The ability to set clear goals and to make plans for their accomplishment is the ‘master skill’ of success.
It is the single most important skill that you can learn and perfect. Goal setting will do more to help you achieve the things you want in life than anything else. Becoming an expert at goal setting and goal-achieving is something that you absolutely must do if you want to fulfill your potential.
Here are 10 must-know steps to goal setting success.
STEP 1. BE ABSOLUTELY CLEAR ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT
Clarity is one of the keys to goal setting success. So why is clarity so important? The number one reason that people fail to achieve their goals is they lack clarity of vision about the life they want to live. The reason for this lack of clarity is that they have committed little, or no, time to developing clarity of vision. Many people think that they are setting clear and effective goals but they are merely identifying things which they would like to have or do; not what they truly desire.
STEP 2. DREAM BIG
If we allow ourselves a moment to dream, we get really excited. When we stop and think about what life would be like if we actually achieved the big goal, we get excited. The goal itself creates a gravitational pull that negates the need for willpower. The excitement of the possibility pushes us to take action. When we live every single day “under the influence” of a big dream, with a vision in our minds of the actuality of that dream, we are so busy moving towards the goal that we don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves.
STEP 3. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF
If you are going to be successful in creating the life of your dreams, you have to believe that you are capable of making it happen. Whether you call it self-esteem, self-confidence or self-assurance, it is a deep-seated belief that you have what it takes; the abilities, inner resources, talents and skills to create your desired results.
Have unwavering faith in yourself, for good and bad. Make the decision to believe that you create all your experiences. You will experience successes and you will experience pain, struggle, and strife. Sounds a little strange, but accepting this level of responsibility is uniquely empowering. It means you can do, change, and be anything. Stumbling blocks become just that—little hills to hop over.
STEP 4. WRITE IT DOWN
This activity alone moves you into the top 3 percent of adults and can change your life forever. Everyone has at least one goal in life; to be rich, to be happy, to have a family, to be a CEO, to have that car or that house. But not many of us set goals in writing with a deadline, to be exact about 3% of all adults have set their goals in writing. The interesting fact is that those 3% make as much money as the other 97% put together. If you want to succeed, setting goals firmly in writing isn’t an option; it’s a requirement.
STEP 5. HAVE A STRATEGY
Strategy is more than just planning. A plan is simply what you are going to do. Strategy is like your blueprint for success; the secret keys that will guarantee your victory. A more layman term for strategy would be “working smart”. Every goal has its own set of strategies to guarantee its victory. What are the obstacles you’ll face? How can you overcome these obstacles? What is the best mode of action to achieve this goal? How can you achieve this goal faster and better? How have people who achieved this goal done this? These are some questions to consider. And once you develop your strategy, you set out to achieve your goal.
STEP 6. PLAN EACH DAY
Take the first 30 minutes of every day (or the night before) to plan your day when you can organise all your tasks and determine what needs to be accomplished. Don’t start your day until you complete your plan. The most important time of your day is the time you schedule to schedule time. Identify the most important tasks. Start the list with at least two or three items that absolutely must get done today. Even if the rest of the list stays untouched, the really meaningful stuff will get finished.
STEP 7. SET A DEADLINE FOR YOUR GOAL
Set a realistic date when you plan to accomplish your goal. Don’t commit to “as soon as possible”! If you don’t have a specific deadline for your goal, you won’t have a sense of urgency and you’ll start to put things off. Remember that the deadline must be realistic. We all tend to underestimate time it will take us to accomplish tasks. Keep in mind that unplanned obstacles may occur and slow you down. Choose a date that is at the same time motivating and realistic. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself.
STEP 8. DETERMINE THE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS YOU’LL NEED TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS
Every new goal requires that you become a new person, in some way, by developing additional knowledge and skills in order both to achieve it and to keep it. You have a goal. Now ask yourself why is it that this goals is not yet a reality? You probably need to get some new skills and knowledge to achieve it. Identify them. Understand what new skills you need to pick to become an expert in the field and to help you get where you want. Create a list of books, events and courses you will need to take to get there.
STEP 9. FIND THE PEOPLE WHO CAN HELP YOU
Big goals require the active cooperation of lots of people. What will you have to do to earn their support? What will you have to do to deserve their support and backing? What is in it for them? Remember, it’s all about relationships. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, even if it is in the form of advice and introductions from the people you know. One person, one contact, can make all the difference between success and failure.
STEP 10. TAKE ACTION
Once you begin, don’t stop. Do something every day that moves you toward the achievement of your major goal. Become intensely action oriented. Develop a bias for action and a sense of urgency. Be a moving target.
Develop the momentum principle of success. This principle simply says that once you are in motion, it is much easier for you to stay in motion than if you come to a complete halt and try to start again. This momentum principle is one of the great success secrets practiced by all high-achieving men and women. Once they begin working on a goal, they never stop until they achieve it.
“People with clear, written goals, accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them could ever imagine.” Brian Tracy
BOOKS TO READ
The Success Principles(TM): How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. Jack Canfield