How to Set Goals - and Achieve Them

How to Set Goals – and Achieve them (from http://lifemanager-in.blogspot.com/index.html)

Have you ever made a New Year’s resolution, only to break it by Valentine’s Day? Many of us are all too ready to set goals, but it’s the sticking to it part that really gives us trouble. Should you blame it on your lack of motivation? Maybe not—oftentimes it’s the way we set goals that sets us up for failure. Yes, it’s true: how you create and plan a goal has everything to do with whether or not you ultimately achieve it.

This article is all about how to set goals in such a way that you are virtually guaranteed success! Follow these guidelines and set yourself on a path toward positive change:

Be realistic. The number one rule is to set goals that you actually have a shot at accomplishing. If your goal is to become the President of the United States, then, well, that might be a tad unrealistic! But if your goal is to, say, quit smoking or stop eating junk food, then those are definitely doable. The key is to understand your limits and take them into account. There is no shame in being self-aware!

Do not make it too hard—or too easy. A worthy goal is one that challenges you. Try not to shy away from a challenge if you know that it is realistic. Instead, push yourself to get out of your comfort zone and try something new and different.

Write it down. Putting your goal into writing is a way of making a strong commitment to yourself. You can even hang the paper in a place where you will spot it everyday—on the fridge, in the bathroom, etc.

Phrase your goal as a positive rather than as a negative. You will be much more likely to adhere to your objective if it not insulting or depressing. For instance, “Stop eating like a pig” is definitely not going to be as effective as “Respect your body by eating more healthily.”

Break it up. Rather than attempting to reach your goal all at once, segment it into doable chunks. For example, if you’ve never run a marathon before, it would be pretty difficult for you to get up and run 26 kilometers tomorrow. But what if you challenged yourself, instead, to run 1 km tomorrow, 2 km the next day, 5 km the next week, and so on? By segmenting your goal into reasonable chunks you give yourself a much more realistic shot at succeeding.

Set deadlines. End dates give us concrete points to work towards, which has the effect of making our time more productive and fulfilling. Without a deadline in place, you might find yourself perpetually procrastinating, and that’s definitely not the way to reach a goal!

Prioritize! Do the most important goals or tasks first, then accomplish the other ones later? You don’t need to do everything at once! Just create a schedule so that you do get everything done in the end.

Focus on the effort, not the results. In the end, success is measured by whether or not you gave it your all. Nobody can fault you for trying your hardest, even if it didn’t get the results you were hoping for. On the other hand, slacking off is inexcusable! So always perform at 100% of your effort, if not more!