Life Desk :
The goals you decide for yourself decide the direction of your life. Thousands of books have been written about the importance of goal-setting, but only a few of them outline and explain the goal-setting process.
The following seven questions will help you in setting smart goals in life:
1) What do I want? Decide exactly what you want in a specific area and write it down clearly, in detail. Make it measurable and specific. If it is a large goal, break it down into smaller parts and set sub-deadlines.
2) When do you want? Set a deadline for the achievement of the goal. A goal without a deadline is merely a wish.
3) What price are you willing to pay? There are no free lunches. Make a list of everything that you will have to do to achieve this goal. As you think of new items, add them to your list until it is complete.
4) What actions would you be taking? Organise your list of action steps into a plan. A plan is organised on the basis of two elements – priority and sequence. In organising by priorities, you determine the most important things that you can possibly do on your list to achieve your goal. The 80/20 rule applies. 20% of the things that you do will account for 80% of your results.
If you do not set clear priorities, you will “major in minors” and spend much of your time doing small and irrelevant tasks that do not help you to achieve the goal. In organising by sequence, you determine what has to be done before something else can be done. There are always activities that are dependent upon other activities being completed in advance. What are they, and what is the logical order or sequence?
5) What possible resistance will you face? Identify the obstacles or limitations that might hold you back from achieving your goal, both in the situation and within yourself. Ask yourself, “Why have I not achieved this goal already?” Identify the most important constraint or limitation that is holding you back and then focus on removing that obstacle. It could be a certain amount of money, or a key resource. It could be an additional skill or habit that you need to inculcate. It could be additional information you require. It could be the help or assistance of one or more people. Whatever the resistance is, identify it clearly and work towards eliminating it.
6) Are you always moving forward? Once you have determined your goal, developed your plan, and identified your major obstacle, immediately take action on it. Step out in faith. Do the first thing that comes to mind. But do something immediately to start the process of goal attainment. Keep moving forward. Keep growing. Blocked water only stinks.
7) How consistent are you in your actions? Only undertake the actions that move you closer towards your most important goal. Make a habit of getting up each morning, planning your day and then doing something that moves you at least one step closer to what is most important to you.
Follow the seven step formula on a consistent basis and see the change in your life.
by Siddhartha S | New Delhi |
(The author is a professional motivational speaker and the bestselling author of 5 books like Love Your Momdays and retire young, 60 Keys to Success with NLP and many others)
The goals you decide for yourself decide the direction of your life. Thousands of books have been written about the importance of goal-setting, but only a few of them outline and explain the goal-setting process.
The following seven questions will help you in setting smart goals in life:
1) What do I want? Decide exactly what you want in a specific area and write it down clearly, in detail. Make it measurable and specific. If it is a large goal, break it down into smaller parts and set sub-deadlines.
2) When do you want? Set a deadline for the achievement of the goal. A goal without a deadline is merely a wish.
3) What price are you willing to pay? There are no free lunches. Make a list of everything that you will have to do to achieve this goal. As you think of new items, add them to your list until it is complete.
4) What actions would you be taking? Organise your list of action steps into a plan. A plan is organised on the basis of two elements – priority and sequence. In organising by priorities, you determine the most important things that you can possibly do on your list to achieve your goal. The 80/20 rule applies. 20% of the things that you do will account for 80% of your results.
If you do not set clear priorities, you will “major in minors” and spend much of your time doing small and irrelevant tasks that do not help you to achieve the goal. In organising by sequence, you determine what has to be done before something else can be done. There are always activities that are dependent upon other activities being completed in advance. What are they, and what is the logical order or sequence?
5) What possible resistance will you face? Identify the obstacles or limitations that might hold you back from achieving your goal, both in the situation and within yourself. Ask yourself, “Why have I not achieved this goal already?” Identify the most important constraint or limitation that is holding you back and then focus on removing that obstacle. It could be a certain amount of money, or a key resource. It could be an additional skill or habit that you need to inculcate. It could be additional information you require. It could be the help or assistance of one or more people. Whatever the resistance is, identify it clearly and work towards eliminating it.
6) Are you always moving forward? Once you have determined your goal, developed your plan, and identified your major obstacle, immediately take action on it. Step out in faith. Do the first thing that comes to mind. But do something immediately to start the process of goal attainment. Keep moving forward. Keep growing. Blocked water only stinks.
7) How consistent are you in your actions? Only undertake the actions that move you closer towards your most important goal. Make a habit of getting up each morning, planning your day and then doing something that moves you at least one step closer to what is most important to you.
Follow the seven step formula on a consistent basis and see the change in your life.
by Siddhartha S | New Delhi |
(The author is a professional motivational speaker and the bestselling author of 5 books like Love Your Momdays and retire young, 60 Keys to Success with NLP and many others)
