Goals and goal setting are not synonymous. A goal is what you desire to happen in the future. It is something that is an improvement on an important area of your life. For example, earning $10,000 a month is a goal if you’re currently earning $4,000 a month. Goal setting is the process of deciding what goal to set, how to set it, and how to make it happen.
Understanding this distinction is important. The confusion between the two has resulted in failure to meet goals and giving up on setting future goals. A goal is the end result. Goal-setting is the means. A goal is an achievement. Goal-setting is the process toward the achievement. Thus, by not setting up the process correctly you’ll also fail to achieve the desired end.
When you take time to set a goal, you take time to prepare for the journey ahead. The better you prepare for it, the better your chance of success. Any goal that is worth achieving asks you to stretch beyond your current skills and your present resources. This makes any goal hard. The chance of reaching it is slim if you haven’t prepared adequately for it.
Merely deciding on a goal without preparing a strategy to reach it will result in a loss in motivation. It isn’t easy to stay motivated and it is easy to get discouraged if you have no routine to fall back on when things get tough.
The goal itself is never enough to inspire complete loyalty to it. Your
unwavering diligence toward one will crumble when working toward it becomes uncomfortable enough.
A salesman pounding the pavement day after day using selling techniques that don’t work will soon give up his lofty income goal. He will lose focus when the humiliation of rejection and fatigue become unbearable.
However, if that same salesmen was given a method of observing incremental improvements, if his goal setting system included sales training, feedback from mentors on his progress, and the use of other strategies, selling would now become more of a game and less of a burden.
Now that we’ve distinguished between a goal and goal setting, let’s look at three ways to create an effective goal setting strategy.
Whether you want to earn more, lose weight, or accomplish some athletic feat, the following themes can keep you on target with your desire.
One: Imagine Your Future.
If you want to earn more, imagine what it will be like to be able to pay all your bills on time, to buy a choice of luxuries, and to improve the quality of your life in various ways. If you want to lose weight, imagine what it would be like to look good, feel good, wear your favorite, sexy clothes and have a wonderful spring in your step. If you want to achieve a new record in an athletic event, imagine the cheering crowd, the weight of the trophy in your hand, the feeling of accomplishment, and the pride of being asked how you managed to pull it off.
Two: Reward Yourself Every Time You Reach A Sub-goal.
While we would like overnight results, all goals are a result of a process of incremental improvement toward your ideal. Break your main goal into sub-goals. As you achieve your sub-goal, reward yourself. Suppose your goal is to excel in an examination. Your sub-goal may be to study a certain portion of the course material each day. Your reward may be as simple as a great video after you’ve reached your sub-goal.
Three: Stay Inspired
All effort eventually wears us down. Moreover, when we’re tired and have experienced setbacks, our goals appear increasingly impossible. When you feel like this, it’s best to jump out of self-doubt and draw inspiration from books, movies, audio recordings, and supportive people. As you reach for that better feeling thought, you’ll discover new reserves of hope.
Understanding the distinction between goals and goal-setting can change the way you approach preparing for and working toward your goals. When you create a process toward the achievement, a means towards an end, progress and eventual success are almost always assured.
Saleem Rana would love to share his inspiring ideas with you. Hunting everywhere for a life worth living? Discover the life of your dreams. His book Never Ever Give Up tells you how. It is offered at no cost as a way to help YOU succeed. http://www.theempoweredsoul.com/enter.html
A bit of humor...
Powered By WPHumor
Please Note... All links within articles are placed by their author-owners and not by this blog.Products with in those links may or may not be the best in the world.If it sounds too good to be true it could be a scam.Articles are posted for their info,ideas and or entertainment value only.
Powered By WP Footer
