How to Set Goals?

A goal is a perfect, mental anticipation of the results of the person’s actions and the ways how to achieve it with the help of different methods.

In other words, a goal is a possible imaginary future event or the state of something, the accomplishment of which is desirable for a person (personal image of the future). Besides, it always conforms to the mediums and possible ways needed for its achievement.

Otherwise, this desirable future will only be the rudiments’ invocation (lack of possible resources) or the fruitless dreams (lack of the ways how to reach the aim).

This way, the target is always something, which makes a person do particular things.

No actions, no goals, and vice versa.

The rules how to set goals help to put our ambitions and wishes to life. That’s why the article deals with the question of how to set goals. We’ll discover how to transform our wishes and dreams in the real and concrete targets that can be achieved.

What is a goal-setting?

To set a goal means to define what a person needs and form it into the clear and distinct picture or a motivational formulation.

Goal-setting on its own is a useless thing, if it doesn’t come to its achievement.

However, usually those, who don’t want to achieve something, avoid goal-setting.

That’s why those people, who set targets in life, turn out to be more effective than those, who act without aims or don’t have them clearly defined.

A person, who knows his targets, wends his way through life more confident and effectively.

A person without a goal is like a ship, which lost its sails and is drifting in the open sea of accidents and circumstances.

People without aims relieve themselves of the responsibility and hand it over to the others.

A person with the set of goals is more confident and effective in life, and is likely to achieve success.

Having a clear written goal in front of you, you can easily imagine the ways how to achieve the desired things. You can divide it on several small purposes and achieve them one by one, coming to the huge results step by step.

When a person achieves his intention, he becomes a step higher in his development and new horizons are opened for him. He can see more and farther from the new horizons and is able to set the next target.

How to Stop Being Lazy and Depressed?

Competent goal-setting is the possibility to answer the following questions:

• What is the most important? – definition of the direction and formulation of the target.
• How to do it? – forming a plan of goal’s achievement.
• When? – time, when we start and when the results must appear.
• Control? – how can we know that the process is going on and how to find out if the aim is achieved?

The more consciously and responsibly a person lives, the more often he uses in the goal-setting the responsible format, where all significant details are thought over, the targets are set and the formulation is positive, precise and responsible.

How high should your goals be?

High goals are the difficult ones.

Some people value comfort more than the achievements, and choose the aims, which are simpler, more realistic and reachable without any excessive efforts.

Another half of people is not afraid of efforts and finds it more important to achieve what’s important for them, regardless how difficult it may be, because they are worth of the better life.

It’s like the choice of the life philosophy, there is no one true decision. Nevertheless, usually the choice of comfort is more often made by women and the direction towards achievements attracts more men.

Goal-setting is inseparably linked with the sources available.

It’s silly to intend to reach the sun, if you don’t have a spaceship or even wax to glue the feathers together.

However, the question remains open: setting goals according to the available resources or improving resources to the goals we want to achieve?

The supporters of the moderate efforts usually choose the way “from resources to the goals”: achieving purposes one should proceed from the available opportunities, acting according to the existing standards.

Firstly, we inventory the resources (time, people, material resources, skills and knowledge), and then from the basis – decide what to do with all these.

The supporters of the high achievements more often choose the strategy “There is a goal and the resources will be found”.

If a person has some experience and independence, he could find additional resources, which he didn’t have when he set the aim (money – earn or loan, people – find, meet and attract to work, skills – acquire or delegate to the specialist and so on).

For a person without enough experience it is better to use the first way, as it appears to be more reliable.

Strong, brave and experienced people choose the second way.

It demands an extraordinary approach, but opens more possibilities.

How to set goals: let’s do it correctly

In the methodology of how to set a goal a very important link is its correct formulation.

When your goals are reasonably set and presuppose the achievement of the positive result, they always come to life easily.

There is a very effective technique how to set a goal. It’s a kind of filter, which consists of the several stages.

1. Set a goal in a positive affirmative way.

It must be not only written, but in a positive formulation.

Write what you want to get, but not what you want to get rid of. The focus must be on the final result.

Our mind doesn’t perceive the negatively set goals.

Try for a minute not to think about the green dog, which is running after the bus. Don’t think about it! Don’t even dare to think about it! Well, do you succeed? No. Because in order not to think about the dog, you must constantly remember that you are forbidden to think about it, i.e. you are always thinking about it.

2. Set clear and measurable goals.

Define concretely what you want, so that the desirable result would be clear and understandable not only for you, but for the surrounding people as well.

Make sure you clearly understand what and how you are going to achieve the desired.

How do you know that the goal is achieved? Which result? How does it look like?

The result must be formulated the way it may be “presented” to others.

3. Formulate the goals in the present tense.

When you formulate the target in the present tense, you as if transfer yourself to that moment, when the aim is reached.

This way you may make sure this is really yours.

4. Achieving the set goals must depend on you, but not on somebody else.

How can you secure the achievement of the target, if it doesn’t depend only on you?

The example of the wrong set goal: “I want my husband (wife) to give up smoking” – the achieving doesn’t depend on you.

If you care about the husband’s (wife’s) health, think how you can help.

Change the formulation so that its achievement will depend on you.

5. Set goals with the definite time to finish.

We tend to get everything and at once.

Goals with the unreal term usually fail to come to life.

The term must be definite, i.e. not “in 5 years”, but “on the 1^st January 2016”.

6. Take into consideration where, when and with whom the goal will be succeeded.

It’s important to describe where, when and with whom you are going to reach the aim.

Where will you be? Who will be around you? What’s going on around you? What do you see, feel and hear at that very moment?

It’s significant you feel comfortable and happy in those conditions.

If there is a discomfort, you may need to reformulate something in the description.

7. Mind ecological compatibility and consequences.

Ask yourself a few questions.

What negative consequences may appear for you, if you achieve the goal? Which procedures aren’t admissible for you in order to reach the target? What price are you not ready to pay for its accomplishment? How will the accomplishment influence other goals?

All aims and purposes must be coordinated with one another.

8. Match the set goals with your values and views.

Goals, that match the values, are quicker and easier achieved.

You may only change the formulation and it’ll become another aim, which will be more effectively fulfilled.

9. Set reachable goals.

Make sure your aims are reachable, at least in theory.

Measure your today’s resources and the goals.

If you feel that the aim is too complicated, but you still want it, just postpone a bit the final date of its fulfillment. You may also look for the other, real resources that can be used to accomplish the goal in time you’ve set.

10. Set goals that come from your soul.

It often happens that a person sets one aim, but subconsciously desires another one.

Correct goal-setting and achievements are inseparably connected to each other. Now you know how to set goals right. Make sure you set the goals and reach them!