Goal Setting Rules That Work

Goal Setting Rules That Work

Poor goal setting can be a roadblock to success. Think of it as a business plan—the plan and path you need to take to be successful. Without a plan or a set of goals designed with steps to follow, you lack direction, and without direction, it is hard to get where you want to go. All humans need guidance and to do the work to reap the rewards.

Follow these rules to goal setting that work:

Be Realistic

For example, your goal may be to lose 100 pounds, but don’t expect that to happen in two or even ten months. Give yourself a realistic timeline to reach your goal. Don’t set yourself up to fail before you also get started by being unrealistic.

Baby Steps

Break down your goals into manageable steps or smaller goals that you can change or repeat each day to reach your goal. This way, your bigger goal seems easy to get to, and you won't overwhelm yourself again by doing too much or making it look too hard.

For example, maybe you have a goal to drink less soda. Instead of going cold turkey, you can only have one at each meal, and then as the weeks go by, reduce that to one meal and then finally zero. All you need to feel accomplished is to work toward your goals slowly.

Be Specific

Make sure all the goals that you set for yourself are very clear and specific. Don’t make it broad and all over the place. If you can’t see the finish line, you may not get started. If you don’t know precisely what you want to accomplish in the end, you won’t know how even to get started in the first place, much less the steps that it takes to reach the goal.

Be Relevant

Each goal you work on should be relevant to where you want to see your life going. Do you have big career goals? Then make sure the goals you write down are career related. Don’t make all your goals about your health and hobbies if you ultimately want to be a doctor one day. You will need to put in a lot of work to get there and make it a top priority.

Always Plan

Writing down the goals is only the first step. You must also plan how you want to achieve the goals. Having a clear direction, a beginning, middle, and end will lead to success. For each goal that you make, also write at least three to five things you plan on doing to get there first.

You must want to accomplish the goal and believe in it to succeed. After all, it takes your continued hard work and dedication to make it happen, no one else's.