Goals may be defined as a desire or a want backed by the will to accomplish. Also, goals come with a time frame and cannot be for eternity. We can have financial goals, relationship goals, spiritual goals, educational goals etc. We all know that organizations set goals for the next year, next quarter, next week etc along with a deadline to achieve the goal. This creates a sense of urgency in the minds of employees and they put their sincere efforts in achieving them.
Now, we all have aspirations to achieve something big in life. But most of us cannot get started on the things which need to be done. We procrastinate and bring out some excuses in not getting the things done. The most common excuse we give ourselves is we do not have the time to do those thing which we want to do and think our work life is too hectic to accommodate anything new. Let me tell you that time is a relative factor but more on that later.
Try to answer a few questions below for yourselves which will change your perception towards time.
1. Would you not take the extra work given by your boss and would you dare tell him that you are busy right now?
2. Where did you find the time to prepare for that event which was coming up at office, home, social gathering etc even when you were way too tired to put something else in your already overflowing schedules?
3. Did you not put some time in learning new skills which were necessary for your job even though you were simultaneously working?
Everyone has only 24 hours to use in a day. The only difference is some use it properly and more effectively than others. Some waste their time in past and future events while those who are highly effective are the ones who spend their time in the present. Coming back to goal setting; we have to follow certain rules to make it most effective which will ultimately lead to the realization of your goal.
a. The goal must be in writing.
Your mind takes things seriously and starts working on them only if they have been written down by you in some journal or book.
b. The goal must be crystal clear.
You cannot have goals which are ambiguous in nature. Your mind takes everything in literal sense, that is, it takes the meaning as is. So be as clear and concise of your goals. Say, for example, you want to have a lot of money or you want to be very rich. Now, your mind doesn’t know what is ‘lot of money’ for you. Is it $10, $100, $1000, $1 million? So be as clear as possible.
For example: “I want to earn 1 million dollars within the next 2 years.”
c. Use positive statements rather than negative ones as your goals.
The same goal can be stated in two different ways. One in positive and one in a negative way. Say, for example, you want to lose weight. Your goal might be worded as “I will lose ___ pounds in 6 months”. But the same goal can be stated in a more positive and inspiring way as “I will weigh ___ pounds within 6 months by exercising regularly and eating healthy.”
Lastly, create a journal in which you record your lifetime goals, goals for the next 10 years, 5 years, 1 year. Then record the goals for the next month, the next week and a daily goal. You can get down to hourly goals but daily goals are more than enough. As you go on clearing these goals put a tick mark in front of them. This will give you confidence in achieving higher goals.
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