Episode 27 - Part 1: Setting achievable goals: Not just bravado and motivation talk

Music: “Just A Blip” by Andy G. Cohen

From the Free Music Archive Released under a Creative Commons Attribution International License

https://www.excelatlife.com/articles/guide_to_goals.htm

Benefits of setting goals:

http://thepeakperformancecenter.com/development-series/skill-builder/personal- effectiveness/goal-setting/benefits-of-goal-setting/

Provides Direction

- First and foremost, goals give you a direction and destination. They give you something to aim for and direct your efforts towards. They help guide you to where you ultimately want to be in life.

- Clearer Focus on what is important

Your goals give you a clear focus on what you believe to be important in life. Therefore, it is essential when setting your personal goals, you first think about what is important to you and what you really want to accomplish in life. 

- Clarity in Decision Making

If you know where you want to go, you are in a better position to makes decision that may affect your direction in life.

- Provides Motivation

Goals give you hope and something to aspire to. In itself, having a meaningful goal to think about and envision reaching can be very motivating. As you start towards your long-term goals, you are able to accomplish some short-term goals. 

- Gives you a sense of purpose in life

People need a sense of purpose in their lives, and goals can give you that sense of purpose. Instead of just going through the motions and existing from day to day, your goals give you reasons to get up in the morning, a reason act, and a reason to live the life you desired.

"Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe,

and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success." — Pablo Picasso

- Develop specific goals

If goals are vague and unclear, they are not reachable. However, you also don't want to become discouraged by a goal that is too specific. Sometimes this may be based upon personality.

"All successful people have a goal. No one can get anywhere unless he knows where he wants to go

and what he wants to be or do. " —Norman Vincent Peale

1) Long-term goals. Identify specific long-term goals. These are usually similar to the dream

goal you imagined but they may be more specific. 

2) Short-term goals.Once you have identified the long-term goals you can develop short-term goals

to help you achieve each long-term goal. 

3) Practice goals and competition goals. In sports and other activities involving competition,

you want to develop goals for practice that will help you to meet your competition goals.

"A goal properly set is halfway reached." —Zig Ziglar

- Set target dates

For us to be able to progress in the achievement of goals, it is best to have target dates set for each goal. 

- Develop strategies for achieving goals

Once you have developed the goals, you need to create a specific, concrete plan for achieving those goals. 

"When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals; adjust the action steps" - Confucius

- Develop support network for achieving goals

Having a support network increases the likelihood of a group achieving goals. However, if your support network is critical and negative, you may find that sharing reduces motivation and success.

- Develop plan for goal evaluation

Finally, you need a method to help you evaluate the goals you have set. The plan may keep track of progress, or it may need to determine if the strategies actually work towards accomplishing the goals, or it may need to examine what factors block the goal achievement. 

"Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or ideal." —Earl Nightingale