How To Successfully Goal Set for 2014

Goal setting is one of the most necessary and important things to do at the beginning of each year.

Setting yourself up with expectations allows you to have direction with what you want and need to accomplish.

However, having goals is only going to get you halfway there. There’s a few ways you need to structure and form your goals, so that you actually follow through and take them seriously. We’re talking goals here, not New Years resolutions.

1. Written Goals

Having written goals is a lot better than having typed up goals saved on your computer in some folder next to your downloaded music. Pickup a pen and hand write your goals so it really sinks in. I know it’ll be tough because you probably haven’t written anything for a long time, but that’s the only way to really formulate and express what you want with meaning. It’ll make you think about what you’re writing that little bit more too. If you don’t have you goals written down, then they’re merely wishes and not goals at all.

2. Setting Multiple Deadlines

Set 3 different time periods for your goals. Set a short term, medium term and long term length of your goals. You always need to be challenged, not just have 2 or 3  ‘aspirations’ in 12 months time which you write and read once and just happen to see if you achieve them. These need to be spread across what you want done in the next 3 months, 6-12 months and where you want to be in 2 years time. This sets you up so you can break your goals down into parts so you don’t slack off. By breaking them down, you’ll be able to see a sort of timeline forming which will really show you how much time and energy it’ll take in between the dates on paper.

3. Aim For The Stars So You Hit The Moon

The only issue with our goals is that we do not set enough of them and we do not set them highly enough. This requires you to be clear with what you want, and be clear with how you want to get it. Take a moment to ask yourself where you really want to be, not where you think you will be. The feeling of opening up that envelope at the end of the year and seeing yourself achieve 80% of your real goal will be a lot more fulfilling than over achieving your mediocre goal.

4. Re-Write and Review Your Goals Daily

Every morning, write down your goals in the first person singular as if you already have them. E.g. “I want to run a small business with at least 50 employees” would become “I run a small business with at least 50 employees”. This shouldn’t take much longer than 10-15 minutes every morning and you can do it instead of watching TV or just after breakfast. Then later at night, before you go to bed, bring out those goals of yours and review them. Have you taken steps which lead in the direction of achieving your goals in the last 24 hours? What have you done right today? What would you do differently if you have the day to live over? This method explained by Brian Tracey is one of the most powerful strategies to actively act on your goals and realize you’re achieving your tasks you set.

This isn’t supposed to be a post you see and think, well I might do that later if I get the time. I am being 100% serious and more importantly necessary if you want to be successful. Do you think CEOs like Richard Branson and celebrities like George Clooney don’t have goals? Of course they do. Do you think your mate who might go out every night doesn’t have goals? I bet he does. While it’s completely up to you if you’d like to publicly share them or keep them to yourself, a measurable way to improve yourself is one of the most important things in life. Think of it like this, you wouldn’t set up a website without Google Analytics, you’d be completely lost and have no direction of how successful it was…so why would you set yourself up with no measurable goals of how you’re doing?