Goals. There’s No Success Without Them.

Goals! Most people have vague goals of what they’d like to do or something they’d like to get. Successful people set specific goals and work to achieve them. There’s no secret to goal setting, it’s a simple but very effective process that anyone can do. If done correctly setting goals will raise your game and propel you forward, nearly as good as having your own personal trainer behind you urging you on. High achievers have certain characteristics in common; one of them is they all set goals. Top businessmen, sportsmen, artists and anyone seeking to propel themselves forward all set goals. So what’s the secret? The best way to set your goals is to use the SMART method. SMART is an acronym for;

Specific

The goal must be specific. No vagueness here. If you are unsure of what your target is you won’t hit it. Think deeply. What do you want to achieve. Don’t worry about how you will achieve it. That comes later. Just state what you want to achieve. Here’s a specific goal; “I want to earn £20,000 by December”, or “I want to lose 10 pounds by June”. These are two specific goals. If I say I want to earn some more money by December that’s a general goal. It’s too vague so it won’t hold your focus. Make your goal specific and give it a time frame. A time frame is crucial to forcing you to focus.

Measurable

You must be able to measure your progress. Put in place points you can measure. For example if I want to earn £20,000 by December I will break that goal down into smaller measurable ones. I could say I want to earn £1000 in January, £1500 in February. I am now creating measurable points that I can refer to. This will do two things. It will ensure I stay on track towards my greater goal. It will also give me a buzz when I achieve my smaller goal and instil me with confidence as I move towards the next goal. Each little goal you achieve will increase yourself belief. Make sure you can measure your progress as you head towards your big goal. This will keep your moral up.

Attainable

Make the goal attainable. Be realistic. When you have a goal that is realistic you will move towards it, and as you keep achieving the small goals that are leading to you main goal other opportunities will present themselves for you. This doesn’t mean that your goals should be easy. They shouldn’t. You should set goals outside of your comfort zone because this will raise your game, force you to excel and think of new ways to achieving it. For example, if I say my goal is to win the lottery on Saturday. It’s specific, it’s measurable but because it depends on factors well out of your control it’s not attainable even though it may be possible so it fails the criteria of a genuine goal.

Realistic

You must be realistic in your goal setting. You want to move outside of your comfort zone but the goal must be realistic. Set it high because this will force you to raise your game but keep it realistic. If I earned £15,000 from my business last year and this year I set my goal to earn £30,000, I’ve raised the bar, but it’s realistic. I then have to decide how I’m going to do it, I might raise my prices, employ new selling techniques, diversify my stock, the options are there for me to employ. If I say I want to earn ten million I’m not been realistic. You have to decide whether your goal is realistic. Make sure your goals are within your control. That they depend on your input to make them a reality.

Timely

You must put your goal within a time frame. This is crucial towards driving you forwards. If there’s no time frame there’s no sense of urgency. If my goal is to make £30,000 by December I will break that down into monthly goals. I will keep it all tightly encased within a time frame.

Check your goals against the SMART system, ensure they match the criteria and you will have more chance of success. Setting goals is a powerful way to propel you forward and energize you towards accomplishing your main goal. You will need to set lots of smaller goals. For example my goal to earn £30,000 through my business by December is broken down into twelve monthly goals. To achieve the monthly target I will need to increase my business so I will have other goals set to accomplish this. I will then break this down into a daily to-do list.

State your main goal then break it down into lots of small goals. Once you start achieving small goals you will become energized and more confident to move on to your next goal. Achievement feels good. By accomplishing small goals you are moving towards your main goal. By setting your goals this way, the main goal will not look so daunting. Get into the goal setting habit and drive your dreams forward.