Setting Goals
Goal setting is not a new concept. However, we often have trouble setting and achieving our goals for various reasons such as setting a goal poorly or not having enough time to fulfill some of your objectives. I often find that people fall into 4 categories as they:
- Don’t believe in goal setting.
- Don’t know how to set goals, therefore they don’t.
- Set goals and don’t follow through.
- Set goals and “magically” get them all done .
For those in the first category, you should start setting goals. It is important to have a sense of direction within your life and looking ahead is what allows for you to progress further than you ever will if you take everything as it comes. You cannot expect the next 1 year of your life to turn out great if you cannot plan ahead for the next two days. In fact, 1 year is quite short, however it is ample time to make changes and grow, if you plan for it and do everything with purpose.
To all of my friends within the second category, you either have one too many big goals and don’t know which to pick or you have too vague a goal that you can’t seem to break down and make actionable. For the former, priorities are key, write them down in order of importance and pick the top three, two or one to focus on. Do not pick more than three of those goals. For those that fall in the latter and the third group, the rest of the article will help address this issue.
Let’s get into it.
Part 1: What is your end goal or vision?
- Define it.
Take the time to define the end goal and vision. Though you already have it in mind, take some time to break it down and get as specific as possible, for example, you may want to become an expert in mobile application development or you may want to become healthy. These goals are not specific, thus you must take the time to further define them. What does healthy mean to you? What defines an expert in mobile application development? Perhaps a healthy person to you exercises regularly and does not eat processed food. In that case, your goal is to do exactly that.
2. Why do you want to achieve it?
After taking your time to define your goal, ask yourself why. Motivation is not the most reliable means to push you to put in the work. However a significant and meaningful reason shall keep you going on the days you want to give up. It shall also justify pursuing this goal.
A lot of people mistake money as the why, it is not. Money is often a vessel to the real reason. You want to make money so that (Insert reason here). That reason is the why behind what you do.
If you cannot find a meaningful and significant reason for you to pursue your goal, then it is not the right goal for you. It is not important enough, meaning it will not always have a high priority within your life.
3. Are you willing to put in the work?
Time. Effort. Sacrifice.
This goal. What do you need to do to get there? Be honest. If you want to become an expert developer or healthy are you willing to program every day or workout every other day? Are you willing to go for classes? Are you willing to wake up earlier or sleep later?
Doing something and the idea of doing something are completely different things. Are you willing to drop the idea, and simply do? Once you try doing it…is the discomfort or sacrifice reason to give up? Are there excuses?
If you are not willing to put in the work, you don’t want it badly enough, and as such you should probably re-assess your why or pursue something that is of more importance to you.
Part 2: How will you achieve your goal?
- What to do you need to do in order for you to achieve your goal?
Once you have defined your goal, stated your why and are willing to put in the work the next step is to break down all the steps and requirements that shall allow for you to achieve your goal. Do you need to sign up for a class? Do you need to get some equipment? Do you need to start or drop a habit? Do you need to stop watching movies into the night?
Make a complete list of what is required and use this for the next step.
2. Set small & smart goals, and stack them.
From your list of requirements, stack them based on which will allow for the other. Which requirement is a pre-requisite for the last? For example, if you’re not in the habit of waking up early in the morning and do not exercise, you are not going to find it easy to wake up at 5am and then work out. Those are two new habits. Therefore it would make most sense to get into the habit of waking up early and then get into working out. Both are important on your journey to becoming healthy, however it does not hurt to focus on one thing at a time, which can lead to more sustainable growth.
Once you have stacked your requirements, convert them into SMART goals. For example, a set of SMART goals for getting healthy may be:
- Wake up at 5:00am every day
- Attend a workout class twice a week for the month of January
- Attend a workout class three times a week for the month of Febuary
- Workout on your own, once a week | Attend a workout class twice a week for the month of March
- Workout on your own twice a week | Attend one workout class for the month of April
- Eat out only once a week for the month of May
and so on
All of these goals are specific, measurable, attainable and timely. However most importantly each goal makes the next possible and easier to sustain. Before we learn to run, we must walk and before we learn to walk we must crawl.
These goals may be broken down into months, weeks or days. For a monthly goal, have smaller weekly and daily goals so as to ensure that you continuously pursue your vision.
3. Milestones and rewards
With all the goals you’re setting it’s important to celebrate and reward yourself for milestones achieved. Take the time to set what counts as a milestone and allocate a reward for it.
4. Know when you quit
I quit on Wednesdays. Additionally, I often quit in June. I quit in the middle. I quit when I get tunnel vision. I quit when I feel like I am not good enough. Why is this important? When you know when you quit, you can prepare and plan for it. I know that on Wednesdays I will need to be more mindful of myself and my performance. I know what to do if I get tunnel vision. I know how to spot a problem and address it, so that when it is easiest for me to fall off, I will be less likely to do so.
There you have it. Define your goals, find your why and break it all down. What’s next
5. DO IT.
Whatever it is, you have planned and prepared, now go and do it. No excuses. This is a promise between you and yourself which you must hold. If you expect others to keep their word to you, you should expect the same from yourself. So, do it.
