To grow personally and professionally, it’s important to set goals. What’s does that mean exactly? It’s purposefully identifying and planning new tasks that you would like to complete – and that requires some planning, organizing and discipline to achieve these goals. Maybe even breakdown your goals by category (career, education, family, physical/health, financial and mental/attitude, etc).
Importance of Setting Goals
- Provides direction and focus: Goals give you a clear sense of direction and purpose. They help you focus your efforts on what is most important and avoid distractions that can lead you off course.
- Motivates action: When you set goals, you create a roadmap for action. You have a clear target to aim for and this can motivate you to take action and make progress towards your goals.
- Measures progress: Goals provide a way to measure progress and track your achievements. This can help you to stay motivated and give you a sense of accomplishment as you progress.
- Helps with decision making: When you have clear goals, you can make better decisions about what to do and what not to do. You can evaluate opportunities and decide whether they align with your goals, and avoid distractions that do not.
- Builds self-confidence: As you make progress towards your goals, you build self-confidence and a sense of self-efficacy. This can help you to achieve even more in the future, as you gain the confidence to take on new challenges and pursue bigger goals.
Tips for Setting and Achieving Goals
- Determine if the goal is something you are passionate about doing and is important to you.
- Use the SMART system: Is the goal Specific? Measurable? Attainable? Realistic? Time Bound (set a date for completion!)?
- Write your goals down and create a plan of action to complete them.
- Be clear about each goal by having a plan to achieve them.
- Have a mixture of larger, longer term goals and shorter, less time intensive goals.
- Write them down in order of importance or priority.
- Track your progress consistently and celebrate your successes.
- Revise a goal if it’s not progressing the way you envisioned it.
- Stay motivated. Ask a friend or family member for encouragement, or find a mentor to help you overcome obstacles along the way.
- Accept that it is okay to fail in achieving a goal.
