the progress you have made towards other goals. If the goal was a significant one, reward yourself appropriately. All of this helps you build the self-confidence you deserve!
With the experience of having achieved this goal, review the rest of your goal plans:
- If you achieved the goal too easily, make your next goals harder.
- If the goal took a dispiriting length of time to achieve, make the next goals a little easier.
- If you learned something that would lead you to change other goals, do so.
- If you noticed a deficit in your skills despite achieving the goal, decide whether to set goals to fix this.
Failure to meet goals does not matter much, as long as you learn from it. Feed lessons learned back into your goal setting program.
Remember too that your goals will change as time goes on. Adjust them regularly to reflect growth in your knowledge and experience, and if goals do not hold any attraction any longer, then let them go.
Key Points
Goal setting is an important method of:
- Deciding what is important for you to achieve in your life.
- Separating what is important from what is irrelevant, or a distraction.
- Motivating yourself.
- Building your self-confidence, based on successful achievement of goals.
If you don't already set goals, do so, starting now. As you make this technique part of your life, you'll find your career accelerating, and you'll wonder how you did without it!
Never Give Up
These are just a few tips that I've gathered to provide some guidance as you work to set and accomplish goals that are critical to your happiness and contentment. Employing these techniques can help you begin to turn phases such as "someday I wil...", "one day I am going to...", and "if only I could..." into your reality.
With careful goal setting, planning and execution, you can accomplish things you never imagined you could. There will definitely be setbacks, obstacles and naysayers. But no matter what, never give up on pursuing your passion. Life is relatively short, be sure not to let time pass by without pursuing your dreams.
I hope that this blog post has given you some insight on how to set realistic goals and has motivated you to stay focused on what you want.
Please check in on my blog periodically for helpful business related tidbits and other insightful information. In the meantime, be well and prosper!
Angeline
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