How To Set Effective Goals

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If you have read our article on Why set Goals, you may be wondering how to best set effective goals in your life. Listed below is our 4 step recommendation for setting and achieving any of your goals.

Pick a goal which is important to you. This may sound obvious, but you would be amazed how many people pick goals which they think they “should have”, or goals that they feel others will approve of. If you pick a goal based around the views or expectations of others, you will not have the internal passion and determination to see it through. The goal you choose needs to be so compelling for you that it will trigger positive emotions every time you think about it, and this will only be the case if it is something you truly desire. This is your life, and only you can really know what it is you want. So the first fundamental step is to choose a goal you want, after this the rest is easy.

Once you have chosen your goal, the next step is to formalise it by putting it in writing. The way that you write your goals will affect the likelihood of its success. When writing your goals, consider the following:

Make your goal specific. ‘I want to lose weight’ is a general goal. A general goal is weak; it does not provide clarity or inspire motivation and, as a result, is unlikely to be achieved – especially to the desired extent. ‘I want to lose 10lbs’ is a specific goal. A specific goal gives a definite aim; it brings the target into focus and, as a result of this, is much more likely to succeed.

Make your goal realistic. Make it achievable. A goal which is too ambitious can be de-motivating if you feel that it is out of reach. A goal which is too easy will also fail to motivate, it will lack challenge. Make your goal challenging but attainable. [We would like to note here that practically any goal is attainable – the key factor here is what you believe is attainable. As you gain more confidence in your ability to make things happen, the scope of what you believe is possible will increase, and so will your goals].

Give your goal a deadline. A deadline is the one thing which separates a goal from a dream. A goal without a deadline is far less likely to inspire immediate action and, as a result, is unlikely to succeed. By setting a time limit on your goal you inspire action towards the outcome, you bring it alive.

Set a plan. A goal or goal without a plan is merely a wish. Surprisingly few people set plans, in fact research has shown that only 3% of people who set goals have a formal plan of how they are going to achieve it. Given this statistic, it is of little wonder that so many people go through life without achieving any of their dreams.

A plan allows the goal to be broken down into smaller manageable steps. Not only will this provide clarity on how your goal will be achieved, it will also make it appear more attainable.

Start your plan by focusing on the end result and the intended deadline and work backwards to determine what actions need to be performed at what times. From this you can create a plan and ‘to-do’ list which, once followed, will guarantee success.

Find other people working towards the same goal. Research has shown that when people work together with the same objective, not only will their motivation increase but they will be able to share their knowledge and experience which has been proven to vastly speed up attainment of the end result.

Setting effective goals needs a little more thought and time upfront, but your efforts in doing this will be well rewarded.

How can we help?

At itcanbe.com, your success in life is important to us. Here is how we can help with each step:

Picking a goal important to you. This is really a question for you and you alone, so no pressure here – take your time and really think about what it is you want. Remember, you can always modify your goal at a later date. We would only suggest that you reach for the stars – anything is possible.

If you know what it is you want, simply search for the goal directly – the chances are there are others working towards the same thing. If are not sure of your goals, don’t worry – browse through some of the goals other members are working towards – we are sure you will find some inspiration.

Put your goal in writing. Once you find your goal and adopt it, it will appear on your account page, where you can set a deadline and prioritise it among your other goals. At this stage don’t worry about the goal being too specific – we can deal with this at the planning stage. (E.g. if you want to lose weight, join the goal ‘Lose Weight’. Although this is not specific enough as a goal, you will make it specific with your personal plan, which might be ‘Lose 10 lbs’).

Set a plan for your goal. We offer a unique planning system which will allow you to make your goal specific, and breakdown the goal into manageable steps with deadlines. Once you have created a plan with specific steps, we will automatically provide you with a ‘to-do’ list and calendar to help you stay on track. This list and calendar will appear on your account page, and you can keep on track by regularly monitoring and ticking off actions as you go. If you like, we will email you your to-do list at the beginning of each week.

Setting a plan really is easy, but it may help you to look through some of the plans that have been adopted by other members working towards the same thing – if you like them you have the option to use them for yourself.

Find other people working towards the same thing. Most goals will have a community of people working towards the same objective. These will be like-minded and supportive people, so we encourage you to leverage this support as much as possible. The goals pages allow people to: comment on their progress, thoughts, aspirations; share videos and hints and tips; share plans; and once they have completed the goal write a ‘How I did it’ story.

Why set Goals

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