Goals that Work!

If  you don’t know where you are going, any path will take you there.  One of the most powerful things you can do to change your life is to set goals.  Setting goals can sound very daunting—I like to think of it as dreams with deadlines.  Just like dreams, goals are not set in stone.  You can add, delete or amend them as things change in your life.

To help make setting goals easier, here are 10 tips to help you set goals that work.

1. Yours—Your most important goals need to be your goals, not your partners or your kids or your parents.  This is your life.  If you allow others to set your goals, then you are sabotaging your future.
2. Important—Your goals must be important to you.  If your goals will not make a difference in your life—then don’t do them!
3. SMART—They must be SMART—specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timeframed.  If they aren’t SMART then you won’t know when you have achieved them.
4. Flexible—Goals need to be flexible—you and your life will change.  New opportunities will open for you.  Goals that are jails are not useful to have.
5. Values based—Goals need to align with your values—your most important goals should relate directly to the things most important to you in your life.
6. Balanced—Goals need to be balanced—all work and no play makes anyone dull.  Ensure having fun and relaxation is part of your goals.
7. Give back—many of us lead lives only focused on ourselves.  Giving back to society in some way feeds your soul while helping others.  Make sure you have a goal around this.
8. Supported— Goals need to be supported—create a support network around you.  Share your goals with people that can help you achieve them or will help to hold you accountable.
9. Dream big—make sure you have at least 1 big hairy audacious goal to help you grow and stretch.
10. Now—when writing your goals, write them as if you already have it, “eg: I weigh 75 kg and have $25,000 in the bank”.

Questions & Activities.

Write down a list of everything you want in your life.  Go back now and add in some big hairy audacious goals.  From the list write down the one most powerful goal that you can—with this one you will unlock all the others.  Write it as if you already have it.  Write it on a card and keep it in your wallet where you will see it everyday.

Ingrid Cliff is a Brisbane based Business Development and Human Resources Consultant to Small and Medium Businesses with her company Heart Harmony www.heartharmony.com.au.