In wake of the New Year it seems like the entire world is obsessed with goal setting. A new year filled with new possibilities to finally get your life together through vision board parties and pastel colored planners scribed with motivationalhashtags such #Goals, #Goal-Getter, and #GoGirl.
To be honest I have always enjoyed goal-setting myself. An obsessive planner by nature (I’m working on it), I’ve always been goal-oriented and have always found joy strategizing ways to make my aspirations come true. By trade, one of my key work responsibilities is organizational development planning with the objective to cultivate next-level leadership.
So to me “goals” are bigger than any hashtag. A goal doesn’t exist if there no plan behind it so goal-setting is definitely worth all the hype and if executed properly, can/will be an impactful method to drive the objectives you ultimately want to achieve. But what good is a dream if there is no road map as to how or when it will be accomplished? This is why strategic goal-setting is your one-way ticket to your success.
Now there is no “one size fits all” equation to goal-setting however when planning, keep these few tips in mind.
Tip 1-Clarify is it a Wish or a Goal? – We all like to Dream Big. To me, dreams should have no limits. However, the bigger the dream, the more that will be required to make it happen. So..got a big goal you want to shoot for? Discern whether it’s a “wish” or a “goal” and get serious about it. Sometimes we make the mistake of placing our wishes in front or beside of our goals and due to the lack of commitment our wishes require, we keep the same energy with our goals. Our wishes require zero follow up or discipline so be careful not to confuse the 2.
Tip #2- Be Specific-One of the biggest mistakes that we make when goal setting is making goals too broad. It’s vital that you are specific as to what you want to accomplish. For example, “saving more money” can be a successful goal however it lacks specifics and will eventually become hard to target for. But by changing the goal to maybe “Put $10,000 in savings this year” you can set whatever necessary targets (daily, weekly, monthly) goals in place to get you there. You have to clear with what you are working toward.
Tip #3 Create realistic timelines- Set yourself up for success by establishing a realistic timeline. The sole principal behind goal setting is that you actually achieve the goal. So be fair enough to yourself to design a fair time-table for this goal to be met. However, don’t make the mistake of not putting a time-stamp on the goal either. By not making the goal time-bound, you run the risk of it losing priority to your plan therefore decreasing the likelihood of it being executed.
Tip #4- Write it Down! – Thanks to modern technology, we can literally plan our whole lives from our smart phones and other devices. And goal-setting is no exception through virtual planning apps and online vision boards. However, you are more likely to achieve the goals that you actually write down as it reignites what you want to accomplish and serves a reminder as to what needs to be done. The secret to goal-execution is when pen meets the paper, what was once vision now morphs into reality.