GOAL
SETTING: WHAT DO I
WANT TO ACHIEVE?
“Take
delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit
your way to the Lord; trust in him….” Psalm
37:4-5
“In
their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” Proverbs 16:19
“Put
your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready; after that, build your
house.” Proverbs 24:27
“Here is a great rule
for success: Think on paper. Only about 3% of adults have clear, written goals.
These people accomplish five and ten times as much as people of equal or better
education and ability, but who have never taken the time to write out exactly
what it is they want.” Brian Tracy
Goals (long-term, mid-term or short-term) are the desired results that you would want to achieve, and targets that you would want to reach. They are the end-points and milestones that you desire to reach after a specific period of time.
According to
dictionary.com, it defines a goal as “the result or achievement toward which
effort is directed…” In order to get to where you want to be, you need to
clearly describe exactly what you want. You will never reach an uncertain and
nuclear goal. It has to be specific for a goal to be very powerful.
Your goals are critical
to your success in life. Without them your life will lack direction, excitement
and success cannot be measured. Distraction and procrastination are the common
experiences of individuals who don’t have a clear and compelling goal.
In order to achieve
your goal it must be “S.M.A.R.T.” It must be:
-
S
= Specific – it must describe clearly and precisely what it is
that you hope to achieve. It must be concrete and clear.
-
M
= Measurable – it must be easy to measure and should
be able to tell you whether or not you have reached your goal. You should be
able to determine by “how much or by how many” you will want to see a change or
improvement.
-
A
= Attainable – it must be big, daring, and
motivating to you. It must be something that can be achieved with desire,
disciple, determination, dedication and dependence on God.
-
R
= Responsible – it must be something that you want to
achieve, for which you are willing to take responsibility and dedicate your
resource.
-
T
= Timely – it must have a reasonable deadline and you must
do all you can to stick to it.
If you can be very
clear and definite about what you want to achieve and pursue it without
distraction or deviation, you will get more done within a specific time and
minimize the waste of resources.
There are seven (7) steps you must
take from defining to achieving your goals:
Step
1:
Clearly define and decide on what you really want. It is not wise for you to
keep on working daily on the tasks that have low or no value because you have
taken the time to decide on what you really want.
Step
2:
Put it into writing. Goals must be arranged according to priority ad written
down for them to be pursued therefore; you must learn to think on paper.
Written goals inspire and motivate. People who don’t write their goals usually
end up confused and unfulfilled.
Step
3:
Decide on the deadline. If you don’t decide when you would want to achieve a
goal, you might never achieve it due to procrastination and lack of urgency.
Therefore, you must always set goals with time limit.
Step
4:
Define what you must do to achieve your goals. Develop a comprehensive list of
everything you will need to do and steps you will need to take in order to
achieve your goals.
Step
5:
Prioritize your list. Arrange your list in the order of importance and organize
it into a plan. Decide on what to do both now and later. Define who is
responsible for each.
Step
6:
Decide to act on your plan. An average person who has a plan and acts on it
will succeed more than a brilliant person who has a plan but does not act on
it. The beauty of a plan is as important the commitment to act on it.
Step
7:
Stay focused on your goals. Determine to keep on moving daily towards your
goals daily. Minimize your distraction, increase your commitment and never give
up.
Kindly drop your comments, questions,
contributions and views, the 12 Secrets will continue next week,
precisely on Sunday. Thank you
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