Goal setting made easy

Do feel unsure about which path to take personally and professionally? It could be that you haven't spent enough time thinking about what you want in life. As a consequence, you haven't planned where you want to go and how you get there. Setting yourself goals can get you on the right track.

Why set goals?

Successful people, top athletes and other high achievers all set goals for themselves.

Goal setting is a powerful way to think about your ideal future and find motivation to turn your vision into reality. It can focus your thought processes and help you organise your time and resources so you can make the most of life.

Setting personal goals

Setting goals can be made easy by dividing your goals into large and small areas of focus. 

Think about what you want out of life in the next decade or so – that’s your ‘Big Picture’. Break this large goal into smaller target goals that will allow you to reach it.

Once you have a plan sorted, work towards achieving your smaller target goals. That way, as you tick your target goals off one by one, you step ever closer to your ‘Big Picture’ goal.

Setting life-time goals

Consider a broad, balanced coverage of all of the important areas in your life by taking the following into account:

• Career – What level do you want to reach or achieve?
• Financial – How much do you want to earn and by what stage?
• Education – To achieve your ‘Big Picture’ target, should you consider more training or expanding your skills set?
• Attitude – What’s holding you back? What attitude changes might you need to put into effect?
• Family – How do you want to be seen by your partner and family members?
• Health – Are you happy with your current lifestyle and the way you feel? How do you maintain good health to ensure you reach your ultimate goal?
• Pleasure – Are you managing your work/life balance so you have time for ‘you’?

You may need to sit down and brainstorm some of these topics and select some goals that will motivate you to begin your journey. Make sure the goals you set are genuinely those you want to achieve, not those of your parents, family or employers.

Staying on course

Once you have decided on your first set of goals, keep the program active by first starting the process, reviewing your steps regularly and updating them with any changes you have decided to make. Keep the goals small and achievable, which provides more opportunities for reward.

Set precise goals by writing them down, including dates, times and data so you can measure your successes. When you have several goals in place, you may wish to prioritise them. This will help prevent you feeling overwhelmed and keep you focused on the most important goals in front of you.

Above all, make your goals realistic and achievable. You can put pressure on yourself by setting unrealistic or difficult goals.

And remember, failing to meet your goals doesn’t matter as long as you learn something from the process.

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