Are you the sort of person who sets the same New Year’s resolutions year after year and never actually makes them happen? Maybe you set yourself goals with the best intentions but run out of enthusiasm halfway, or maybe you never even manage to get started?
One of the big secrets to successful goal setting is to set goals that you want to achieve. That might sound like its too easy, but who said it had to be difficult? Sure achieving your goals will require some effort from you, but you’re much more likely to commit to making that effort if you are working towards something that you really want for yourself. So that means sorting out the ‘want to’ goals from the ‘should” goals.
Here is my Successful Goal Setting Process in 7 Easy Steps:
(1) Think carefully about the goals you want for yourself. Be honest. Are they goals you ‘want to’ achieve, or goals you feel you ‘should’ achieve?
(2) Rate your goals on how badly you want them on a scale of 1 –10. (1 being you don’t care about them at all, 10 being you desperately want them) Generally you are only likely to succeed if your ‘want’ for that goal is in the 8-10 range.
(3) Eliminate the ‘shoulds’ on your list. ‘Shoulds’ are the things you feel you “should” do because of other people or other outside influences. If your goal is a ‘should’ rather than a ‘want’ it is probably the wrong goal for you.
(4) If there are goals on your list that are ‘shoulds’ or rate lower than an 8 on the ‘want to’ scale but you feel you need to achieve them for your health and wellbeing, eg losing weight or sorting out your finances, then first work on getting them higher up the want to scale. Look for some incentives or reasons that you want to exercise or save money, so your goal can become a ‘want’ rather than a ‘should’.
(5) Once you’ve carefully selected your goals, get excited about working on these goals you really want to achieve.
(6) Go for it! Break the goal into steps and take the action needed to make it happen. Getting started is the most important step. However small that first step is, make sure you do it. Then the next one, and then the next and keep going.
(7) And last, but certainly not least, don’t forget to celebrate your success when you do achieve your goals!
By Jacqui Thomas
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