A Goal Without a Plan is Just a Wish
If we set goals in our personal or professional lives, but do not action them out, and make a plan to do so, then we are “dreaming with your eyes open.’ Setting goals is not only essential for your success but also something that deep down everyone truly desires. We all have personal goals, aspirations, dreams, wishful thinking, and desire for objectives we hope will come true.
Goals and wishes often appear to be on the same page. After all, both are aspirations for something you want to happen in the future. But the two are very different, in that a goal is a specific, measurable target for which you are committed to achieving. It is something meaningful and motivating. SMART is an acronym for the characteristics of a goal/Objective:
A wish, on the other hand, is a longing or hope without a clear plan or action.
For example, I want to be healthier is rather a nonspecific wish. I will exercise for 30 minutes five days a week and cut my sugar intake in half to feel significantly better in my health by the end of the year is a specific goal with a clear plan.
Without a plan, a goal is just an abstraction, something unlikely to materialise.
It helps us prepare for obstacles: Planning lets us predict potential challenges so we can find a way to circumvent them. It helps us get ahead of them instead of reacting to them. Many of us can recall times when things were supposed to go a certain way, but they ended up not happening that way.
Simple but Efficient Actionable Plan
1. Set Clear, Specific Goals
Begin by defining your goal. Make sure it’s SMART: specific (‘I want to write a book’ becomes ‘I will write a 60,000-word novel’); measurable (‘I will run every day’ becomes ‘I will run 5km every day’); attainable (‘I’ll write ACMEal’ becomes ‘I’ll write a sonnet every day this year’); relevant (‘I will run’ becomes ‘I will run a marathon’); and time-bound (‘I’ll write something every day this year’ becomes ‘I’ll write 250 words every day this year’).
2. Break Down the Goal
Separate the goal into mini-goals. For example, if your goal is to write a novel, you might set the following mini-goals: come up with a plot; develop characters; and write a set amount of words each day, or week.
3. Create a Timeline
Articulate a realistic timeline for each item. Set concrete deadlines for when you want to finish different tasks within your plan. This creates a level of pressure and ensures you remain accountable.
4. Identify Resources and Support
About what it will take to achieve your goal. How long? How much money? Anything else? The capacity? Others? How could I get these things? Make a list of the things you need. Where should you go for additional support you might need?
5. Monitor and Adjust
Check-in with yourself frequently and make adjustments, backing off when you trip and pressing forward when you can. Have flexibility.
6. Stay Committed
Yes, you still have to work hard, but maintaining your commitment is vital to reaching any end you might choose. So keep plugging away, and if you make a few missteps along the way, even better — it means you are stumbling toward a goal, not just standing still.
From wish to goal and from goal to achievement is a path of planning and action. Without a plan, a goal remains a wish in the stars. A clear and realistic goal gets us started by setting high standards to which the plan must be aligned. But the winning combination is the planning that concretizes a goal into a feasible achievement.
A goal without a plan is a wish in the wind. Start planning and make a difference.
