Goal Setting- Are You Doing It Right?
Having goals is not enough. Setting the right goals is key.
It’s 2023.
We are in the New Year which is now a week old. Everyone around you is setting their goals for the year and you are probably too.
The first month is when most of us set goals for our professional and personal lives.
Your Goals Could Be Related To:
- Learning a new skill
- Changing a job
- Getting the promotion you have wanted for some time now
- Picking up a new hobby
- Spending more time with family
- Getting fitter
- Eating better
- Saving more and or investing in a strategic way
- Waking up early or going to bed early
- Spending less time on social media
- Meditating
- Or making a lifestyle change
The list goes on.
And just like the goals list is long so are the challenges that come with it.
Having too many things on your mind can lead to confusion, frustration, and anxiety. There, I said it. Having goals can cause anxiety. Leaving the safe space of your comfort zone and entering the challenging world of goals can cause distress.
We want to acheive many things and we want to acheive them all at once
Many of us, including me, get anxious when setting goals and making plans to achieve them. One of the top reasons is the inability to focus on one goal at a time.
We want to achieve many things and we want to achieve them all at once. Well, let’s be honest and kind to ourselves. We only get a few hours each day, outside of our day job, to focus on the goals set outside of the said job we do to make money. Within that limited time, as adults, we can’t ignore adulting.
- You have to cook food to eat
- You have to do the laundry
- You have to take care of the bills
- And you do need to socialize once in a while at the least for your own mental health
The point I am trying to make is you need to be very cautious and extremely picky when it comes to picking goals. While trying to figure out how to go about my goals for this year, I came across a simple exercise that helped me and I am sharing it below with you.
- Take a piece of paper
- Write down all the things/ goals that you want to achieve in your life in any order
- Now close your eyes and imagine you will be able to achieve ONE of the listed goals in the next 24 hours
- Which goal is that? Open your eyes and circle it
- Now make a plan to execute it, listing in detail the What, When, Where, How of the goal.
I hope this exercise helps you in finding what you need to focus on and what your tier 1 goal is at the moment. More to come on the What, When, Where, How of the goal in the coming weeks.
Share your experience on where you landed with this exercise and if it was actually effective.
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