Goal Setting is defined as the act of selecting a target or objective that you wish to achieve, or the process of deciding what you want to accomplish and devising a plan to achieve what you desire. A famous psychologist named Edwin Locke quoted that “One must focus one’s thoughts on what one wants to achieve and on the means to attain it” This is indeed very true and very important.
It is also very important for us to understand just how powerful it can be to set goals. Research has shown that people who set and visualise goals are 1.2 – 1.4x more likely to achieve their goals. A really good way to take full advantage of this is to write down your goals on a piece of paper, in a diary or anything for that matter. Writing things down helps you to develop an idea from an idea to a plan of action. In 2015, a study showed that you are 33% more likely to achieve a goal when you have written it down. This once again shows how powerful it can be to set goals and really bringing them into existence from an idea.
Setting goals isn’t just specific to one part of life, in fact, they can be used in a wide variety of aspects. Some examples include career, physical, social, financial, emotional, hobbies, spiritual and marital or parental. Goals can be as large or small as you want them to be and in any form you want.
Benefits of goal setting
Goal setting can really benefit your life and improve your well-being. Some benefits include having increased self-confidence, self-motivation, clearer focus. Tracking progression helps you to improve these as well through visual improvement which can help to motivate you. Goals can also help to keep you committed to something, and one of the most valuable ones, it can help you to live the life you want to live.
So, it is clear to see that goals can help you to better yourself as a person and individual, but what stands in the way? Achieving a goal and not achieving it is determined by the cost that you are willing to pay to get there, and the pain you are willing to get through. You can power through this pain and difficulty by following a process and a system to achieve the goal. We have 7 steps that you can use to help you achieve your goals.
The 7 Steps:
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- You have to believe. It is absolutely vital that you have self-belief. Without it, you will fail. Even if you have some doubt, you need to remove it and convince yourself that you can and will do it.
- Set SMARTER goals.
S- Specific: Set a specific target that is clear, this will help you stay focused, on track and undistracted.
M- Measurable: Make sure you can measure your progress towards achieving the goal you set to keep motivated.
A- Actionable: Your goal needs to have an action, it needs to be targeted to ensure you are fully meeting your goals. For example, don’t set a goal of being more consist at the gym, set a goal of going to the gym 2 times a week. Give it a clearer action.
R- Risky: You need to get out of your comfort-zone, a goal with no-risk is not a goal worth setting.
T- Time Keyed: Setting a time key can help you to stick with your new goal. You are more likely to achieve the goal when you have a visible finish.
E- Exciting: The goal has to be able to motivate you. It must be something that you take an interest in and really want to achieve.
R- Relevant: Your micro goals must be relevant to your macro goals, or progress and tracking will become confusing. - Understanding the difference between an achievement goal and a habit goal. An achievement goal is seen as a one-time goal, e.g. complete the London Marathon, where as a habit goal is more of an on-going goal such as run 8 miles, two times, every week.
- What is your why? Having a reason behind the goal helps you to stay motivated and on track to achieving the goal.
- Prepare for the emotion. Comfort = Boredom + Low engagement. Getting out of your comfort-zone is a necessary component of setting and achieving goals. You must be prepared to struggle in order to succeed.
- Trigger your success. Implement triggers to help you make sure you get things done. Forward thinking and planning to deal with curveballs will help you stay on track.
- Keep your goal alive. Visual prompts can help remind you about your goal and keep you moving forward towards achieving your goal. You can use apps, reminders, or write the goals down, but they must be visible. Don’t write it down and put it away, you should be able to view where you have written it down daily, e.g. on a whiteboard.
We hope that this has helped to break down some of the steps to help you achieve your goal. We recently discussed this in further detail in a podcast and we really recommend that you check it out. You can find it under that podcast page on our site or on all podcast outlets.