I have discovered that, although most successful people are visionaries and intentional dreamers, they are also stable and goal-oriented. As Harvey Mackay cited, “A goal is a dream with a deadline.” Most successful people have written goals. They communicate their goals, visualize the results, and reward themselves and others for the accomplishment of milestones.
The following tips have helped my clients to set and achieve powerful goals:
- Before setting a goal, think about what you really want in your life. Many of us set goals to do what we think we should do; however, we do not want the results enough to remain committed to the goal.
- Ask yourself if your goal is in alignment with your priorities in life. When a person’s goals and priorities are not in alignment, a sense of being overwhelmed, or inertia, can stand in the way of accomplishing the goal.
- Ensure that your goal is realistic and achievable. Many people give up on trying to reach their goal, because they were hoping to achieve the impossible when they set the goal. However, it is also important to engage in possibility thinking and to realize that you are capable of achieving what others might consider impossible. Give your goal some “stretch.”
- Clearly state your goal by describing your desired results exactly as you wish them to be. State the goal in terms of what will be accomplished and when it will be accomplished.
- Ensure that your goal is measurable by asking yourself how you will know whether you have achieved this goal.
- Write your goal on paper, and keep this piece of paper in a place where you can look at it every day. Fewer than three percent of all adults have written goals, and research shows that people with written goals are more likely to achieve them.
- Make a commitment to yourself to reach the goal, ensuring that you understand the effort that will be involved in doing this.
- Visualize the end result. Close your eyes, and create a mental movie of how the end result will look. In this mental movie, visualize yourself enjoying these results. Repeat this visualization daily, picturing yourself as if you have already achieved your goal.
- Describe the benefits of your goal. Do this on paper, so that you can read the benefits whenever you might struggle with doing the things needed to reach the goal.
- Establish milestones as mini-goals, and write them down as well. It is easier to work on one small step at a time than on a big goal.
- Develop and implement an action plan. Determine the steps that you will take in order to achieve your goal, and write these down.
- Communicate your goal to supportive people who might be able to contribute to its achievement, either through direct efforts or through encouragement.
- Reward yourself as you reach milestones along the way to achieving your goal. By giving recognition to ourselves for our accomplishments, we expand our enthusiasm and energy to accomplish more.
- Remain flexible. Although you will set a date for accomplishing your goal, there could be an emergency situation that you need to handle en route. When taking care of this situation is a higher priority than the goal, allow yourself to adjust your schedule for accomplishing the goal. Also, as you achieve your goals, you may change direction and will, of course, set new goals for yourself.
- If you make a mistake, give yourself permission to start again. We are all in a constant process of growth and development. We can use our mistakes as learning opportunities and become even stronger than we had been previously.
Your goals, integrated with your dreams, will enhance your success, both in your business and in your personal life.
Are you a goal setter? If so, how do you go about setting and achieving goals?
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