Goal Setting for Success
Dreams are something we think about and can happen at any time, without a great deal of effort. However, Goals can only be reached through planning, and require action. Goal planning is vital for growth in all areas of your life, and will help you stay motivated and inspire you to achieve whatever you want. Goal Setting is the fundamental key to success.
‘A Goal is a Dream with a Deadline’
Napoleon Hill
Believe
The first and most important step in setting your goals is that you have 100% belief in your process.
If you don’t have confidence in yourself and abilities, then you’re dead in the water before you’ve left the dock. If you have doubt remember, every great idea, product and business success story began as someone’s goal in their head. Start with Visualising Your Destination here
Now make YOUR dream a reality!
Document
In order to make your goals a reality, you must plan your steps to achieve them. Write your goals down and have milestones in place for their completion and evaluation…
This is Critical!
If you neglect this step, you may forget why or they may diminish in importance. Having them somewhere that you can see every day will keep you motivated, and help reiterate their significance and increase your chances of achieving them in the allocated time frame.
Be Specific
Your goals have a higher likelihood of success if they deal with specific facts and events. If you do not have laser focus on your destination, then your goals can be misconstrued and easily put in the “too hard” basket.
Specific goals require discipline and precision, which is an invaluable skillset to develop in business.
Measurable
If your goals criteria are set in stone, then you are able to measure your progress towards achieving them.
If you can visualise completing your goals, then reverse-engineer the steps it took to get there by breaking down that journey into smaller bite sized milestones.
Attainable
While there’s nothing wrong with shooting for the stars, it’s important to ascertain whether your goals are applicable to you, your lifestyle and your business. If you don’t have the time, money, experience or drive to achieve something, you are setting yourself up for failure.
The most effective goal-setting relies on a combination of planning your steps wisely and establishing realistic time frames that will allow you to work towards your goals in a linear and sustainable direction.
Realistic
Nothing deflates and demotivates more than not being able to achieve something you set out to do.
To be realistic, your goal must represent an objective which you are able to work towards. You are the only one who can determine just how achievable your goal should be, but you should ensure there is a realistic chance that if you execute your plan and hit your milestones, you can achieve it.
Timely
Every goal you set should have a time frame.
Without a time frame, there is no sense of urgency and way to map your milestones. Instilling deadlines will help you and/or your team work towards them. This creates motivation that can keep morale high.
Accountable
When you are working towards your goal you will hit roadblocks. When facing these challenges, you have to hold yourself accountable.
Telling your family and friends about your goals may give you the responsibility you need, helping you gather the support system that pushes you forward.
If you remain accountable in your everyday life, you will also surround yourself with people aligned with your morales and facilitate constant encouragement.
Upskill
When in business, it is critical to learn from those around you. Leveraging off networks or communities is a great way to engage those that can add value to your business.
Growth is the vehicle for success!
Upskilling may be the thing that sets you apart. Seeking advice may come in a variety of different forms: from asking a friend, a mentor or someone who you deem to have succeeded in an area of their life. These will only get you one step closer to achieving your goals.
Assessment
As you march towards your goals, the journey, destination and how you measure success are constantly changing and evolving.
Reaching your goals may, in fact, not be where you want your business to be. But this is okay as often it’s what you learnt to get there, which helps you move forward in the future.
