Setting and Achieving Goals

How many times have you set a goal, made a new years resolution, or promised to break a habit and not achieved it? Good examples of these include:

• loosing weight;
• finding a better job;
• stop smoking;
• obtaining a promotion;
• saving money;
• becoming more organised;

You would definitely not be alone. However, with some strategic reviewing and a plan for the future, all of this can change. The following ten steps will poise you for personal and professional success and will lead you to achieving your goals:

1. Probably one of the most important steps: write down your goal. Write it in a place that you will regularly see it.For example, write it on the coversheet of your diary, write it on a Post-It note and place it on your fridge. This will remind you of what you are working towards. The light at the end of the tunnel;

2. Make your goal public: tell a friend, share your goal with a relative, or talk to a work colleague. Whoever it may be, making your goal public makes you more accountable and more likely to achieve positive outcomes;

3. Take little steps towards your goal: instead of taking huge, overwhelming ones. Make a list of what you want to achieve and the steps you need to take to get results, then work on just one item a week. For example, if you want to stop smoking, smoke one less cigarette a week, each week, until you are not smoking at all. If you want to save money, start by putting away $5 every week. $5 is a relatively small amount that you won't miss;

4. Make an appointment: in your diary to spend time on your goal. It may require daily attention, by daily, or week. Make an appointment for the time required, so it receives your undivided attention. If the goal is important enough and you truly want it, then it deserves the time, the attention and the effort. A tree cannot grow without water, a baby cannot develop without love, care and attention and a goal cannot be achieved without attention, effort and time;

5. Create an action plan: it is ok to simply state what you want, but you need to really want it and know how to get it. You would never set out to an unknown destination in the car without a road map. Similar with a goal, especially a tough one. So write down "what will I do? What steps do I need to take? What resources can I use?" Make sure your action plan contains action verbs!

6. Model someone successful: find someone who has been successful at their chosen career, at losing weight, at achieving their goal and talk to them. You would be surprised how many people are willing to share their secrets. All you need to do is ask the right questions and take notes;

7. Learn from setbacks: if something works, a technique, an action, or a strategy, repeats it. If it does not work, identify why it didn't work and learn from that experience. Also, do not take setbacks personally, view them more as outcomes. Setbacks are impersonal, but they are not intended that way. And always remember, there is no such thing as failure, until you give up trying!

8. Reward yourself: set yourself mini rewards, leading to larger rewards as you completion actions and move closer to your goals. Achieving goals should be fun and not a chore, so make it fun. For example, when trying to loose weight, eat healthy for six days a week and have one day off. That one day gives you something to work towards, makes life more interesting and makes it less likely that you fall off the wagon. You are looking for a promotion and you have identified that you could benefit from some additional training, once you have completed the training, reward yourself, maybe a massage, or a new pair of shoes;

9. Repetition: psychologists say it takes 21 days to form new habits. After that, your behaviours become easy, automatic and normal. 21 days is three weeks. So keep working on your goal for 21 days, until it becomes part of your normal routine;

10. Get back on track! There may be occasions whereby you do fall of the wagon, where you lapse into old behaviours, or attitudes. This is often used as an excuse to quit, or give up trying. Prepare yourself for such instances, with at least three responses planned and mentally rehearsed. Make them specific and make them measurable. Include positive affirmations to remind yourself that "you can achieve this", or "that you deserve the best outcome". And then get right back on that push bike and start peddling once again;

The SMART method of setting goals has been around for a long time and is used daily in the business world to assist managers, executives and organisations to achieve their goals.

SMART is an acronym for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timebound. With this additional tool in hand, you will be well on your way to achieving your life's dreams.

Taken from Daytimer
www.daytimer.com.au

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