Are You Setting the Right Goals for Yourself?

It sounds daft, but before you start setting any goals, get very clear on what you want the final outcome to be. You also need to think about the consequences of achieving that goal might be and where you might go from there.

Be clear on whether you truly want what you’re asking for, because sometimes, there’s no going back.

2. Is this your goal or someone else’s?

There is nothing harder to do than stand up to family and peer pressure to strike out on your own. There may be expectations that you follow the route in life set out for you, but when you start achieving goals for someone else, they may well be happy, but this road will only lead to you living a half-life of unfulfilled dreams.

It will be hard to strike out on your own, but when you do, you’ll know that every success is yours, and yours alone.

3. Is the goal realistic?

I’m all for big dreams and big goals, but one mistake people make is with the time line. Their goal may well be one that is achievable, but you have to be realistic about how long it will take to do. When you don’t get the results in the time you expected, even though you’re further ahead than when you first started, you get discouraged, and give up.

Instead, break down your big goals into smaller ones and think of each smaller one as it’s own project, with it’s own milestones.

It’s like the old joke of how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

4. Are you learning from failure?

The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything.

Theodore Roosevelt

Sometimes we get setbacks on our way to achieving our goals. But instead of thinking of them as failures, think of them as lessons of what doesn’t work, and then try another route.

I like to think of it as a journey. If there’s an accident or roadworks, then your journey may take a little longer, or you may look for a different route. You don’t give up and go home until you’ve exhausted all avenues.

When something goes wrong, change the plan, not the goal (as Confucius would say).

5. Are you learning from success?

In the same way that you shouldn’t let failure stop you, you should also learn what works for you. When you learn from your successes, you learn what works for you.

So create goals that set you up for success right from the beginning.  Don’t make them too small, make them so that you can build on your successes and grow a little on the way.

So when you set goals do:

• make sure you’re doing them for the right reason
• be clear on what you want to achieve and why
• learn from your mistakes and failures, and build on your successes.
• make sure that they’re realistic. Break big goals down into achievable bits, and set yourself up for success.