Setting goals: how to set goals?

Do you know what does the realization of your dreams depend on?

It depends on how you set them!

One of the most important roles belongs to the steps that you make in order to realize your dreams.

A bit of luck is another significant factor in this process. However, the most important step in each person’s life is the first step that we make!

That’s why today we will speak about “How to set goals” in order to fulfill our dreams as soon as possible.

Setting goals: what does it mean?

Many people misunderstand the essence of this notion.

They think that by saying “I desire”, they have already set a goal for themselves.

However, the notions “desire” and “goal” are completely different.
Desire, or wish, is something between an ambiguous longing and a well-considered choice.

It can be quite concrete, but it can also be expressed by an abstract phrase, such as “I want everybody to live in peace”.

Desire is characterized by:

• Some purposefulness (in most cases, a person has an idea of what he/she wants to achieve)
• Search for motivation (a person thinks about the aim of his/her desire)
• Development of the conception of realization of dreams

Purpose of life is quite a real object which a person tries to approach and takes every possible step in order to possess it.

By saying “object” I don’t mean a car, or a piece of clothes.

It can be a beloved person, a vacation abroad, a position of a chief executive or a recovery of your mom etc.

The main features of a goal are the following:

• Your desired object has a certain form
• You know exactly the purpose of your actions and you don’t need to explain it because it’s obvious
• You make efforts for its realization

In general, the phrase “I see the goal, and I don’t see any obstacles to it” completely expresses the essence of the notion. Moreover, if you learn how to set goals, there will be no obstacles on your way to success!

Setting goals: Do it right!

Ask yourself if what you are doing today is getting you closer to where you want to be tomorrow.

Sometimes we encounter difficulties on our way to achievement of our dreams.

Usually we blame fate, enemies, and the whole world for our failure, but for some reason, we never blame ourselves.

Having no idea of real importance of knowledge how to set goals, we doom ourselves to failure from the very beginning!

In order to succeed we have to consider several factors:

1. Confide your thoughts to paper.

   Your goal is materialized when you write it down.

   This is what the collage of dreams is for.
   If you write or draw your dream on the piece of paper, you become a little bit closer to the fulfillment of your goals.

2. Make a concrete formulation of your goals.

   Avoid vague phrases that can be misunderstood.

   Your collage of dreams should not arouse questions, such as “What did I exactly mean by these words/drawings?”

3. Setting a real goal gives a guarantee of its fulfillment.

   And I’m not contradicting myself by saying this.

   This advice doesn’t exclude the previous one.

   Real and global goal do not exclude each other.

   You can become a PhD or start your own business if you make some effort, but I doubt that you’ll ever ride a unicorn or travel using time machine.

   Though, I don’t know it exactly… Everything is possible; it all depends on your fantasy!

4. Dream about something global.

   
   You may have small goals, such as the purchase of a new pair of shoes, but you shouldn’t concentrate only on them!

   The world tour, the house in the Alps, your own business, academic degree – all these things can be also achieved if you have a strong desire!

5. Visualize your goals.

   We have already talked about that.

   The better is your collage of dreams; the sooner it will be realized!

6. Limit your goals with a deadline.

   Avoid such words as “one day”, “in the future”, “in few years”, “at some point” etc. 

   You should use such formula as “I’ll buy these shoes in a week”, “My mom will recover next month”, “I’ll get promoted in a year”, “In 2015 we’ll go to Georgia for vacation” etc.

7. Less talk, more action!

   Even if you make the best collage of dreams ever and visit hundreds of trainings on “How to set goals”, you’ll still not be able to achieve everything you want.

   The fulfillment of your dreams depends only on your own actions!

Setting goals: the theory, based on my own experience

“The only thing standing between you and your goal is the bullshit story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it”.
Jordan Belfort

The heads of the organization where I had worked long time ago paid much attention to the team spirit and psychological stability of its employees.

They invited one of the best psychologists in our country twice in a year to visit our office.

She conducted very useful trainings, but what was the most interesting for us, is that she always used herself or her friends as examples in her stories.

Her training about “Setting goals” turned out to be very captivating.

3 guidelines how to set goals

I would like to share with you 3 most valuable recommendations that she gave us! 🙂

1. If you have been trying to reach your goal for a long time, but still haven’t succeeded in it, try to formulate it differently or just refuse from achieving it!

   For example, I’ve been trying to lose 5 kilograms for a few years, but it was all in vain.

   I ate healthy food, attended fitness, but still couldn’t lose weight.

   Then I fell in love, and my extra weight started to vanish!

   Now I’m just keeping myself in good health and figure!

2. Don’t be afraid of difficulties that may occur on your way.

   Long time ago, when I was a child, I wasn’t accepted to the dance class because I was too chubby.

   Nevertheless, I insisted on my candidacy, and in a year I’ve become one of the most successful dancers!

   I managed to prove that I can appear on the scene with the rest of the group, and the teacher stopped hiding me behind the curtain.

3. You have to be confident that you’ll achieve your goal .

   Don’t let any doubts ruin your plans.

   As soon as you start asking yourself: “Do I really need this?” or “What if I’m not able to achieve my goal?” you may forget about your dream!

   Confidence and firmness are the keys to your success!

People always want something, but they don’t know how to set proper goals! If you will not repeat such mistake, you’ll be able to reach the top, believe me!