----"When I have no one around to tell me I can't. I've always done mysterious things."---- Bijay Gautam

Sunday 15 December 2013

9 Easy steps for goal setting


I just came back from jog and wondering that how easy it is to give up on our goals and priorities once meant everything for us. We false assume that our goal is too high for us when we have to face a difficulty, even a minor one. But it takes a man with strong determination to stand strong enough to slip off the path and achieve his goal. And he is the one bound to be a success and go higher and higher.
Today I am going to share about goal setting process. Before that I would like to thank you very much for your absolutely fantastic support and feedbacks. I am hungry for your feedbacks; I really love hearing you back
Most of the peoples say that they want to set goals and work on them but they are confused where they should start from. I am going to make it easier for you and help you in your goal setting process with this post. I will explain the entire goal setting process in simple 9 steps. Though there is no any hard and fast rule for setting goal, you can do it in your own way. But you can also follow this model for setting your own goals.

1.      Decide your goal:
The very first thing you have to do while setting your goal is to decide your goal. There are millions of thoughts flooding your brain every minute. You feel like to be an actor in the morning, a cricket player all day long and think that you can do well as a singer in the evening. It was just a simple example of a confused and unclear mind. Our mind don’t remain stable on singe thought all the times, it changes every second. And our goals also changes seasonally if we don’t write it down and focus it time and again. It happens to everyone until they find out what exactly they want to be or achieve. You will end being nothing than frustrated person if you are not clear on your goal. Hence, listen your inner voice and determine what you really want to achieve. Set your goal that you will love working on and is something you truly want. Be clear and specific on it. For example, if your goal is to get good marks in your next exam, then be clear and specific on what does “good mark” mean to you. Specify it!   Is it 50% or 90% that makes good mark for you? Don’t afraid to set higher goal for you. There is nothing to lose in wanting big so just go ahead and set a bigger one if you sincerely want to achieve it.

2.      Write it down:
             Once you set a goal for you start working with pen and paper, write your specific goal on it. Writing your goal on paper makes you feel that you can achieve it and are bit closer to it. It makes you believe that your goal is realistic and you are on the way to success. Besides writing your goal, write at least five points that best describes why do you want to achieve that goal. For e.g. if your goal is to reduce your body weight then the points could be something like- “To get good body shape”. These points work as motivation for you whenever you feel like quitting. Hence, brainstorm as many points as possible that are quiet motivating to help you achieve your goal and attract you toward working on your goals.
Note: Don’t write your goal in future tense like- “I will earn 1 million this year”. It creates mental image that you are far from your goal whereas writing goal in present form like- “I earn 1 million this year” makes you feel that you are almost there at your goal.

3.      Set a deadline:
      Having deadline for your work indirectly pressurizes you to achieve that goal. It acts as continuous jerk for you to work on your goals. Without deadline your goals are just dream, you are allowing yourself to slip off the path if you are not having deadline for your work. While setting deadline for your goal make it sure that you provide yourself enough time to achieve it. Be specific on you deadline, write the exact date for your goal achievement. If you have bigger goal then break it down to many smaller goals and set deadlines for each of them.
After having deadline your goal should look like this:

Goal: I loose 15kg of my body weight.
Why do I want to achieve this goal?
·         To look more younger
·         To get in good body shape, etc.
 Last date for goal achievement: 15th Feb. 2014

4.      List the things you should do:
Now, you have to list all the things you have to do so that you achieve your goal. Your list should include everything you think you have to do and need in order to reach your target. You can include skills and knowledge you need to reach that goal. Also sort the things you already have or know and things you have to learn. Writing these things down make you aware of what you are about to do and what are the tools you need to achieve goal. This list will also help you in planning your goal achievement path.

5.      What are possible obstacles?
            Whatever you do you have to deal with minor or major obstacles. In fact, obstacles make our journey even more interesting. For e.g. Movie become much more interesting because villains stand as obstacle to hero’s journey. What’s the joy of watching movie when hero achieves his target in absence of obstacle? Hence, when you are done with your list, prepare one more list which includes obstacles you are likely to face while reaching your goal. You can smartly plan your journey when you are aware about your obstacles prior to their appearance. Listing them down will also help you in tackling them wisely. List everything that tend to pull you off the track like criticism from your friends, lack of motivation, unsupportive behavior from person you expect to help you in your particular step, spending time unnecessarily on internet or TV.

6.      Make an action plan:
When you list things you have to do and are aware about your possible obstacles now it’s time to plan your goal. Proper planning is a key behind every successful story. You can’t afford to lose your game due to poor planning. While planning, sort the things on the basis of priority.
  •           Make separate list of high priority tasks and less valuable ones.
  •           Break your bigger goal into smaller daily goals and allocate time for every single task.
  •           Commit to complete every works not on deadline but even before it.
  •           Write the possible solution to your obstacles
  •           What are skills and knowledge you need to learn

Once you are done with above tasks put them in order and organize them. Finally, create the stepwise list of action that you must do so that you can start your work. Now, you are ready to take off!

7.      Let the world know about your goal:
Most of the peoples hesitate to share their goals with others so that they easily give up on their goals. Letting other people know about your goal is one of challenging yet powerful tool to help you achieve your goal. It keeps pulling you to your task and you will strive hard not to be a loser in others eye. At the same time if you keep a secret goal you will find 101 excuses to stop working on your priorities. Hence, let your friends, family and neighbour know about your goal. Post it in your Facebook account, share with other readers in my blog, and tell every single person you meet about your goal. It pressurizes you indirectly to achieve your goal.

8.      Take action:
Your plan is ready and you have already let the world know about your goal. How about taking action now? Stay focused and clear on your actions. At this point you must take action every single day to bring success a step closer. Don’t let a single day go by without engaging in work that adds value to your life and goal. You can carry a goal card (a small paper or card where your goals are written) in your pocket every time so that it work as constant reminder of your goal.  If you keep taking actions and work on things that are important, on a long run you will develop a habit of doing only good things. I bet!

9.      Review:
This is the last step. You should keep reviewing your tasks on regular basis; daily, weekly or monthly. You can carry your assessment by writing the tasks you already accomplished and tasks that are yet to be worked on. It is important because it help you know that you are moving on right direction toward your goal. You can’t know where exactly you are until you evaluate your job. It is a tool that makes you sure that you are not doing any mistakes and your plan is working. You can also create an achievement chart showing the status of your goal. For e.g. you can constantly update your work progress in terms of percentage or rating on scale 1-10. It motivates you to work even harder so that you could reach your mark quicker.

Thank you very much for reading this post on Goal setting. 
I would love to hear you back. You can write me at bjaygtm@gmail.com and like blog page in Facebook for updates and motivational posts.

 Have great time working on your goals!

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