Goal Setting For Geese Who Get Distracted By Shiny Things
Goal setting is the process of defining a target condition or achievement you’d like to conquer and designing a plan to reach it. A goal is typically an ideal - something you’d like to have or have done in your life. It is used in businesses to aim for growth or new success, in schools to encourage kids to challenge themselves in their learning, and even in private lives to help create improvements to change life for the better.
When you set goals, they help you to understand what you want out of something. For example… If one of your goals is to read more educational or informative books this year, not only do you want to simply read more, but you now understand that you want to be gaining knowledge and learning from the books you read. Goals give you a clear mission to work toward rather than an unfocused, easily distracted, half-effort. They can create a more focussed approach to success in the areas you choose to set goals in by outlining a direct and simple plan to achieve them.
So how can you set the right goals for the new year? In order to set the right goals, focus on what matters in your life. This can range from goals from the heart like “spending more time with family,” to little goals like “Make my bed every morning.” Take a look at what could use improvement in your life right now. Setting goals is all about creating visions of what could be so don’t limit yourself to what life currently is. That said, make sure you are creating realistic goals that align with your timeline and can truly be accomplished.
Creating timelines is an extremely important part of the goal setting process. Once you give yourself a deadline you become committed to doing your best to reach it. Having a deadline and a precise target to reach can help you to develop an understanding of what it would take to accomplish your goal and from that, you can begin forming a plan to make it happen. Remember, every day adds up. What may seem like very little progress right now, becomes massive milestones later if you remain consistent.
Even something as obvious as “make your bed everyday” can change your life. Even improving the little things that don’t seem to hold that much importance, can help your life function smoother and help you to clear your mind. When setting goals for the new year, take a moment to think about the obvious, little parts of your life that could be changed for the better.
An “un-goal” is a goal that focuses on eliminating something from your life. For example, bad habits, a massively messy room, or even a spending problem. Your un-goals could then be eliminating bad habits slowly, developing weekly and daily routines for cleaning up your room, and setting a budget for the month. In getting rid of the bad, you are making room for the good!
How will you know when you’ve completed a goal if it is not measurable? A good goal has a clear end product or target that you will know when you have reached. Unmeasurable goals are not clear and lead to unfocussed or undetermined efforts. Meanwhile, measurable goals provide a promised end if you were to reach it. It is more motivating to work toward a certainty than a possibility.
And what if your measurable goal is completely unattainable in the timeline you’ve given yourself? Make sure to be setting realistic goals so you can stay consistent in achieving them and avoid frustration. A simple way to help ensure your goals are manageable is using goals as stepping stones. This would be like creating little goals that pile up on each other to reach a massive goal! Not only does it help the work seem less daunting but it also provides fast satisfaction instead of waiting what feels like forever to reach the one big goal. Creating stepping stones can help you lead a more organized and efficient effort.
Goal setting is important to achieving what you want from life. Understanding what you want and need can make the process much smoother and erase the possibility of frustration or burnout. Remember to create timelines for your goals, keep in mind the obvious ones, use un-goals to eliminate problem areas of your life, make your goals measurable, and use little goals as stepping stones to big ones. Using these tips, you will be well on your way to a brand new you for the new year.
