Let's Talk Money: Part I

9 Simple Steps for Setting Effective Goals

Goal setting has become one of the most time-tested and proven processes for ensuring business and personal success. More than simply having goals in mind, it is the process of putting goals in writing to create a roadmap to success. In fact, research shows that people with written goals accomplish more and achieve a higher level of success throughout their lifetimes than those who have no written goals.

I think we can all agree that having goals is a good thing and that having written goals is even better. While having goals in writing is without doubt the best place to begin, simply taking the time to think through one’s goals and going through the important process of writing them down is not enough. There’s still a little more work to be done to help insure the achievement of those goals. Let’s take a look at the entire process.

All goals must be personal. You have a much better chance of finding success when achieving goals that are important to you than you do working to achieve goals that are important to others. When you put your list of goals together, be honest with yourself about the level of importance each has for you personally. Only include those that are very important to you. When other items on your wish list achieve the “very important” status, they too can be added to your list of written goals.
Always have a compelling reason for wanting to achieve your goals. The WHY is always more important than the WHAT and the HOW. Ask yourself why you want to achieve your goals. What are the negative consequences of not achieving them? What are the positive consequences of achieving them? A very strong and very important WHY will greatly increase the chances of achieving your goals.
Believe that your goals are achievable. Napoleon Hill, the author of Think and Grow Rich said, “Whatever you can conceive and believe you can achieve.” If you don’t truly, deep down inside, believe that a goal is achievable you won’t ever achieve it. If you have a big wish or a big dream that you don’t really believe you can accomplish, don’t give up on it. Keep wishing and keep following your dreams. Set an important goal that relates to your wish that you know you can achieve and start there. Once you have that success under your belt you will be more likely to believe that you can achiever a bigger, more important goal on the way to fulfilling your dream. Believe and you can achieve.
Determine what might be standing in the way of achieving your goals. What are the barriers you have to overcome? Once you have identified the barriers, develop a plan to overcome them. One definition of failure is “action without thinking.” Moving ahead without a plan greatly decreases your chances of success. Clearly define what you want to achieve and create a clearly designed plan to help get you there. Then, stick to the plan.
Determine everything you’ll need to help you achieve your goals. Do you need information? Training? Specific knowledge? Support? Equipment? Anything else? Once you know what you need, incorporate those things into your plan.
Establish a timeframe for achieving your goals. It’s extremely important to have a deadline for achieving each of your goals. Always set a deadline and make sure it’s realistic. I once read “there are no unrealistic goals, only unrealistic timeframes.” I believe this to be true. We have a tendency to think we can accomplish things much faster than we actually can. When you determine a deadline that you believe to be valid, add about 40% to 50% more time to that deadline. Allow for Murphy’s Law. It’s always better to under-promise and over-deliver, even on your own deadlines.
Establish accountability for achieving your goals. Even though we may be very responsible, we all have a tendency to do better when we know someone else is checking in on us to make sure we’re on track. To help you achieve your goals, arrange for someone to hold you accountable. Be very careful when choosing who will help you. Pick someone who has your best interests at heart. Be certain to choose someone who will positively support your efforts. It’s great to have the support of those who truly want you to succeed.
Never give up. If your goals are very important to you and you have very compelling reasons to achieve them, why would you give up? To keep them in the forefront of your thinking read them many times every day. This process helps to maintain something called top of mind awareness. Reading them aloud as often as possible is even better. Set up multiple, visible reminders. Use words and use pictures. Use all the reminders you can to incorporate your goals into your thought process. Use your mind as well. Visualization is a powerful tool. Picture yourself as though you’ve already achieved your goals. Behave as though you have already achieved them. It may be helpful to use sensory perception – what does your goal look like, feel like, smell like, sound like, and taste like? The more forces you can bring into to play the quicker you’ll achieve your goals. As the saying goes, “It doesn’t matter how many times you fall, it’s how many times you get back up.” Keep your goals in sight and keep working your plan to achieve them, no matter what.
Be realistic when defining your goals. Don’t bite off more than you can
chew. Being overly ambitious can lead to frustration, which may in turn cause you to sabotage the very goals that you so deserve and desire to achieve. Pick one goal or pick as many as you truly believe you can honestly work on at one time. Achieve one or two or three and then move on to others. It may be helpful to break your larger goals into realistic, short-term goals; or to break your short-term goals into realistic steps you can take immediately.

You’re in charge of making your life a great one. To borrow a marketing slogan for a popular line of sports products, “Just Do It!”.

Continued Success!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brian Silverthorn is a business growth specialist and success coach. He spends his time helping people build and grow successful businesses. To learn more please visit www.feedthegoodwolf.com and www.forbusinesssuccess.com.

NOTE: You're welcome to reproduce this article online or in print as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "About the Author" information at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to bsilverthorn@feedthegoodwolf.com.

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