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What is your goal in life?

All of us are getting very busy in our lives today. Everyone has their problems, whether it is a child or a parents at home. Wake up in the every morning and go to our work, come home tired all day long, sitting for some time with the family and then preparing for the next day. In the same way the students are worried about studies, sometimes the exams and the preparation of a project. You have never thought of staying away in this full-fledged daily life, which way you are going? Or what is the goal of your life? For which you are working so hard.

The Importance of Goal

Frankly, most of us people do not set any goals of their life nor understand its significance. Whereas, without a target life is not of any use, because the goal is that work which we wish to be fulfilled in our hearts, just do not try because it seems impossible or difficult to us. While the goal of life is to be front, it is also good to work hard, it is also easy and we become very successful in it too. After the goal setting we have to find a right direction to work hard.

Goal Setting Examples

The goal can be anything. Let us give you a few examples - for a student - learning a new art, coming to the top in the examination, winning the playground and honoring the parents. For a person working in a company - getting hard-earned promotions, buying a home of his own, moving his family to the whole world, etc. And for a housewife - looking after your family better or reducing your husband's concerns by doing part time job in a spare time. It can be too small or big.

First Step Towards Goal

To determine the goal of life, first of all, you need to keep your thoughts positive, do not put any restrictions on your mind, and shake your heart and try to know what those things are, which one on your face Take a very sweet smile, if you know this, believe it, friends, all your roads will be opened.

Do not you think how you will accomplish your goal? What would you have something for him? Just decide what you will be happy to do and think of a little child at that time, whatever difficulties come, do not leave behind the pursuit of things which they have to achieve. Many times he falls, he cries many times, but he keeps on looking at that thing and after achieving his face shines.

Second Step Towards Goal

We all know that there are two ways to live life - first, let what is happening, let it happen and you also go in the same flow, and secondly, make a dare and change your goal by setting your goal. . After the goal setting, you first need to be organised for yourself, how much time do you need to achieve this goal? If the goal is that you have always dreamed of it, then you will try hard to fulfil it.

Third Step Towards Goal

Now you have to plan to do the work to complete the goal. Just think that where you are standing after achieving the goal, how happy you are, then you will feel "it so easy". Now emphasize the mind and think about which tasks you have to do to reach here. Keep a list of all these functions, they will provide a lot of help. If you ever go a bit wandering from the goal, then again you will inspire and remind you that you have to fulfil your dream.

Disadvantage of Not Having A Goal in Life

Now let us tell you what is the importance of the goal. Friends have ever thought of how your day begins. You know where you are going as you are going to school, you know which path you are taking to school and you reach your destination without wander your way. Have you ever thought that if you do not know the way, then where will you go? In the same way, when you do not know what is your destination in life? Where do you want to go? Where will you get tomorrow?

When there is no objective then no matter what the way it is. So just relax and think about this thing, why are they doing hard work, where will this hard work take you? At the same time you will be able to understand what the goal should be and how important it is to be.

Goal Defines The Path of Success

Often, every person wants to climb the ladder of success (Success), but has ever asked yourself, after doing what you will consider yourself a success. Because the world will count on you how successful it is not important, it is essential that you will consider yourself as successful. On the day you ask yourself these questions, you will see your goal clearly in front of you.

The Goal Motivates Us To Work Hard

The goal is very important because even when you know the goal then your hard work will be more of the right direction. This will keep you uninterrupted at all times, what you have to do in the coming time, as a result, your attention will not go anywhere, and you will also worry that you only have some time left to achieve your goals. The goals will make you strong all the time so that you do not get tired while walking on your way.

Conclusion

Friends, now you might have understood that Like in the football game, can not go ahead without doing Goal, the same way moving forward without a goal in life is completely useless. By setting a goal, doing austerity for him will not only bring you success in the future, but you will also be pleased that your desired goal is fulfilled, your desire has been fulfilled and, above all, you will be proud of yourself. And friends, it is so pleasurable to be full of strong will, you all know very well.

Thank You For Reading!

Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://www.uniqueinspirationworld.com/importance-of-setting-a-goal-in-life-success-tips/

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Importance Of Setting A Goal in Life - Success Tips - Steemit

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All of us are getting very busy in our lives today. Everyone has their problems, whether it is a child or a parents at home. Wake up in the every morning and go to our work, come home tired all day long, sitting for some time with the family and then preparing for the next day.

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Goal setting was intoduced by Edwin Locke in the 1960s

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In 1960's, Edwin Locke put forward the Goal-setting theory of motivation. This theory states that goal setting is essentially linked to task performance. It states that specific and challenging goals along with appropriate feedback contribute to higher and better task performance.

In simple words, goals indicate and give direction to an employee about what needs to be done and how much efforts are required to be put in.

The important features of goal-setting theory are as follows:

The willingness to work towards attainment of goal is main source of job motivation. Clear, particular and difficult goals are greater motivating factors than easy, general and vague goals.

Specific and clear goals lead to greater output and better performance. Unambiguous, measurable and clear goals accompanied by a deadline for completion avoids misunderstanding.

Goals should be realistic and challenging. This gives an individual a feeling of pride and triumph when he attains them, and sets him up for attainment of next goal. The more challenging the goal, the greater is the reward generally and the more is the passion for achieving it.

Better and appropriate feedback of results directs the employee behaviour and contributes to higher performance than absence of feedback. Feedback is a means of gaining reputation, making clarifications and regulating goal difficulties. It helps employees to work with more involvement and leads to greater job satisfaction.

Employees' participation in goal is not always desirable.

Participation of setting goal, however, makes goal more acceptable and leads to more involvement.

Goal setting theory has certain eventualities such as:

1. Self-efficiency- Self-efficiency is the individual's self-confidence and faith that he has potential of performing the task. Higher the level of self-efficiency, greater will be the efforts put in by the individual when they face challenging tasks. While, lower the level of self-efficiency, less will be the efforts put in by the individual or he might even quit while meeting challenges.

2. Goal commitment- Goal setting theory assumes that the individual is committed to the goal and will not leave the goal. The goal commitment is dependent on the following factors:

1. Goals are made open, known and broadcasted.

2. Goals should be set-self by individual rather than designated.

3. Individual's set goals should be consistent with the organizational goals and vision.

Advantages of Goal Setting Theory

Goal setting theory is a technique used to raise incentives for employees to complete work quickly and effectively.

Goal setting leads to better performance by increasing motivation and efforts, but also through increasing and improving the feedback quality.

Limitations of Goal Setting Theory

At times, the organizational goals are in conflict with the managerial goals. Goal conflict has a detrimental effect on the performance if it motivates incompatible action drift.

Very difficult and complex goals stimulate riskier behaviour.

If the employee lacks skills and competencies to perform actions essential for goal, then the goal-setting can fail and lead to undermining of performance.

There is no evidence to prove that goal-setting improves job satisfaction.

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In 1960's, Edwin Locke put forward the Goal-setting theory of motivation. This theory states that goal setting is essentially linked to task performance. It states that specific and challenging goals along with appropriate feedback contribute to higher and better task performance.

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Article by: Gisele F.F.

Edited by: Carmel L.

Visual by: Suman P.

Goals. It seems like a broad and lofty term, yet its meaning holds so much significance for so many successful adults and students alike. At times, goals are hard to reach, while in other times, goals can be completed in hours. But what truly counts is the individual's drive to achieve them.

Some students in the IB or AP programs don't even realize that they are setting goals on a daily basis to accomplish their assigned work. Student expectations have become so high that students begin to subconsciously set goals without recognizing them. It is thus incredibly important to identify one's goals in order to meet those expectations.

There are two types of goals: short-term and long-term. Short-term goals can be achieved in a short period of time. For example, finishing a report by Friday. Long-term goals, on the other hand, can only be accomplished over a longer span of time. This could mean one's goals for university and beyond.

High school students should start thinking about how to spend their time and not waste it. This can best be done by writing down a clear set of goals. Doing this will encourage focusing energy into action, given a known objective. Knowing the target makes it easier to hit it.

But what if a project is due over a week's time? What is the best approach for accomplishing such work? Divide it into chunks. In this way, the work is incremental and can be done, portion by portion.

However, sometimes, the biggest struggle is to come up with the goal itself. Students would typically set the goal to study for an upcoming test, but to "study for a test" is too broad of an objective. To make your goals more attainable, it is important to be specific. In this case, the goal would be more effective if it was focused on a specific portion of the syllabus to review.

The best way to come up with a goal is to follow the acronym SMART which stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based; ensuring that your goals are all of these five things will help you set goals on a more realistic level and bring them within reach. Sophomore Li-Ann C. comments on setting goals, saying, "setting goals are very important to me. When it comes to actually setting them, it really depends on the situation and also what my expectations are of myself as a student."

Ms. Capuccio, a high school guidance counselor, also expresses her thoughts regarding goal-setting: "Setting a goal is a great starting point to achieve a specific end result! It can help you organise your work and start planning short term steps to help you be successful in achieving whatever you aim for. Setting small steps can also help with motivation, as smaller steps are more achievable in a short amount of time." She goes on to mention how "setting a goal isn't a stagnant process; it is dynamic, and while the process of achieving your end goal is ever-changing, the end result may morph over time which is the best part of the process!".

As boring as setting goals may seem, it truly is a way of helping students stay organized and focused when it comes to all the work and effort school requires. Goal-setting is a habit that will stay with students forever and help students achieve lifelong success.

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Eyes on the Prize: The Importance of Goal-Setting

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Article by: Gisele F.F. Edited by: Carmel L. Visual by: Suman P. Goals. It seems like a broad and lofty term, yet its meaning holds so much significance for so many successful adults and students alike. At times, goals are hard to reach, while in other times, goals can be completed in hours.

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As a project manager, what's the first thing you do when planning a project?

Now, what if you're unable to grasp the main goal behind executing a project?

Or, the goals defined are too vague for your team to understand?

There are a lot of aspects to look at when setting and defining goals. But, before you jump to the act, it is really important to understand the importance of goals and why is goal setting important.

and how a Goal setting is an important part of the project management process . In this blog post, we'll take a look at why goals are important, the theory behind goal setting, and how we can use this theory successfully in the workplace, project management software helps make it possible.
Quick Navigation - Importance of Goal Setting
What is the Importance of Goals?

Besides being a handy-yet-cliché discussion topic during interviews, goals have other important functions, including increases in productivity and revenue.

Take the Harvard Business School, for example.

In his book, What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School, Mark McCormack unveiled an interesting pattern in regards to goal setting. Apparently, in 1979, the average starting salary for graduates of Harvard Business School was 115k with a 20k signing bonus. (Source: Harvard MBA Statistics page) Not too shabby. In 1979, researchers asked Harvard MBA graduates the following question:

"Have you set clear, written goals for your future, and made plans to accomplish them?"

A decade later in 1989, the same researchers located these graduates and discovered that 3% of them were making 10 times more than the remaining 97% of their class combined.

What set this elite 3% echelon apart from the other 97% of their classmates? They were the only ones to answer "Yes" to the question above.
Proper goal definition.
How can goals be so powerful?

Jay B. Barney & Rick W. Griffin outline why goals are of utmost power in their book The Management of Organizations. According to them, goals serve 4 basic functions that move businesses forward. They include:

1. Providing guidance and direction

2. Facilitating planning

3. Motivating and inspiring employees

4. Helping organizations evaluate and control performance

Goal Setting: How Much Do You Know?

But how do project managers know how to set goals, and who to set them for? Experts turn to psychology to answer this question.

Goal Setting Theory, developed by Edwin Locke and Gary Latham, is one of the most frequently cited (but not-so-cleverly named) goal theories in social psychology. If you see a book about goals, you can bet your britches that Locke and Latham are included in the reference section.

Why is Goal Setting Important? A Theory for Strategic Success
Goal Setting Theory explains the importance of the clarity, challenge, and attainability of goals, emphasizing the importance of proper feedback, and differentiates between varying types of goals.
The Goal Setting Theory approach has been shown to increase organizational profits and growth. Consumer Psychology Researchers sent a survey to various firms, asking about their use of the Goal Setting Theory approach. Approximately 60% of the survey respondents indicated that they used this particular approach when setting goals.

The results of the survey analysis indicated significant relationships between the utilization of Goal Setting Theory and organizational profit and growth. The firms staffed with employees who used the Goal Setting Theory approach showed the most growth and increases in profit.

Many think that the process of setting goals is simple - you set a goal and you try to reach it. It's actually much more complex than it seems. The Goal Setting Theory can be used to understand how to set goals that will yield a successful outcome, and how and when to provide proper feedback.

How To Set Successful Goals

Make Them Important: The first thing to understand is the importance of goals . While this may seem trite, important goals are more likely to be accepted, garner commitment, and result in persistent striving. Make sure your goals are:

Value-Driven:

Job satisfaction is based upon the relationship between what one wants out of their job, and what they perceive their job is actually providing. We determine what we want based upon our values, thus we also determine what we want to achieve based upon our values (i.e. financial security, promotion, status, responsibility).

Therefore, setting goals that include one's values will ensure more dedication and higher levels of effort, and will yield higher levels of satisfaction once they are achieved. If there are no values are attached to a prescribed goal, they won't care about the goal, and will be less likely to strive to achieve the goal.

Specific:

Specific and challenging goals are the most effective types of goals for numerous reasons. The definition of high performance is clearly defined as opposed to ambiguous.

Individuals are more motivated to expend higher amounts of effort because they:

Provide direct attention to what is relevant

Motivate the individual to discover the task strategies they need to implement in order to achieve the goal

Motivate the planning and utilization of the tasks coupled with the tasks and skills they have already acquired.

Accurate:

Milestones direct efforts and raise levels of persistence above standard levels of operation. Milestones foster conscious problem solving and creative innovation and they are the critical link between goals and performance. They can be likened to 'mini-goals' or 'goal facets'.

Achievable:

Goals must be set within the individual's ability level, or else they will fail and suffer damage to their self-confidence. Subsequently, job performance of the individual will decline. Therefore, is important to ensure that there are no situational or personality constraints that will serve as barriers to goal-attainment.

Feedback, Feedback, And More Feedback

Feedback, and lots of it, is crucial. If feedback is related to the specific goal or milestone, it serves as a catalyst for action. If non-specific feedback is given, it will have no effect on the level of work output. Basically, feedback is worthless unless it pertains to the specific goal. Because feedback increases the degree to which goals regulate performance, it can be used to control employee performance, dedication, and persistence.

When there is no feedback, goal setting will fail.

Conversely when there is no goal setting, feedback will fall upon deaf ears.

Also, feedback must be specific and related to clear standards of performance. Saying, "do your best" is probably the worst thing to say to someone trying to achieve a goal. Instead say: "Do your best at (particular facet of the goal)", and offer a clear standard of measurement for the term "best."

Applying Goal Setting Theory In The Workplace

Goal setting theory can be used in the following areas:

Developing interview formats, especially those of situational interviews

Employee training in self-management

Relationship objectives programs - establishing mutual goals between management and employees

Performance appraisal - feedback can be used to set specific improvement goals

Edwin Locke and Gary Latham outline the specific steps to applying Goal Setting Theory to your organization.

1. Write a job description outlining the nature of tasks to be completed

2. Specify how you will measure performance

3. Make challenging goals (i.e. difficult but attainable) with directly measured output

4. Create a timeline specifying the timespan(s) involved

5. Prioritize the goal according to importance and difficulty

6. Determine coordination requirements - lay out the specific details of the goal, and every individual's expected contribution.

But, what's the best method to implement this theory in your organization? By deploying a project management software, such as ProProfs Project that offers features like:

...making sure all parameters of the theory can be implemented efficiently.

Understand Why is Goal Setting important to Meet Deadlines Effortlessly!

Goal setting can have two outcomes: favorable and unfavorable. With favorable outcomes come feelings of satisfaction, while unfavorable outcomes are associated with dissatisfaction and anxiety. Research indicates that engagement of values, cognitive focus, and role clarity all contribute to favorable outcomes. On the other hand, unfavorable outcomes are preceded by feelings of pressure, role conflict and feelings of inequity.

Therefore, it is wise to keep in mind the importance of goals, know your employees' values, and make sure their roles are clearly defined.

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As a project manager, what's the first thing you do when planning a project? Set and define project goals, correct? Now, what if you're unable to grasp the main goal behind executing a project? Or, the goals defined are too vague for your team to understand?

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Setting and achieving goals overall is the most underestimated skill for success in college.

The result of poor goal setting and achievement skills is low motivation, lack of direction, and performance below one's potential. The outcome is often unnecessary low grades, frustration, discouragement, and sometimes leaving college.

The ability to set and achieve goals in college is so important that without it, it's difficult, perhaps impossible, to feel motivated to and learn what's necessary to succeed or excel.

A major step in mastering the skill of setting and achieving goals is to understand the benefits:

1. It specifies clearly what is to be achieved. This is vital because it provides a direction and makes progress and achievement recognizable. Without clearly defined educational goals, it is normal for you to experience feelings of stagnation, low motivation, and lack of purpose. Clearly defined goals provide direction.

2. It defines a plan of action for the process of achieving. A plan of action provides a map, a guide, a visible pathway to goals. When there is no plan for achievement, it is normal for you to experience discouragement, succumb to distractions, or feel that aspirations are unreachable. It is very difficult to start or do well at something if you cannot see a way to achieve it. A plan of action shows how to achieve what you desire.

3. It acts as a continuous progress report on how well you are doing as you move toward goals. A progress report is vital because it provides immediate and regular feedback to help you discover if you are on or off course toward short and long-term goals. The more frequent the feedback, the sooner you discover when you have strayed from the chosen path, need to modify a plan, or are exactly on course. Without continuous feedback on progress towards goals, there is no way to know how you are doing in the process of achieving. The definition of progress is "movement that increases the chances of achieving something you desire." If goals have not been defined and a plan of action developed, there can be no "going forward" because there is no way to tell which way is forward. Without goals, you are like a leave in the wind, forward is whichever way the wind happens to blow. Like a leaf in the wind, if you are without goals, you are not in control of your destiny but someone or something else is.

4. It identifies exactly what is achievement or success for you. Unless what constitutes success or achievement in college is clearly identified in terms of goals, there is no way to tell if you are making progress because without a target, there is no way to tell if you are moving toward anything, let alone toward something meaningful. Without defining what constitutes success and achievement, you can't experience either.

5. It tells you when it is time to reset goals. One of the motivation-sapping things you can do is not to reset new goals after one or more have been achieved. Resetting is absolutely essential if you are to maintain motivation and momentum. If resetting doesn't take place, you run the risk of feeling aimless, stagnating, and losing motivation and direction. Resetting goals maintain motivation. If goals are not set, you are apt to feel like you aren't getting anywhere in college, and you are definitely not in control of your life's direction. There is much hope for students who choose to master the process of setting and achieving goals for college. The task is easy . . . The process for setting and achieving goals has 4 simple steps. First, what is a goal?

A 4-STEP PROCESS

DEFINITION OF A GOAL - choosing to pursue something you desire. This means virtually anything you desire can be used as a goal and becomes achievable by following the steps below.

Step 1: Set a Goal. It identifies something you want. It may be pleasing parents, a new car, impressing friends, a personality trait, physical appearance, a college degree, a grade point average, a major field of study, etc. Setting a goal is also the first step in experiencing motivation. Motivation comes from one source and one source only: YOU are going after something that YOU want. Unless you identify what you want, you haven't done what's necessary to feel motivated.

Step 2: Devise a Plan of Action. Identify the steps or tasks to complete that lead to your goal. These are sometimes called mini-goals that must be achieved in order to reach a larger goal. Effective plans of action have completion dates for each mini-goal that provide a timetable to determine how well you are progressing toward your larger goal.

Step 3: Follow Your Plan to Your Goal. As a rule, it is easier to modify something than develop something altogether new. Follow your plan and ask: "Am I meeting my mini-goals on time?" Do not hesitate to add or modify mini-goals, dates, and times as you learn more about what it takes to reach your larger goal.

Step 4: Reset Goals. Goals must be reset after they are achieved if you are to continue to feel motivation. Goal setting and achieving is a lifelong process for those wishing continuous success. When resetting goals cease, achieving stops. Stagnation, aimlessness, and frustration take over as motivation fades. Like anything that is repeated often enough, becomes a habitual. Setting, achieving, and resetting goals can become a habit and so can achieving success if you choose to do what is necessary to achieve goals and become successful. This is why there are different degrees of success among various people. If you are willing to master the process for setting and achieving goals, you are one of the few who chooses to do what it takes to be successful and to make success a habit.

Used with permission of Dennis H. Congos, University of Central Florida, Student Success Center

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Indispensable Importance of Setting Goals in College | Fashion Institute of Technology

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Setting and achieving goals overall is the most underestimated skill for success in college. The result of poor goal setting and achievement skills is low motivation, lack of direction, and performance below one's potential. The outcome is often unnecessary low grades, frustration, discouragement, and sometimes leaving college.

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Are you required to create SMART Goals for yourself as a teacher?

We've had this acronym around for a while and I decided to try it out with my class this week as our goal-setting was feeling too broad and unfocused.

If you haven't heard, SMART Goals stand for:

Several of these words weren't easy for the kids to understand, so we spent some of the morning talking through each point and giving some examples and non-examples of each.

We came up with this mini-anchor chart that's now hanging in the back of our class:

I gave them the direction of "weekly"-- I want them to start small and we can work out from there. Plus, our Friday mornings have this perfect chunk of time for reflection, so I'm hoping this short time period will help kids reach some manageable goals and be able to feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of each week.

Every student then received a sticky note. I had them put their name on the back and I gave them two sentence starters for the front:

In one week, I will....

I know I've made my goal when...

This was the first week we've done this work, so I wasn't expecting perfection, but I was pleasantly surprised with how many kids could now generate some legitimate goals for their week ahead. Several revolved around homework, some dealt with classroom behavior, and others with academics.

As they finished, I had them place their notes on a large piece of chart paper I had laminated and titled, "Our Class Goals":

We are a "Leader in Me" School, so these goals worked perfectly with Habit #2: Begin with the end in mind.

This chart is now hanging in the back of the classroom with their stickies in their Class Number spots and will be clearly visible to them throughout the week. It will become a focus piece during our Morning Meeting and I am excited to reflect on these each week to see how well we did. I will share our reflections (as well as "Rewarding" ideas) in a later post, but in the meantime, I hope this gave you some ideas for how you can set up goals in your own classroom this year!

Happy goal-setting!

Find more Goal-Setting Posts here:

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Are you required to create SMART Goals for yourself as a teacher? We've had this acronym around for a while and I decided to try it out with my class this week as our goal-setting was feeling too broad and unfocused.

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Why set ourselves goals? Surely the goalposts continuously change anyway, so why bother?

Wouldn't this add even more pressure to our already manically busy and stressed lives? The truth is that we are often so focused on what we are doing that we lose sight of where we are going.

I've been on both sides of the fence. I've had periods in my life of living from one day to the next and counting the days and hours to the weekend. Professionally, I didn't know where I was going and what I really wanted to do. The days, weeks and months that passed now feel rather wasted. I was unhappy with myself and there were moments when I even felt depressed. Then, there have been periods when I've known what I wanted and I pursued it relentlessly and these are the times when I felt driven and happy. Regular goal setting has transformed my life over the past year.

I really didn't like the word 'goal' to begin with. It felt too harsh, but I will use it for the purpose of simplicity in this article. Goals, outcomes, dreams with a date, objectives, or positive intentions, however you choose to call them, boil down to how you really want to live your life and what you want to achieve.

So, why bother?

Focusing on the right things: Spending time to think about what is truly important to us and we really want in life gives us focus and direction on how to spend our time and energy. Having a plan of action and taking regular steps toward achieving what we want means we are far more likely to get there than if we were just wishing for it. Going through the daily grind day after day, year after year may mean that we wander aimlessly or we are climbing up the ladder that is leaning against the wrong wall if we don't make time to think of what it is that we really want out of life.

Happiness, fulfilment: Setting ourselves what to aim for gives us purpose and meaning. As we make strides toward what we want in life, we feel a sense of achievement and satisfaction, which in turn makes us happy. It's important to remember that it's all about the journey and not just the destination. As life goes on, we develop, our circumstances and environments change, our priorities shift and what we want alters. So, it's best to make a habit of reviewing our goals regularly to make sure that they are still relevant.

Work-Life Balance: In our 100 miles per hour lives, we are constantly battling against competing priorities. Figure out your top five priorities and work on them. Set goals in the areas that are important in your life to help you achieve that elusive work-life balance everyone is talking about. Make sure that they cover your personal growth (skills, knowledge, hobbies), health (physical and mental) and your relationships, as well as your professional development. Naturally, sometimes you will focus more on one than the others, but by having things to aim for in these four areas, it will help you get back on track to living a healthier and more balanced lifestyle.

How to set goals and why SMART just won't cut it

SMART isn't good enough. At work, we are told that the magic formula to setting objectives is they need to be SMART. Yes, they need to be specific so we know exactly what we are aiming for and when we've got there. They do need to be measurable so we know what we need to do and/or how well we've done. There is no point in setting goals that are unattainable because we would find them overwhelming and we won't bother pursing them, not for long anyway. There are studies* backing up that people who record their goals accomplish significantly more than those who don't. Of course, we need to have a time-frame to achieving our dreams - as Napoleon Hill said, "A goal is a dream with a deadline". However, SMART alone is just not good enough.

What other ingredients do we need to make our goals a success?
Essential ingredients to achieving the outcomes we want include:

Positivity - we are more likely to know what we don't want rather than what we want. However, we get what we focus on because our subconscious mind doesn't accept negative thoughts. So, focus on the jean size or the pretty dress you want to fit in to, rather than the weight you want to lose.

Congruency - with what's important to you and who you are as a person.

Inspiration and Motivation - think of what motivates you, what really drives you, what excites you, what difference achieving what you want to achieve will really make to you and those around you.

Challenge - what you want to achieve needs to be challenging enough to be stimulating to keep at it. If it's too easy it's pointless to aim for it. So, dream big but chunk it up into small manageable steps along your journey or your enthusiasm will fade over time and you might find all that needs to be done too overwhelming.

Relevancy - keep it relevant. As I mentioned earlier, there is no point in climbing up the ladder that is leaning against the wrong wall. Life changes, so do our priorities.

Appreciation - celebrate your successes along the way. Appreciating what you achieve on a daily basis make you feel happier and gives you a sense of fulfilment and keeps you going when the going gets tough.

If this article has given you some food for thought or you would like to get back on track with your goals, then book your free introductory consultation.
* According to a study done by Gail Matthews at Dominican University, those who wrote down their goals accomplished significantly more than those who did not write down their goals.

About Zlatomira Rutter

Zlatomira Rutter enjoyed a successful and varied 13-year career in the Banking and Finance industry prior to setting up a coaching practice with her husband which focuses on career development, personal effectiveness and wellbeing.

Mira is passionate about helping people get back in control of their lives so that they can achieve more and feel healthy, happy and fulfilled.

Mira works with people who really want to develop themselves and achieve more - for example they may want to learn new skills or brush up on existing ones, but they are seeing the days, weeks and months passing by and they are frustrated because they are not getting anywhere; people who really want to live a healthy lifestyle, fit in exercise and eat well, but find that their work-life balance doesn't enable them to do that; or people who want to feel passionate about their work but feel stuck, uninspired and unfulfilled or perhaps they want to move on in their careers but are not quite sure how to.

Effectively, she helps people bridge the gap from wishing to making what they want a reality, in the right way for them. She understands that doing it alone can be tough, so she is there to support her clients to overcome any obstacles as they come along, highlight any blind spots and help them explore new options and perspectives. She loves seeing her clients feeling confident, happy, and achieving what they want and as a result living a fulfilling life.

Rutter Coaching delivers 1-2-1 coaching sessions for individuals and groups as well as workshops. Our clients include professionals from a variety of backgrounds including banking, finance, retail, education, charity, fitness and medical sectors as well as business owners and consultants.

You can find out more at www.RutterCoaching.com and connect with Mira via LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook Page - RutterCoaching or email her at [email protected]

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The power and importance of setting goals

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Why set ourselves goals? Surely the goalposts continuously change anyway, so why bother? Wouldn't this add even more pressure to our already manically busy and stressed lives? The truth is that we are often so focused on what we are doing that we lose sight of where we are going.

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While we are all hopefully making progress on our New Year's resolutions, it is important that we remember goals are not just for adults. Whether it be at the start of a new year or halfway through, it's a great idea to start goal setting with your kids.

When it comes to setting goals, kids are naturals. They are better at coming up with goals and dreams than their parents or other adults. From things like wanting to score a goal before the end of the season to knowing what they want to be when they grow up, your kid already has a ton of goals in mind.

As a youth life coach, I always try to draw those goals to the forefront. Not just because accomplishing goals feels good, but because there are actual benefits to just setting and pursuing goals. Here are some of the benefits I've seen in the kids I work with.

Goal setting helps focus

Focusing can be tough for a lot of kids, but being able to focus is one of the strongest championship habits that your child can develop. By setting goals, kids have that task or dream to focus on and channel their energy into.

Rather than being an abstract idea or just another lesson, a goal can be visualized and attained, thanks to focus.

Goal setting gives purpose

When your child tries to focus on something or accomplish something in school or in sports, it might seem like it's all for nothing. It's difficult for them to feel like they are actually accomplishing something, and it then becomes even more difficult to stay motivated.

By setting goals, your child now has something to work towards. Instead of being told that they might apply math to "the real world" one day, they know exactly what they are working for and how they are going to get there. By setting goals, you are giving them purpose that will motivate them to the end.

And having a sense of purpose comes with a lot of benefits. Best among them are the boosts to confidence and self-esteem when your child knows that they are working towards something and-most importantly-they are getting closer and closer.

Goal setting has life-long benefits

When your child grows up with the mindset of looking to the future, planning, and taking action on their plans, it helps foster an innovative mindset and sets them up for a lifetime of success. Forward thinking and making action plans are not things that are taught in schools or on sports teams. They come from a purposeful habit of goal setting.

Kids who set goals have been shown to accomplish more than those who don't, too. And this doesn't just mean they accomplish their goals more. Those kids who have a forward-thinking mindset are more successful in almost all aspects of their adult lives. They can see what needs to be done, they can see how they can get there, and they're not afraid to act on it.

Being able to set goals also causes kids to aim higher. When they start accomplishing goals and their confidence builds, kids know that they can do more. Their next goal will be a little bigger, and the one after that even bigger.

That's not to say that your child will not come up against a goal that they stumble on. But goal setters are more confident in revisiting their goals, revising them, and coming up with a new action plan.

When it comes to goal setting, it is easy for a parent or coach to get caught up in reaching that goal with their kid at whatever cost. But that's an easy way to make a child hate goal setting and do some serious damage to how they view goals and action plans in the future.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when setting goals with your child.

- Put emphasis on the journey, not the end result. Being such big dreamers, your child will come up against a goal they can't accomplish. But that's not the point. What you should focus on is the progress that they made along the way. Growing up is about growing, remember.

- Set big AND small goals. Trying to achieve smaller goals on a regular basis is more impactful on your child than achieving big goals. By promoting smaller goals, you are promoting frequent journeys and more action plans. Progress is seen more regularly, even if the smaller goals are not reached. And while big goals are important to have, progress will be difficult to track.

- Review regularly. Progress is even harder to track if you don't actively reflect on it. Be sure to take some time to review goals that you have accomplished together, or where you are with ongoing goals. Creating a visual aide is a great way to help kids visualize their progress.

It's easy to dismiss goal setting as something for adults or even kids in their late teens. But goal setting is one of the fundamental habits that you want to instill in your child. It mind seem contradictory to our normal mindset that goal setting is more important than accomplishing the goal itself, but make the effort to get your child goal setting and allow them to gain the benefit of that habit for the rest of their lives.

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While we are all hopefully making progress on our New Year's resolutions, it is important that we remember goals are not just for adults. Whether it be at the start of a new year or halfway through, it's a great idea to start goal setting with your kids.

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https://elearninginfographics.com/effective-goal-settings-infographic-basics/

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Motivation to keep a goal Jessie Phillips 

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How motivation and goal setting better you as a person 

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How motivation and goal setting better you as a person 

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https://youtu.be/ayGqvxRDfzo

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Goal setting at a young age. (Kaytlynn Carter)

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Goal setting at a young age. (Kaytlynn Carter)

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Goal-setting isn't a skill that comes naturally to children. Learning to implement objectives is important for children because it helps them develop life skills that facilitate planning for the future using a series of smaller steps that lead to positive rewards. Goal-setting shares overlapping benefits across the age groups. A good time to start is when a child is old enough to take on simple responsibilities, such as picking up toys.

Providing a Focus

When you help a child set goals, you give him a vision of the future. Whether he wants to save his allowance to buy a new toy, improve his grades or go to a friend's birthday party, goal-setting gives him a positive focus that will encourage him to make better decisions, according to the HumanBean website 1. This focus encourages a child to think ahead about activities or behaviors that might get him closer or farther away from achieving his goal. As a parent, you can help your child develop this focus. For example, if your child's goal is to get better grades in science, have him think of different ways he can achieve this goal and write down the ideas. The ideas serve as smaller goals and may include double-checking homework, handing in homework on time and completing extra-credit assignments.

Giving a Sense of Purpose

Does Participating in Team Sports Develop Good Character?

Goal-setting lets a young person establish ideals for her life and encourages her to keep moving forward even when she encounters setbacks 1. When a child learns to set goals, she develops a sense of purpose. Children who have a sense of purpose in life tend to be more confident. You can enhance a child's sense of purpose by helping her set multiple age-appropriate goals. The University of Tennessee recommends encouraging your child to create financial, academic, personal, and sports or fitness-related goals that follow a timeline.

Meaningful Motivation

Goals motivate young people when they are specific, realistic and measurable. According to a January 2012 article on the "Woman's Day" website, kids who work on goals they set are more motivated to accomplish the objective because they directly see or experience the benefits of their achievements. The most motivating goals to children are meaningful and personal.

Develop Responsibility and Self-Efficacy

Examples of Speech Goals for Traumatic Brain Injuries

Long- and short-term goals help children gain a sense of responsibility for their own behaviors, according to education expert Gail Gross in a January 2014 article on "The Huffington Post" website. With this sense of responsibility comes improved self-efficacy because positive goal-setting experiences help a child learn more about herself and the boundaries of her abilities 3. A child with high self-efficacy is less likely to view a goal she doesn't achieve as a failure. Instead, she'll likely attribute the outcome to inappropriate efforts.

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Goal-setting isn't a skill that comes naturally to children. Learning to implement objectives is important for children because it helps them develop life skills that facilitate planning for the future using a series of smaller steps that lead to positive rewards. Goal-setting shares overlapping benefits across the age groups.

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Why is goal setting important article. (Kaytlynn Carter) 

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Why is goal setting important article. (Kaytlynn Carter) 

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Goals are what take us forward in life; they are the oxygen to our dreams. They are the first steps to every journey we take and are also our last. It's very important that you realize the significance and importance of goal-setting and apply this knowledge in your life.

Begin with the end in mind. - Stephen Covey

What Is A Goal?

According to Wikipedia the exact definition of a goal is: A desired result a person or a system envisions, plans and commits to achieve a personal or organizational desired end-point in some sort of assumed development. Many people endeavor to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. In other words, any planning you do for the future regardless of what it is, is a goal. So the next time you are planning on doing the weekly chores or decide on watching that really cool action movie after work, always keep in mind that these small tasks account as goals and while seemingly insignificant you are goal setting.

5 Reasons Why Goal Setting Is Important:

1. Goals Give You Focus

Imagine having to shoot an arrow without being given a target. Where would you aim? And say you did aim at some random thing (out of sheer perplexity). Why would you aim there? And what would the purpose be? Get the idea? This is a literal example of what life is like without a goal or target in mind. It's pointless and a waste of energy and effort. You can have all the potential in the world but without focus your abilities and talent are useless. Just like how sunlight can't burn through anything without a magnifying glass focusing it, you can't achieve anything unless a goal is focusing your effort. Because at the end of the day goals are what give you direction in life. By setting goals for yourself you give yourself a target to shoot for. This sense of direction is what allows your mind to focus on a target and rather than waste energy shooting aimlessly, it allows you to hit your target and reach your goal.

If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time. -Zig Ziglar

2. Goals Allow You To Measure Progress

By setting goals for yourself you are able to measure your progress because you always have a fixed endpoint or benchmark to compare with. Take this scenario for example David makes a goal to write a book with a minimum of 300 pages. He starts writing every day and works really hard but along the way, he loses track of how many more pages he has written and how much more he needs to write. So rather than panicking David simply counts the number of pages he has already written and he instantly determines his progress and knows how much further he needs to go.

3. Goals Keep You Locked In And Undistracted

By setting goals you give yourself mental boundaries. When you have a certain endpoint in mind you automatically stay away from certain distractions and stay focused towards the goal. This process happens automatically and subtly but according to research does happen. To get a better idea, imagine this. Your best friend is moving to Switzerland and his flight takes off at 9:00 PM. You leave right after work at 8:30 PM to see him off and you know it's a 20-minute walk to get to the airport. So you make it a goal to reach the airport in 15 minutes by jogging so that you can have more time to say your goodbyes. Would you get distracted by "anything" along the way? Would you stop for a break or a snack? Would you stop by your house before going to the airport? I bet you answered no for each question and at the end of the day, this is what a goal gives you. FOCUS. No matter who you meet along the way or what you see (assuming nothing is out of the ordinary) your goal allows you to stay locked in. You subconsciously keep away from distractions and your focus remains only on the goal. And by the way, if you didn't know yet this is how you become successful, you set a goal, you lock it in and then give it your 100%.

One half of knowing what you want, is knowing what you must give up before you get it. - Sidney Howard

4. Goals Help You Overcome Procrastination

When you set a goal for yourself you make yourself accountable to finish the task. This is in complete contrast with when you do things based off a whim and it doesn't matter whether you complete them or not. Goals tend to stick in your mind and if not completed they give you a "Shoot! I was supposed to do _____ today!" reminder. These reminders in the back of your head help you to overcome procrastination and laziness. (*But keep in mind that long-term goals actually promote procrastination. Most people aren't good with deadliness 3 months away. So whenever you're given a long term goal, break it down into several short-term goals so you can complete a chunk of the larger long term goal every week or even every day.)

5. Goals Give You Motivation

The root of all the motivation or inspiration you have ever felt in your entire life are goals. Goal setting provides you the foundation for your drive. By making a goal you give yourself a concrete endpoint to aim for and get excited about. It gives you something to focus on and put 100% of your effort into and this focus is what develops motivation. Goals are simply tools to focus your energy in positive directions, these can be changed as your priorities change, new ones added, and others dropped.

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5 Powerful Reasons Why Goal Setting Is Important | Code of Living

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Goals are what take us forward in life; they are the oxygen to our dreams. They are the first steps to every journey we take and are also our last. It's very important that you realize the significance and importance of goal-setting and apply this knowledge in your life.

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Routine for goal setting (Kaytlynn Carter)

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Routine for goal setting (Kaytlynn Carter)

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Deciding what you want to accomplish and planning how to get there is an important part of any business. For tech entrepreneurs, effective goal setting goes hand in hand with progress. Here are 10 steps for setting yourself up for success.

If you're a tech entrepreneur, goal setting should be an integral part of your daily routine. Is it?

If not, don't stress. It's never too late to learn how to create an effective goal-setting process that works for you.
1. Choose Achievable Goals
Dreaming big comes naturally to you. However, no objective is too small when it comes to creating an effective goal-setting process.

After all, you don't want to burn out while trying to achieve the impossible. Lock in attainable, small targets to boost your morale and keep things moving.
2. Get Specific
What's the definition of goal setting? I think it's identifying what you need to accomplish and locking in quantitative objectives and time frames -- or more simply put, figuring out realistic ways to get what you want quickly.

The best way to complete the first part (identifying what you need to accomplish) is by getting specific. Generalized goals like "I need to make more money" are unhelpful.

Instead, identify specific needs like: "I need a step-by-step plan to get my startup off the ground" or "I need a better social media presence." Turn these needs into goals like: "I will create a step-by-step plan to get my startup off the ground by Friday" or "I will set up five new social media accounts today."

These are goal-setting examples that will get you somewhere. Choose goals that lend themselves to obvious next steps.
3. Check In Weekly
Every week, check in with yourself about your progress. How much closer are you to meeting your goals? Are you doing everything you can to make your dreams a reality?

Be honest and realistic. These check-ins will help you track your growth and pinpoint where there is room for improvement. This will create even more momentum and help you use your time wisely.
4. Get Up Early
You know what they say: The early bird gets the worm. Now, imagine that the worm is entrepreneurial success.

Did you know that if you were to wake up one hour earlier every day you would get an additional 15 days every year? This is why so many accomplished individuals are early risers. More time awake means more time in which you can be getting ahead of the competition.

Make waking up early a part of your goal setting plan. Although getting eight hours of sleep every night is essential, preventing yourself from sleeping in is just as important.

If you're having trouble, try placing your cell phone or alarm clock away from your bed, so you have to get up to turn it off. Once it's off, get out of the bedroom -- no snoozing allowed.
5. Progress Is Just As Important As Results
The goal-setting process and the journey you take to achieve these goals are just as important as the result you desire. After all, it's the process that gets you where you want to be, not the result itself.

If you keep your mind glued to what you haven't yet achieved, you won't be fully present in the journey. Remind yourself to love and appreciate the process of reaching your goals. Honoring the adventuring will help you to stay confident, positive and motivated.
6. Use The Five-A-Day Rule For Effective Goal Setting
This five-a-day rule isn't about eating your fruits and veggies. It's about ensuring that you're taking steps every single day to achieve your goals.

All you have to do is make five moves each day that get you closer to reaching a specific goal. They don't have to be big steps -- making a quick call or sending an email is fine. But, if you use this rule and stay strict with it, you'll find that your goal progression will speed up exponentially.
7. Don't Forget About Self-Care
If you're stressed out, overworked and malnourished, you'll never reach your goals. Or, if you do, you'll be wrecked by the time you finish.

In order to preserve your health and sanity, be sure to focus on self-care throughout the process of realizing your dreams. Your body will thank you.
8. Go Public
There are many types of goal-setting techniques that can help you to stay accountable. One of these techniques is going public with your goals.

By posting on social media or openly telling friends about your objectives, you are creating a public expectation of completion. This pressure will help you keep yourself accountable and get things done on time.
9. Visualize Success
Did you know that Olympic athletes use imagery as a form of mental training? That's because visualization is a great way to get yourself on the right track for success.

If you want to accomplish your goals with razor-sharp focus, visualize it happening first. See yourself taking every step necessary until the task is complete. Then, get out there and make it happen.
10. Keep Score
What's the first thing you do when you tune into a sports match? You check the score.

Why? Because it's how you know which team is winning and how much time there is remaining. When it comes to goal setting, you should be doing the same thing.

If it helps, make a physical chart. Outline each goal you need to reach, and the steps you'll take to get there.

Track your progress, and reward yourself at every success. Keeping tabs visually will ensure that you aren't taking any shortcuts.
Never Give Up
You will succeed if you don't give up, but if you use the tips and tricks for effective goal setting above, you will achieve them even faster.

Just remember to keep yourself accountable, to visualize success and to choose specific, achievable goals. Don't forget to take good care of yourself during your entrepreneurial journey. The healthier you are, the better the quality of your work will be.

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Council Post: Effective Goal Setting 101: 10 Top Tips For Tech Entrepreneurs

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Deciding what you want to accomplish and planning how to get there is an important part of any business. For tech entrepreneurs, effective goal setting goes hand in hand with progress. Here are 10 steps for setting yourself up for success. If you're a tech entrepreneur, goal setting should be an integral part of your daily routine.

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Goal Setting is the Catalyst for Achieving Your Dreams!

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​​​​ Goal Setting is not difficult if you follow our goal setting pdf guide. Once you learn a few goal setting steps, you'll be amazed at what you can achieve in your life!

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Step by Step Goal Goal Setting Ideas Simple Goal Setting Successful Goal Setting Goal Setting Plan Writing Goals Personal Goal Setting Action Steps for Goals Types of Goal Setting Goal Setting Printables Goal Setting Process Steps Steps to Set Goals Goal Steps Worksheet Goal Setting Activities Goal Setting Outline Setting

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Reason you can be having trouble. (Kaytlynn Carter) 

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Reason you can be having trouble. (Kaytlynn Carter) 

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4. Lack of planning

Fun fact: I did not know how much planning and organization was involved in making things happen. Especially if you want to make multiple things happen at a time.

(But if you have a history of not following through on any of your goals, focus on one goal like we talked about in #1 and plan to succeed with one goal.)
So now that you have your goal in mind, think about how you can break that down.
Say you want to start running in 2018.

When are you going to go running? Where are you going to go running? How are you going to go running? And why are you even running in the first place?

Essentially, I go over the 4 W's and 1 H with myself.

Because the better you plan, the more you know. And the more you know, the better you can do.

Solution:

Make a plan. Don't just say "you'll do something".

It's easier to fall short on something when you don't have any concrete steps in place.

5. Lack of consistency

One of the most crucial things to do when you set a new goal for yourself is to do it consistently.

Because otherwise, it's easy to get "airy fairy" with it. And suddenly, it's been 4 weeks since you last worked on them, or even thought about them.

When you do something every day, it's an active thought that you can't really put on the back burner.

For example, when you exercise regularly and consistently, it actually feels weird not to exercise. You can feel the absence of it.

But when you're not consistent, it just feels normal to not to do, so you don't.

Solution:

If you say you're going to do something (even if the only person you told was yourself), then do it. Stop coming up with excuses. Stop allowing yourself to come up with excuses.

Do it every day until it becomes a habit, and then keep doing it because hopefully your goals are something you want to keep for a lifetime. ;)

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7 Reasons Why You Have Trouble Sticking To Your Goals - molly ho studio

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Are you having trouble sticking to your goals and New Year Resolution's that you set for yourself last month? Every year, we set goals and New Year Resolution's and goals for ourselves, shouting #newyearnewme, which is great! But the question is: Is it still happening? Are y

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(Kaytlynn Carter)

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Long term goals may be more important to our sense of happiness and well-being than many people come to believe. They direct our actions. They provide us with a sense of purpose. They even shape our attitude towards objects, people and circumstances that surround us.

In the recent psychological study conducted by Alberta School of Business, researchers made a mind-blowing discovery - once we set a long term goal, our subconscious mind will never "erase" it. No matter where we live, what we do and how old we are, our subconscious will continue actively searching for ways to achieve our long term goals.

Once set in motion this mechanism can not be stopped. Not by multiple failures. Not by negative social conditioning. Not even by your conscious decision to stop trying.

Good news is that you have been programmed for success. Not-so-good news - you will still have to do the work to achieve it, but it is hardly the reason to get discouraged.

Having (and achieving) long term goals actually holds a myriad of life-long rewards.

Advantages of Setting Long Term Goals

1. Long Term Goals Give You Direction

As Yogi Berra has put it, "If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else." Having clear and specific long term goal keeps us headed in the right direction - somewhere we really want to end up, not just somewhere the circumstances might take us.

2. Sense of greater purpose

Long term objectives give meaning to most, otherwise, mundane tasks. We don't wake up in the morning to go to work, spend 8 hours in the office to turn home and relax in front of TV for the rest of the evening. We have something great to look forward to. We have something that fires us up; something that has the potential to nourish our personal, professional and spiritual life.

3. Better understanding of possible roadblocks

Having a clear direction in life allows us to prepare much better for the trip, to anticipate and avoid possible setbacks, to build skills that are necessary for success and to gain support of people who can make our journey easier and more enjoyable.

4. Long term positive impact

While short term goals help us create momentum, the effect of accomplishing a short term goal is short-lived. They are only stepping-stones to the greater success. Long term goals may be harder to achieve, but their impact is more noticeable and lasts over time

5. Big picture

Having long term goals allows us to see beyond today's work and keep our motivation high, especially when we are faced with tedious, but necessary everyday tasks.

What are Long Term Goals?

While life-long goals may vary greatly from person to person, there are still similar characteristics that we have to keep in mind before applying massive amount of action to achieve them:

Long term goals can not be achieved overnight. You can not build a successful home-based business, instill healthy habits in your children or obtain a college degree in a few months. Goals like these, take time. They may last anywhere from one year to a few decades.

Long term goals are more concrete than dreams or wishes. There is a big difference between saying "Someday I will be an accomplished surgeon" and "By 2019 I will get my Master's Degree in Neurologic Surgery at Berkley University". The first statement is a dream that has nothing to do with reality. The second statement is a long term goal that combines a dream to become an accomplished surgeon and a plan on how to get there. When setting long term goals, make sure that they are SMART - specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely.

Long term goals can be set for any area of life. Whether you're trying to get out of debt, change your career, start a family or stick to a healthier diet, you can turn your wish into a long term goal and here is how...

How to set Long Term Goals?

1. Create a compelling vision

Before choosing a long term goal, take a moment to think what you want to look like in 5 years from now.

Where do you want to be living?

What kind of work do you want to be doing?

How are you planning to spend your free time?

Who do you want to spend it with?

Try this vision "on". See what your intuition is telling you - is it something YOU truly want or is it something that would be cool having? Will you be happier after accomplishing it? What could be the possible downsides of living your life that way?

For example, if you imagined yourself being the head of marketing department and working for a big international company, one of the downsides of having this role could be a lack of free time. Another one is the necessity of dealing with interpersonal conflicts within your team.

Ask yourself - are you ready to work hard and make sacrifices to get where you want to go? You know that you are on the right track when you are willing to accept not only the "compelling" part of accomplishing your goal, but also the responsibility that comes with it.

2. Identify one long term goal

Usually there are many areas of our life that we would like to improve. To feel satisfied with our life it is not enough to have a stellar career, to find your love match or to have a great-looking body and good health. We have to find balance between professional, personal and spiritual life.

However, the problem is that switching between multiple long term goals is a sure way to leave all of them half-way. This is one of the reasons why self-help experts suggest that we pick just one long-term goal and concentrate all of our effort on it.

Take a moment to think which goal is most important to your future success? Which goals will have the biggest positive impact on your life 5 years from now?

Now think of how you can write this goal in a way that eliminates any confusion or ambiguity and leaves no room for interpretation.

For example, "I want to be fit" is hardly a goal. "By June 1st, 2013 I am size 6. I can easily jog 5 miles without running out of breath or feeling tired afterwards." - is a well-defined, measurable target that has a clear deadline and allows you to monitor your progress.

3. Break your long term goal in smaller, do-able chunks

While long term goals are the most meaningful and gratifying, they are also far off in the future. As a result, it can be challenging to maintain a positive attitude and stay focused on reaching them. One of the great ways to prevent yourself from getting off track is to break your long-term goal into smaller objectives that take 3 to 12 months to complete. And then break those objectives into even smaller steps that could be completed in just a few days' or a few weeks' time.
When you do that, you will have what goal setting experts call an "Action plan".

4. Take the first step

Choose one of the smaller tasks from your action plan and set a realistic deadline for it.

Then take the first step - a.k.a. get it done!

Then celebrate... then take the next step... and the next one...

You will be surprised at how fast the time flies by. In a few years from now you will be sitting at your desk thinking, "Wow! It seemed only yesterday I was writing down my long term goals, and look how far I've come..."

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Long Term Goals: How To Create And Achieve Your Long Term Goal - Goal Setting Guide

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Long term goals may be more important to our sense of happiness and well-being than many people come to believe. They direct our actions. They provide us with a sense of purpose. They even shape our attitude towards objects, people and circumstances that surround us.

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(Kaytlynn Carter)

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You may feel setting long-term and short-term goals is a waste of time, especially if you live by the old proverb, "Man plans, God laughs." Don't make that mistake. Not planning for the future can make for a chaotic one.

How Setting Goals Affects Your Career Success

Setting goals is a significant component of the career planning process. To have a successful and satisfying career, define your goals and devise a strategy to achieve them. A roadmap that will take you from choosing an occupation to working and succeeding at it is called a career action plan.

Your career action plan must have both long and short-term goals. It is imperative to include the steps to take to reach each one, along with ways to get around barriers that might get in your way.

The Difference Between Short and Long Term Goals

Goals are broadly classified into two categories: short-term goals and long-term goals. You will be able to accomplish a short-term goal in approximately six months to three years, while it will usually take three to five years to reach a long-term one. Sometimes you can achieve a short-term goal in fewer than three months and a long-term one may take more than five years to complete.

To achieve each long-term goal, you must first accomplish a series of both short-term goals and additional long-term goals. For example, let's say you aspire to become a doctor. That may be your ultimate long-term goal, but before you can tackle it, you must achieve a few others, for example, complete college (four years), medical school (another four years), and a medical residency (three to eight years).

Along the road to reaching those long-term goals, there are several short-term goals to clear first. They include excelling in entrance exams and applying to college, medical school, and eventually residencies. Since grades matter when it comes to achieving those goals, it is necessary to break your short-term goals down even further, like earning a high-grade point average.

7 Ways to Increase Your Chances of Reaching Your Goals

Your hard work will play the most prominent role in your success, but if you don't formulate your goals correctly, it will be much more challenging to accomplish them. Your short-term and long-term goals must meet the following criteria:

1. Have specific goals. You might say, "I want to be successful." Well, who doesn't? But can you define what success means? Success to one person may mean becoming CEO of a company while to another person it may mean getting home from work by 6 p.m. every day.

2. Your goals must be measurable. Have a timeframe for achieving your goals and a way to determine when you have reached them.

3. Don't be negative. Your goal should be something you want rather than something you want to avoid. It is much better to say, for instance, "I want to improve my skills over the next four years so that I qualify for a better job" than "I don't want to be stuck in this job for another four years."

4. Be realistic. Your long-term goals must be compatible with your abilities and skills. Stating "I want to win a Grammy Award" if you can't sing or play an instrument will set you up for failure.

5. Your goal must be reachable within your time frame. Break a long-term goal down into smaller goals. It is better to take baby steps than one big giant leap.

6. Pair each goal with an action. For instance, if your goal is to become a writer, sign up for a writing class.

7. Be flexible. Don't give up if you encounter barriers that threaten to impede your progress. Instead, modify your goals accordingly. Let's say you need to continue working will keep you from going to college full-time. Although it won't be possible to finish your bachelor's degree in four years, you can enroll in school part-time and take a bit longer. Flexibility also means being willing to let go of goals that are no longer meaningful and instead put your energy into pursuing other ones.

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7 Ways to Set Short and Long Term Goals for Your Career

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You may feel setting long-term and short-term goals is a waste of time, especially if you live by the old proverb, "Man plans, God laughs." Don't make that mistake. Not planning for the future can make for a chaotic one. Setting goals is a significant component of the career planning process.

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Goal setting steps (video) (Kaytlynn Carter)

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Goal setting steps (video) (Kaytlynn Carter)

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Planning and Goal Setting Goal Setting Plan Goal Setting Process Setting Personal Goals Goal Setting with Clients Goal Setting Management Weekly Goals Set a Goal Student Goal Setting Goal Setting Guide Short-Term Goal Setting Academic Goal Setting Business Goals My Goal Job Goals Financial Goal Goal Setting Training Goal Setting

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Writing down what you want to achieve is easy, the difficult and challenging part comes after that.

Let's face it, goal setting is not as complicated as we all think. It is what we do after we have set our goals that are the most challenging.

Most people have a rough idea of what they want to achieve in their lives. Whether they want to achieve financial success or to build a successful internet business, these goals are good goals.

The problem most people face is what to do after they know what they want. Are they taking the necessary action? Do they track their progress? And how can they maintain their motivation each day?

These are the key questions that we all must answer if we want to make our goals a reality.

And if you are serious about achieving your goals, you need to go through some form of behavioral change.

Think about it, if you are not willing to make a change, you will never achieve your goals. If you keep doing the same thing over and over again, you will get back the same result all the time.

It is when you change your habit and do something else, eventually, your result and your life will change.

So, what are the behavioral changes or habits you need to adopt to help you achieve your goals?

Well, here are 7 good habits you should consider developing to help you transform what you want in your mind into your life in reality.

1. Write down your goals every day

I know you have heard this a gazillion times, but writing down your goals is a habit that has been proven to be extremely effective in making your goals a reality.

According to research conducted by Dr. Gail Matthews, people who write down their goals are 42% more likely to achieve them.

So, what is holding you back from writing down your goals?

When you put your goals into writing, you tend to remember them better. Not only that, it shows that your goals are important to you, and that is why you care about writing them down.

People who don't bother writing down their goals are subconsciously telling themselves that their goals don't matter. And this is why they don't care if they do it.

One more thing, writing down your goals on a daily basis helps too.

Scott Adam, the creator of the Dilbert cartoon, said in his blog post that he used to write down his goals as much as 15 times a day.

So, every day, he would write down something like, "I, Scott Adams will become a syndicated cartoonist."

After more than 6 months later, circumstances somehow arranged themselves in such a way that Scott got his first break as a cartoonist. He went on to publish his first Dilbert cartoon in 1989 and the rest became history.

Hence, make it your habit to write down your goals every day. If you want to learn more about daily goal setting, read this article below:

==> The Importance of Daily Goal Setting And How To Do It

2. Create positive affirmations to support your goals

Another good goal-setting habit you should develop is to create your own positive affirmations to support your goals.

Affirmations are positive self-talk that you can repeat on a regular basis to boost your motivation and help you re-focus throughout the day.

They are like mantras to help you stay focused and go through the hard times.

Whenever you are feeling lost or find yourself having no motivation to work on your goals, repeat your affirmations.

Many people know that affirmation is powerful, but most of them don't practice it because they think that it is not effective.

I'm here to tell you that affirmations work.

The reason most people find it not working is that they practice it in the wrong way. I have shared 5 critical rules you must follow to make your affirmations work for you. You can read the article here:

==> How To Make Your Affirmations Work - The 5 Simple Rules To Follow

In short, you have to make your affirmations as emotional as possible and repeat them until they work for you.

Plus, affirmations are a good method to remind you of what you want to achieve in life.

They can work as a lighthouse, showing you where to go when you are feeling lost.

3. Track, update and measure your progress

When was the last time you measure your progress? Do you even have a tracking system to know your performance?

A lot of people set goals, but many of them don't measure or track their progress. And this is why most people fail to achieve what they want in life.

If you want to lose weight, the first thing you need to do is to measure your weight.

The same goes for business. If you want to know how much you are earning or the performance of your business, what do you do? You measure and track your business.

You find out how many leads you acquire each day, week, and month. You track your profit and cost. You measure your business performance, etc.

But when it comes to setting and achieving goals, most people don't do this.

And this is why you need to make it a habit to track and measure your progress.

At least do it on a weekly basis. You want to know if whether you are making progress and are moving forward, or if you are moving away from your goals.

Here's a good book I recommend you read when it comes to setting your goals and tracking them: The 12 Week Year.

4. Review your strategy

Besides tracking your progress, you must also review your strategy.

How can you know if you are moving forward? The only way is to find out what is working and what is not working for you.

You want to do more of what is working and improve what is not working.

For instance, I used to publish a blog post every Tuesday and Thursday, but after going through my experiment of publishing every day for about 2 months, I found that my traffic increased by about 15%.

But writing and publishing every day take a lot of my time. I have to write daily even during the weekend.

Hence, I came to the conclusion that if I want to grow my blog, I have to write and publish more often. I made the decision to publish every weekday, from Monday to Friday.

And that's what I have done for a month now. And things were going well for this blog.

If I don't try things out and if I don't review my strategy, I will never know what will work out for me and my blog. And I will continue to publish twice a week, and things will stay the same, nothing is going to change until I first change my strategy.

This is why reviewing your work is important.

You want to know what is working and then do more of it. And of course, you also want to find out what is not working and improve your strategy.

Therefore, schedule at least a session each month or bi-weekly to review your strategy. Try out new things and see what works.

5. Plan and schedule your day in advance

If you are committed to your goals, you must make it your habit to play and schedule your day in advance.

Goal setting is a form of future-planning where it is not complete if you don't turn it into a daily and workable plan.

You can't just write down what you want to achieve and then do nothing every day. You need to exert some forms of action in order to produce the results you want.

And to make the process flow are, you must plan your day.

You want to give simple and specific instructions to your mind so that it knows what to do, every day.

Think about it, your goal of building a successful blog isn't actionable.

But when you plan your day, you write down action steps such as to write 1,000 words article and publish on your blog, you are turning your goals into a smaller and actionable step.

This will directly give your mind specific instructions on what to do. You are setting yourself up to win.

A lot of people set goals, but they don't do the planning. They lack the "connecting" steps that get them to their goals.

Here's a good saying from Larry Winget that I like a lot:

"Nobody ever wrote down a plan to be broke, fat, lazy, or stupid. Those things are what happen when you don't have a plan."

6. Practice daily visualization

Another powerful and productive habit you can develop that can help you reach your goals is visualization.

Plenty of research have proved that visualization works and it is a powerful tool to help us get what we want in life.

Extraordinary people like Oprah Winfrey, Jim Carrey, Tiger Woods, and many more have openly dedicated part of their success to visualization.

"I would visualize things coming to me. It would just make me feel better. Visualization works if you work hard. That's the thing. You can't just visualize and go eat a sandwich."
- Jim Carrey

When you visualize the things that you want, you are telling your reticular activating system (RAS) located in your brain what to focus on.

The RAS acts as a filter in our brain to filter away all unnecessary details so that we can focus on what is important to us.

And when you visualize yourself working hard and eventually achieve your goals, you are giving instructions to your RAS what to do and focus on.

In short, treat your RAS like a GPS. And the best way to program your destination to your inner GPS is to visualize your goals.

If you want to learn more about visualization, the best person to learn from is none other than John Assaraf. He is the person who makes the concept of vision boards popular. Read this article below:

==> How John Assaraf Used Vision Boards and Changed His Life

7. Upgrade your skills and improve your knowledge

Finally, you must also make it a habit to upgrade your skills and improve your knowledge on a consistent basis.

If you want to achieve your goals, you must level up yourself and raise your standards.

You can only achieve success as per your skills level and what you know.

It works like a water bottle. If you can only hold up to 500ml of water, there is no way you can get more out of it. Even if you keep pouring the water, 500ml is all you can hold.

The only way to get more is to increase your volume. When you read, learn, and improve, your volume will increase.

In short, to hold more content, you need to improve your context.

When your water bottle has a bigger volume, you can hold more water.

And this is exactly the habit you need to develop to make sure you are capable and worthy of your goals.

Many people want to get rich and become a millionaire, but sadly, they don't work on developing their millionaire mindset and money management skills.

As a result, no matter how much they make, they will use it all. And this explains why most people are not financially successful.

You must work on yourself, upgrade your skills, and raise your standards to be able to produce the extraordinary results you desire.

Always remember this quote from Harv Eker, and work on improving the size of you:

"The size of the problem is never the issue, what matters is the size of you."

What Should You Do Now?

Goal setting is not a one-time work and its not something that you can just set-and-forget.

You must develop the right habits and make the necessary behavioral change in order to turn your goals into reality.

This is why I strongly recommend you take my course, Goal Setting Formula and equip yourself with the right skills and tools to help you achieve the success you really want in life.

You don't have to go through everything by yourself. I can show you the way, but are you willing to make the commitment and take necessary action?

This article may contain affiliate links. meaning, at no additional cost to you, we will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. As always, we only recommend products and services we trust.

I'm a blogger, writer, and also an internet entrepreneur. If you want to learn more about me, kindly go to the page. By the way, have you downloaded your FREE copy of Reach Your Goals? Don't forget to do so. Cheers. :)

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7 Good Goal Setting Habits You Should Adopt

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Writing down what you want to achieve is easy, the difficult and challenging part comes after that. Let's face it, goal setting is not as complicated as we all think. It is what we do after we have set our goals that are the most challenging.