Setting and Achieving Goals
We are a few weeks into January 2022 and there are usually three types of people;
1. Those who made New Year’s resolutions and everything is going well.
2. Those who made New Year’s resolutions and you’ve decided they aren’t quite working out.
3. Or those who didn’t fancy setting any in the first place!
Wherever you fit in, work related and personal goals are something which should be reviewed regularly, not just every New Year.
Tony Robbins is a world renowned life coach who speaks about setting goals in his book, Unlimited Power.
For him; “Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.”
The aspect of visualisation that Tony talks about in that quote should resonate a lot for anyone looking to set goals.
Your goals should alert all your senses and be something you can see, smell, touch, and feel. For example, you visualise so much about getting your dream car, you can image how it will feel when you drive it, what the interior will smell like, what you will do when you buy it.
There is a tangible example, however, it works for anything.
Another important aspect of setting career related and personal goals is finding out your why. The SWAM goal model is an acronym that you can use to guide goal setting:
1. Specific - Your goal should be specific and clear so you can truly focus your efforts on achieving it.
2. Worthwhile - Make sure it’s worthwhile to you. This is your Why. Ask yourself, why is this important to me?
3. Achievable - It is important it is achievable, always dream big, but ensure you identify something you have the time and money to do.
4. Measurable - The measurable factor helps you stay focused and gives you milestones to achieve your progress- this is something further outlined below.
As you are setting goals, it’s important then to start with what you want to achieve and work backwards. Creating a plan which you can ensure is realistic is important to facilitate achievement. Start with the goal and ask – what would I have to do to accomplish this? Make sure your plan includes something you could do today.
Another tip is making sure you have short, medium and long-term goals to work towards. Having exciting future plans is great, but the short-term goals (across the next month) will keep you motivated.
Having goals based around your career alongside goals based on your personal life are key. Perhaps you always wanted to take up a new hobby, like take up running or learn to play an instrument. Or maybe one of your goals is to improve cooking or cut down on food waste. There are lots of things to get excited about and January is a great excuse to do it!
Links below to the website used in this article:
https://www.tonyrobbins.com/ask-tony/can-create-compelling-future/
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/smart-goals.htm
