The Power of Personal Goals
We all have an inherent desire to achieve and feel accomplished. Unfortunately for many us, our personal goals are more of an unconscious act with little direction than clear-cut and purposeful.
So how do we turn off our autopilot and aim for meaningful goals?
Creating clear personal goals helps us narrow down a direction while providing a sense of self-confidence upon completion.
Many of my clients suffer not from a lack of desire or skill. They want to live a better life, or run a better business, and yet when it comes down to it, they simply don’t believe in their abilities and in a rich, fulfilled future.
Set and Categorize your Personal Goals
Step 1: set your goals.
Step 2: Commit to them.
Step 3: DO them!
A whopping 92% of people who set New Years goals never keep them, according to the University of Scranton.
The 8% that actually achieve their goals have some common traits, according to this study. They do things like create a support network around them, recognize when they’re procrastinating, take breaks throughout the day and more.
There are a thousand opinions on what you can do to achieve your goals but the three steps you see above guarantee that no matter what route you take to getting what you want out of life or business, you can do it.
The Power of Sub-Goals
Provide yourself a breakdown of your goals into smaller, more achievable tasks or actions. What are the steps you need to take to reach your ultimate goal?
These are called sub-goals. For example, if your ultimate goal is to buy a house, one of your sub-goals may be to save $200 a month. Sub-goals make the journey to success less intimidating and help you organize your thoughts.
To create sub-goals ask yourself the following questions:
- If your goals are based around your career, you can ask yourself questions like, where would you like your career to take you?
- How much would you like to earn?
- What knowledge do you wish to attain?
- What qualifications do you want to achieve?
This can be applied to any goals you set such as business or career goals, sleep goals, health goals etc.
Creating this breakdown for yourself provides you with a sense of clarity and direction for your personal goals.
Work SMART.
Set SMART goals for yourself. This is part of my biz-school takeaways (one of the only ones that I retained. I’m old.) but they stand the test of time.
S – Specific
Clearly define your goals. Know exactly what it is you’ve set out to achieve, and how you intend to achieve it. Set yourself up for success, and create a breakdown of sub-goals, for more clarity.
M – Measurable
Make sure your goals are measurable.
When it comes to bigger goals like publishing a book, don’t be vague. If you want to be published in five years, provide yourself an exact date. For example, “I would like my first book to be published May, 2024.” Then take a look at your sub-goals and provide dates between now and the date you set for yourself.
Set dates for self-review of your goals. That way you won’t miss the little celebrations you’re entitled to.
A – Attainable
Set attainable yet challenging goals for yourself. Setting realistic yet challenging goals can do wonders for your confidence, bring upon well-deserved personal satisfaction.
R–Relevant
Your personal sub-goals need to have relevancy. By aligning your goals with your desired lifestyle, you will develop focus, and stay ahead. Save your time and energy by setting relevant and consistent goals & pairing them with effective sub-goals.
T– Time based goals.
Provide attainable time limits for yourself. Set deadlines for both your goals and sub-goals. This will help you avoid distractions, and keep you motivated.
The Power of Personal Goals.
Ultimately setting personal goals can change your life. Setting goals that challenge and motivate you, is proven to increase self-confidence. They help you gain the skills relevant to the life you’d like to lead.
Now that you have the tools to set clear and effective personal goals, abandon any goal that doesn’t serve you.
Remember to be honest, be specific and work SMART.
And above all: Set. Commit. Do!
If you want to know more about how we help our clients work SMART and tap into the power of personal goals please click here.