Have you ever thought about where you’re going to be in three years’ time? Do you know why you’re doing the things you’re doing now? Do you know what you want to achieve this year?
If you want to be successful in everything you do, you need to learn how to set goals. Setting specific goals will help you determine where you are in your journey and it would be easier to track your progress. Think about it, if your goal is to save one million this year, it will be easier for you to create a plan and reach it than just setting a goal to save money. But setting goals is not as easy as you think. Even harder when you work for it. Before you can accomplish your goals, you have to know how to set them in the first place.
Setting Goals
I set goals in every area of my life. I have financial goals, career goals, spiritual goals, self-development goals, travel goals, health goals and a whole lot more (you get the idea). I set my goals like this because I believe that everything should be balanced in my life. Being successful to me means being successful in every area of my life.
Here’s how you want to start writing your goals:
Financial Goal: This year 2017 I must save 1 million
Health Goal: This year 2017 I must lose 20 pounds
Career Goal: This year 2017 I must have 2 more contracts
Travel Goal: This year 2017 I must visit Australia
For years I have set myself goals that I have never accomplished. Until I reached some goals and it felt like I won a year supply of dark chocolate (yes, I am serious with my chocolate). I kept on succeeding in some areas of my life but my plan never seem to work in others. Was it the motivation I had or I never really pursued those goals the way I pursued the others. I felt like a failure sometimes.
But I have realized that it was part of my journey to being successful. It has fuelled my determination to work even harder and learn from my mistakes. Also notice the word “must” that I have used. I have heard this while listening to Tony Robbins. Using must instead of want will help you have a goal-oriented mindset. It helps you focus on your goals.
Adding Deadlines To Your Goals
In 2016, I have set my goals with deadlines and even though I didn’t smashed all of it, I was pretty close. Here’s how your goals should look now:
Financial Goal: This year 2017 I must save 1 million before Christmas
Health Goal: This year 2017 I must lose 20 pounds before March ends
Career Goal: This year 2017 I must have 2 more contracts before June
Travel Goal: This year 2017 I must visit Australia on April
Adding a deadline to your goal will help you create a time-bounded plan. Say for example saving 1 million before Christmas. In order to accomplish this, you must save 83,333.33 every month or 20,833.33 every week or 2,976.19 every day. Now that you know how you’ll be able to save 1 million, you must take action and plan how to earn extra money on top of your bills.
Adding “Why” To Your Goals
Why do you have the goals you have now? Why do you need to accomplish them? This is the last step in writing your goals. Here’s how your goals should look now:
Financial Goal: This year 2017 I must save 1 million before Christmas so I can start the business I have been planning to put up for years.
Health Goal: This year 2017 I must lose 30 pounds before March ends so I will feel lighter when I run.
Career Goal: This year 2017 I must have 2 more contracts before June so I can give work to my writers.
Travel Goal: This year 2017 I must visit Australia on April so I can visit a new country each year and tour around Sydney and Melbourne.
Writing your goals in this manner will not only help you focus on them and create a specific plan to reach them but also gives you the motivation why you are doing what you’re doing.
This year I have set myself the goals I need to accomplish so I will be closer to my long term goals. If you need help setting goals, always remember that I am just an email away 🙂 I would be very happy to help you set your goals for this year.
May this year bring us more success in all the areas of our lives!