To Fail to Plan…..
“If you don’t make the time to work on creating the life you want, you’re eventually going to be forced to spend a LOT of time dealing with a life you don’t want.” – Kevin Ngo
“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” Benjamin Franklin
Goals are essential. Goals serve as waypoints on our journey. Failing to establish goals will leave us at the mercy of the tides and currents of external forces over which we have little control - and may not be in our best interests. We will continue to fall into our unhelpful patterns as we allow things other than ourselves to direct the course of our life. We diminish ourselves and hand off our personal power by failing to set goals that allow us to pursue our highest hopes and aspirations. Our lives were a gift to each one of us, and I would offer that we have the responsibility to live it fully with intention and purpose.
“Did you know that every human being is created with a purpose and that they have a responsibility to not only discover their purpose but also to fulfill it?” – Zig Ziglar
Here is a great strategy for developing the goals you need to guide you on your way. It’s called the SMART goals approach.
SMART GOALS are: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Framed.
Specific: Goals must be as specific as we can make them. Vague and imprecise goals make it difficult to determine how we get to them or when they’ve been achieved. A goal such as “I will write a novel” is overly broad. A better one might be “I will develop my outline by the end of the week.” In this way, we can evaluate progress easily.
Measurable: As in the previous example, goals need to be measurable. Measurable goals give us a path to reach our goals and the criteria to identify that the goal has been reached. The goals should be simple and concrete to allow us to monitor progress and identify successful achievement.
Achievable: Reasonably achievable goals create confidence and motivation. We are prone to “bite off more than we can chew” as we set our goals. Not only does this hinder goal achievement, but it will diminish our motivation and commitment as we fail to meet them. We can avoid this as we make an honest appraisal of the steps involved in accomplishing the goal, and a real estimation of the time and effort involved. It’s better to exceed the goal than to have a goal that is unachievable.
Realistic: Realistic goals require a genuine understanding of our ability and resources. We must make a candid assessment and take into account things such as motivation, commitment, and preparation. Pro-tip: Goals can be adjusted to make them more realistic.
Time Framed: An equally important but often overlooked aspect of goal setting is the time frame. Developing a set amount of time provides the structure the mind needs to help achieve the goal. A very easy pitfall is to set a goal, talk a lot about it, but never make any progress due to lack of a timeframe. A feeling of urgency prompts initiation and motivates us to accomplish the goal.
“A goal is a dream with a deadline.” Napoleon Hill
Need help developing your goals? Contact me at Total Life Counseling and we’ll get you on your way forward!