Goal Setting

• When we create goals around what we’re excited about or find impactful or important, we are more likely to follow through on completing them.

• When we create a goal, we are narrowing our focus, and a narrowed focus means a defined direction or pathway to follow.

• It is human nature for us to seek out rewarding or fulfilling experiences, so when we create a goal that is clear and desirable, we are more likely to be enthusiastic in our desire to complete the goal.

• When a goal is focused on developing a higher level of understanding, excellence, or performance, we are more likely “willing to commit” and face obstacles or challenges that we would be derailed by with less important or impactful goals.
• These obstacles are often seen as part of the solution or valuable feedback to inform the process of completing the goal, and the person completing the goal finds it easier to stay on task for long periods of time, with more confidence, commitment, energy, enthusiasm, and inspiration. 

• A potent goal is compelling and inspires us to be strategic and critical thinkers, learning from mistakes and failures, and using that information to adapt future attempts.

• When we create a goal and take action towards completing it, we strengthen our decision-making and critical thinking processes; repetitive use of these processes results in rewiring our neural pathways and helps us to establish new habits.

• An effective goal is specific to both present and future desired outcomes, and it is clearly defined. When a goal is specific, you feel focused and motivated to take action for completion, because you know how you’re going to do it and by when.
• A goal should be based on an assessment of what is missing or needs changing within your life. The goal helps you articulate where you’re going, what you’re working towards, and what your desired outcome or experience is.
• A good goal is also realistic. It is important that it is realistic, because it means that it is something that is attainable and therefore, you’ll be more likely to do the work that is needed so you can achieve it.
• Another important consideration is that it can be easily modified. It is also important that you can modify your goal as you make progress on it, because we can sometimes start out too big; when a goal is too big, we’re more likely to feel frustrated and give up on the goal.
• A strong goal also should be challenging for you, requiring you to stretch outside of your comfort zone and to grow.. If your goal is not helping you experience growth or improvement, it might not be exciting enough for you. We do not grow when we only do things we’re already good at and having the confidence to try new things, even when we fall, is an opportunity for us to become more resilient.
• A good goal should also be holistic; this means that your goal should take into account life balance.

• When you create your goal, you want to make sure that it is about what you really want or need; when the goal is personal and relevant to you, it is highly rewarding to you, improving your experience of long-term happiness and success.
• Having a clear understanding of your why increases your motivation to take action; a less clear why or a goal that is not built around your values can lead you to lose initiative and fail to complete it. A quality goal aligns with your vision of the future and our values at its foundation, making us more likely to take action and persist through challenges.

How do you achieve your goal? Write it down in a clear, positive, and actionable way. It is measurable and easily monitored for progression so you know that you’re making forward momentum towards completing it and when you’ve actually achieved it.

• Your goal should be useful, which means they need to be practical, available, visible, memorable, and real.
• Your goals should be worded positively as much as possible. A goal that is worded negatively disempowers us; using positive language helps us to shift away from the problem or where we currently are to the solution or where we want to be. This makes the goal more motivating and empowering for us.
• When wording your goal, you need to make sure that it is about where you’re ending up; this means, you need to know what actions you’ll take to achieve it.. A clearly defined, positive goal allows you to tap into how you can achieve it, meaning you’ll have an easier time knowing what steps or tasks are necessary for you to complete it. It gives you a clearer sense of your direction when your goal is actionable.
• An important part of creating your goal is to provide yourself with specificity around how much you’ll achieve your goal; having a measurable goal is essential for tracking and feedback purposes. You know what your goal is and how you’ll achieve it.
• Considering the duration of your goal is part of making it measurable; having a clear end date in mind is as important as how much. Not knowing when you’ll achieve your goal puts it perpetually in the future, making it less real for you; whereas having a deadline that you’re working towards makes it real to you and therefore increases your likelihood of doing the work to achieve it.

An essential part of achieving a goal includes monitoring progress, which provides essential information on whether you are sticking with your plan and if it is working or not. Both are important: tracking implementation and outcomes. As you monitor your goals, you should reflect on the action you’re taking and whether adjustments may need to be made to how you’re achieving your goal or your timeline. Monitoring helps you know if you are on task and if you’re making progress and that monitoring goal progress can be a source of inspiration and motivation as you see yourself advancing toward your goal.

Our goals are only as useful as the empowered actions that come from them. This means that just setting a goal doesn’t mean that you will achieve it; instead, to see results, we need to take action.

While this isn’t something that is needed for every goal, sometimes as we make progress towards a goal, we realize the original action plan won’t be fruitful or isn’t working for us; having an alternate route to achieving the goal allows us to switch gears to have a better chance of achieving our goal.

Your achievement of a goal (or not) does not define your worth or the value of who you are. Yes, you should take your responsibilities seriously, but it’s also important to remember that sometimes circumstances are out of our control, and getting too attached to the outcome means that we miss out on other amazing opportunities along the journey. A healthy mindset (adopting a growth mindset) is about what we can learn throughout the journey and not necessarily becoming fixated on the destination - a specific outcome.

A concrete objective that you’re striving to achieve.

• Helpful questions to consider include:
  • What exactly do I want to achieve?
  • Who else is involved/responsible?
  • How will I know when I’ve accomplished it?
  • What action verb(s) should I use to clarify the task I’m trying to complete?

Includes tangible criteria to measure your progress and confirm your achievement.

• Helpful questions to consider include:
  • What am I measuring my success by?
  • How will I track my progress?
  • What are the specific criteria or conditions required to complete it?
  • What specific actions or tasks go into achieving my goal?

Requires you to stretch beyond your comfort zone, but still feels doable or possible. You take into consideration the necessary skills or resources that need to be in place when creating your goal.

• Helpful questions to consider include:
  • Is the goal realistic (feel possible) considering my given resources or constraints?
  • Do I have the necessary skills and support to complete the goal?
  • Is there anything that I need to have in place in order to achieve my goal?
  • Is there anything that I need to let go of in order to achieve my goal?

Consider how the goal aligns with what you find valuable or important, the vision you have in mind of where you’re going, and how completing this goal will add to your life.

• Helpful questions to consider include:
  • Why is this goal important to me?
  • Will this goal contribute to my long-term success and growth?
  • Is now the right time for me to pursue this goal?
  • Am I empowered by this goal?

A clearly defined timeline or end date helps you to stay engaged and excited about a goal and assess your progress.

• Helpful questions to consider include:
  • When will I start this goal?
  • When do I want to finish the goal?
  • Are there milestones or checkpoints for me to look for along the way?
  • What timeline am I following for achieving this goal?