How To Set Effective Goals – Goal Setting Series

Effective goal setting will make it possible for you to overcome Procrastination, Stay Motivated, Measure your Progress, and remain focused. Do you want to learn how to effectively set goals in 2023 going forward? Then keep reading.

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Welcome to our series of articles on Goal setting. If this is your first article in this series, please make sure you see the rest, so you can get the full detail of our discussion.

What you will learn about Goal setting

Here are the subtopics we are covering in the article series on “Goal Setting”

Why having a goal is essential for you

Having goals for the things we want to do and working towards them is an important part of being humans and separates us from other animals that live based on mere instinct and natural programming.

The path towards our goals may not always run smoothly or be easy, but having goals, whether big or small, is part of what makes life meaningful. It gives us a sense of purpose and points us in the direction we want to go. An effective goal is a magic that can provide us with the possibility of archiving our potential, including:

  • Getting us interested in what we are doing,
  • Helping us to be fully engaged,
  • And ultimately increasing our overall happiness as people.

Aristotle said over 2000 years ago, that ‘Well begun is half done. And that ‘we are what we repeatedly do’. With regards to goal setting, Aristotle is absolutely right.

Paying attention to how we set our goals can make us more likely to achieve them and achieving them makes us feel good about ourselves and our lives in general.

Be S.M.A.R.T in your goal setting

This part of the article is actually an extract from one of my books, “Crisis Of Identity: How to Reinforce Your Personal Identity in 7 Days”. It’s a section of the argument where I explained what you can do to plan what you want to achieve because nothing important ever happens by accident. You can get a copy of the book at Amazon.com.

If you have a good idea of the scale of preference in economics, that knowledge will serve you well here. If, for instance, you chose relationship consulting, you will need to break it down into 10, 5, and 1 years, as well as monthly, weekly, and daily plans and objectives.

After you have determined what you want, you must accomplish or move toward your goals, one step at a time. I say only one step at a time because you cannot do all of it at the same time. This is where most people find more difficulties because they want to do all of it at the same time. You cannot do that and nobody ever does.

Let me ask you a question. “How do you eat an elephant?” Well, the answer is one bite at a time, so this is the same as your goal. Everything takes time, so give your goals the appropriate time to materialize.

The beauty of goal setting and achievement lies in constantly reviewing and updating them. Try to sit down to review your goals at least once or twice a year. The importance of this approach is that you will keep your goals fresh and reflect your current needs. Remember that nothing stays the same, and while your primary objective and core values may largely remain the same, some of the approaches you take might change.

Maybe you initially wanted to be the top relationship consultant in your city within five years and now, based on new demands, you have decided to add a training program to your project because you want to teach people about relationship consulting in your city. You can even add a completely different thing and change your plans. It’s all perfectly fine.

To make the best out of your goal-setting, you need to apply what many goal-setting experts now refer to as S.M.A.R.T. goals, a five-letter acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. S.M.A.R.T. is a tactic you will extremely find helpful in your goal-setting and achievement. Now, let’s see them one after the other:

Specific

Your goal should be clearly defined and not vague. An example of a vague goal is, “I want to make more money,” whereas a specific goal would be, “I want to make $120,000 by the end of this year and $10,000 every month.”

Measurable

Quantify your goals, so you know when they have been achieved. A goal that cannot be measured is no goal at all. In the example above, “more” is less measurable, whereas the specific amount of dollars ($120,000) is.

Attainable

For your goal to be good, it needs to be realistic and attainable. I understand that I have said that you should not limit your imagination, but this does not mean that you should set impossible goals for yourself. Why you should avoid setting impossible goals is to avoid the opposite effect, which is a lack of self-confidence when you fail to hit the target.

Relevant

Your goal needs to be relevant with respect to your core values and life’s purpose, or there will be no drive to accomplish it. Say, for example, that your life’s purpose is to bring leadership education to all of the children in your country in five years’ time. Now, you set a goal to become the best author on environmental disasters within four years. Your goal needs to fit within your general life’s purpose or something you truly care about.

Time-Bound

Another important thing to take into consideration when setting up your goal is the time or time limit. Until you have set a time limit for achieving your goal, it is not a goal, but a wish. Remember the first example; that of a person wanting to make $120,000 by the end of the year. Without the “by the end of this year”, it would be difficult to understand when the goal is or should be achieved.

By following this simple strategy, you will see which part of your goals you need to achieve, change, or accomplish in the process.

Let me repeat this: if you feel there is a good, strong reason to change any part of your goal, go ahead and do so. It is perfectly okay. Note that it is not necessarily achieving your goals that matter, as much as what you become in the process. Never forget this.

Whether you are setting personal goals or professional goals, I believe this guide on effective goal setting will be of huge significance to you. So, take advantage of it.

Your key takeaways how to set effective goals

The first step to setting a goal is determining what you want to achieve. It is important to be specific about what you want and not just say “I want more money”. You should think about how much money you want, how often, and how long it would take for you to get that amount.

For example, if your goal is to make $100 a week from your blog, then the first step would be figuring out how much time it would take for you to reach that goal.

If it takes 5 hours a day for 6 days a week for 3 months, then your total time investment would be 180 hours or 10 weeks of work.

Another step in setting an effective goal is figuring out the steps necessary to make it happen. You should break down the steps into smaller tasks so that they are easier to accomplish and track progress on them as they are completed.

This article has been about How to Set Effective Goals and I hope you have gotten some value from it. In our next article, we will talk about five Powerful Tips For Goal-Setting. Talk to you there.

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