A Quick Guide to goal setting:
Goals not only help us improve a specific area of our life, but they can also keep us hopeful for our future. When somebody asks, “What are your goals?” or “What do you want your life to look like in ___ years?” it can either be exciting or intimidating.
When thinking about your goals, make sure you know the difference between an aspiration and a goal. A goal should be something you have (mostly) full control over. An example of this can be: “I want to have 5 articles written about my business this year” versus “I am going to reach out to 20 publications this year to promote my business with the hopes of having at least 5 articles written about my business”. Can you guess which one the goal is? If you said the second one, you’re right! This is because you have control over sending emails and the number of emails you send, but you don’t have control over how many respond or how many articles are written about your business. The second option is action-oriented with the hopes of creating the outcome of your aspiration.
Here is a quick guide on how to create goals that are realistic, sustainable and most of all FLEXIBLE! Life happens, and sometimes things aren’t in our control.
- Make sure your goals are in your control (mentioned above).
- If you have more than one over-arching goal, then split them into different categories: Health, Career, Family, Creativity, Education etc.
- Break down your goal into different steps, Rome wasn’t built in a day and breaking down your goal will help you become less overwhelmed and keep you wanting to still work on that particular goal. An example of this can be if you are an artist who wants to release an album: The first step is writing the first song, revising it, taking it to the studio to record it, and then repeating this process with any specific steps in between.
- Keep log of your goals, either in a journal or on an electronic device. If your goal is to gain or lose weight, log your weight daily. You cannot control what you do not track! Keep track of your progress. This will not only keep you accountable and on track, but it will also motivate you to keep going if things are going right! If things aren’t going right, that’s okay too! That’s when you can reassess and figure out where you may need to change things.
- Remember that your goals may change! That is 1000% okay, and we need to be flexible and give ourselves grace. Goals should not be a point of stress, but a point of keeping yourself learning and in action in life. That being said, sometimes life happens and it’s important to remember that you are a Human BEING, not a Human DOING!
Yes, the classic S.M.A.R.T. goal breakdown is taught a lot, but it’s very important! Here’s a recap:
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Time-based
Good luck with your goal setting! Share your goals with us on social media, and tag us! @thedrop303