Having goals is essential for your personal development and future. Goals nourish us, make us aim high and after all, they have a measurable ending product – success. However, if the goal is not set in an appropriate way we tend to fail accomplishing what we’re striving for which triggers insecurities and a feeling of failure in us. But it is important to highlight that most of the time it is not about your skills or capability, it is about the goal that you’ve set.
Setting a goal of losing 10 kilos for 10 days is absolutely impossible and you will definitely fail – that’s why we shall be aware when a goal is unrealistic. Or imagine you wish to do sports every day but when, how and what kind of sport has not been determined and you find yourself wondering what to do to fulfill the goal. Such undefined goals are pretty tricky as they confuse you or slow you down. That is why we would like to give you some tips on goal setting.
1. Set a goal which is specific and motivates you
So, you have that wish in mind for some time now – crushing your studies, excelling at your job, losing weight, whatever it is everyone has those several things that they wish to accomplish. Most of the time those wishes are totally possible with the right mindset and the right approach. There is one thing you must bear in mind when setting your goal – it must be specific. A properly defined goal is a goal which won’t confuse you, it will be accomplishable and easily trackable. However, if the goal doesn’t spark any excitement in you and it doesn’t match your priorities, you will lose the battle very shortly after starting your journey towards success.
2. Having a relevant goal
Make sure that your goals are in sync with your life, your dreams, your values, your career path and your studies. The goal must be something worth fighting for, something which will make you better as a human, as an individual, which would be beneficial for either your health, your studies, your success or financial stability. It can be good for other areas of your life, too, there really is no frame for such things. The key point is being relevant to you and your life.
3. Your goal must be measurable
Goals which are measurable are the best as the results are pretty motivational and stimulating. Imagine having the goal of walking 15,000 steps a day. Seeing that you’ve done 12,000 steps, keeping in mind that you’ve started from 6,000 steps a day would be truly empowering as the progress you’re making is visible, it is measurable you can literally see the digit on your phone or your tracker. Not every goal shall be measured in numbers – having a goal of learning French on a certain level and doing evaluation tests each week on your own is also something measurable as you see the progress by making less mistakes and expanding your knowledge.
4. Set a goal which is manageable
Wanna be the president of the US? Maybe you should slow down. Even if that is possible, it is not necessarily manageable in the next 20 years at least (if we consider you are 20 years old). Set a goal which can be accomplished by you, a goal that is 100% possible and it is not ultimate-level hard. Yes, easy goals are also not recommended as they are not so motivating and challenging but try finding a middle ground.
5. Don’t underestimate time
You must’ve heard about timelines, planning and deadlines. And as a university project has a deadline, your goal must have one, too. Imagine your goal as a project – there are steps to be done, tasks to be completed but in the end the critic of your work would be not anyone else but you and the feeling of disappointment will lay on your shoulders. Deadlines are essential as they remind us of the time we have to fulfill the given tasks, sometimes they even scare us for good in order to complete everything on time.
6. Write down your goal, devise a plan and track your progress consistently
Writing your goal down is truly helpful – either in a notebook or in your phone, seeing it written is pretty helpful. After that you must create a plan which will help you, a set of smaller-chunk tasks that will ensure a consistent flow of progress. This way you won’t be overdoing something, you will set a pace of progression and by the deadline you’ve set you will be sure that you’ve made every step towards accomplishing your goal.
7. Dedication, dedication, dedication!
The goal won’t be accomplished by someone else but you, so start working. Dedication and hard work will help you. Never lose hope and do the best you can to make your dreams come true!
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