How to Set Great Goals
Goal setting is the key to success. Period. Well, sometimes luck works too (lottery winners) but rarely do lucky people end up staying successful. About 80% of all lottery winners end up bankrupt or exactly where they were before winning the lottery within five years. People who are successful long-term set great goals and achieve them.
We all want to be successful. Setting great goals is how we achieve success. So how should we set goals? Here are a few tips:
Be Clear and Specific
If we don't know exactly what we want, we're not going to know how to get it. By keeping goals focused we can create a clear vision of what achieving that goal will be like. If the goal is a new car, what kind of car is it? What model? Year? Colour? What options will it have?
Make Goals Measurable
Without a way to measure our goals, how do we know when we've reached them? A good goal will has a concrete way to measure it—dollars, size, time, weight. By having a way to measure our goals we can see how close or far we are from them. This allows us to make adjustments if we aren't seeing the results we should be getting.
Set Realistically Big Goals
Some of us dream big while others don't dream big enough. A key part of having good goals is to know the difference. Setting goals that are too easy to reach won't do us any good. We want to create goals that will challenge us, make us better, and improve our lives.
At the same time we need to make sure these big goals are realistic. Being realistic doesn't mean dumbing down our goals, it means we have to be honest with ourselves. What's realistic for one person may not be realistic for another—based on work ethic, money, or family. We should make goals that we can honestly see as becoming a reality if the circumstances are right or if this, that, and the other thing happened.
Time
All goals need a specific end time. Without one we will never accomplish what we set out to do. If we had all the time in the world to do something, it would never get done. Giving our goals a deadline helps us break down the steps required to reach our goal. It also helps us measure our progress of reaching the goal and allows us to correct our course for success.
Wrapping up
Simple, right? Set great goals and create that successful life you want. Here's a quick rundown if you're just skimming the page:
- Set goals that are specific and clear
- Set goals with a specifically measurable quality
- Set goals that are big enough to create excitement and are still realistic
- Set goals with a specific end time
Now get out there and set some goals!
If you want help setting your goals I can help you. We can go over what you want to achieve and how to get you there.
