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Benefits of setting goals
- Helps to achieve a purpose
- Guides and directs behaviour
- Helps to prioritise
- Provides motivation
- Helps to avoid negative peer pressure
- Teaches time management
Tips for successful goal setting
1. Set goals that motivate YOU
When setting goals, you should take into consideration all aspects of your life. These goals could be educational goals, social goals, physical goals, career goals or family goals. You need to make sure that the goal you are setting motivates you, and not someone else. This goal has to be all about you.
Achieving goals require patience and commitment. A helpful tip in making sure that this is something that motivates you is to write it down. Motivation is always key to achieving any kind of goal. Write down the reasons why the outcome of the goal is important to you. You could go through this again if you start feeling unmotivated to carry on.
2. Set SMART Goals
The SMART Goals approach is an effective way to ensure that you achieve your goals. This not only allows you to create goals that are effective but guide you to achieve them as well.
Set Specific Goals
All your goals should be clear and well defined. Each goal needs to have a set path so that you can follow it to achieve the end result that you want.
Set Measurable Goals
When writing down goals, you should elaborate on your goals by adding more details such as precise amounts and dates. This makes it easier to measure your success. Most times, when you have no way of measuring your success, you lose out on knowing and celebrating when you have achieved something.
Set Attainable Goals
Make sure to set goals that are realistic and achievable. Often, if you don’t have the confidence that you will achieve your goal, it only erodes your confidence and sets you back. However, at the same time it is important to ensure that the goal you have set is challenging enough for you to push through.
Set Relevant Goals
For you to be more focused on your goals, it should be relevant to the direction your life is headed towards at the time. This is not a cue for you to hold back your creativity when setting goals, but a tip for you to set more effective goals.
Set Timely Goals
All goals must have an end date; without one you wouldn’t be able to know when you have achieved something.
3. Write down your goal
Writing down a dream or in this case a goal solidifies it. This gives it more meaning and drive to work towards it. Positivity is an important point to remember when framing out your goal. It is key to frame the wording on your goal positively. Another helpful tip is to make sure you see your goals at the places you frequent the most. For example, you could write it down on a sticky note and place it next to your bed so every day when you get up it is one of the first things you see. This could be a gentle reminder for you to include one activity of your day’s plan that works towards achieving your goal.
4. Create a road map
One of the most commonly missed out steps is creating a detailed plan or a road map that paves way from the goal to the outcome. To create a solid plan, map out the specific steps that you need to achieve the goal you have set. The more details you add to your action plan, the easier it is to achieve your outcome without much difficulty. Once you complete each step of your action plan, you can cross it out. This allows you to track your goal; additionally it can also be a reminder of how far you have come to achieve your goal.
5. Stick with it
It is often a long and ongoing process to achieve the goals that you have set. It is impossible to achieve something by only willing for it to happen, without putting in the work that is required. However, if you are positive, determined, have patience and put in the work, then you can achieve anything that you set your mind to.
