Goal-setting strategy: What could be holding you back from achieving your goals?
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“If you set goals and go after them with all the determination you can muster, your gifts will take you places that will amaze you.”
—Les Brown
Many people spend their lives wandering from one goal to another, or working hard to get more done only to find they’re not getting anywhere. Plausibly, the missing void between where they are to what they want to achieve is the absence of goal-setting strategy. That said, the key to progress and accomplishment is an efficient goal-setting strategy which will determine the actions you need to take and how to get them done.
One of the best yet underrated tools to give wings to your goals is- SMART. It is a means to offer clarity, focus and motivation you need to attain your goals. Moreover, it can also enhance your ability to reach your dreams by encouraging you to outline your targets within a set timeline.
Below are the essential elements and reasons as to why incorporating these into your goal-getting strategy is so imperative to your comprehensive growth and development.
- SMART Goal: We all have countless desires and dreams, and finding the right motivation to achieve the goals is what’s critical. And this is when the theory of SMART goal come to our rescue. The intent that highlights the theory is that goals should be:
>Specific (simple, significant): Something which is direct
>Measurable (motivating, meaningful): Something that can keep you moving forward and can mark your progress on
>Achievable (attainable, agreeable): Something that you can achieve with honesty and consistency.
>Realistic (reasonable, relevant): Something that can be rooted on your performance and pace.
>Timely (time-based, time bound): Something that can be achieved within your decided and dedicated timeline.
SMART goals can further be followed by adding three questions:
>What is the ONE thing you want the most?
>Why do you want it?
>Why is it important?
The answers to these questions, no matter how complex and confusing will certainly open your mind and heart to the window to achieve your goals right across.
- Guideposts: Setting a goal is great and having profound personal reasons to achieve them helps a great deal. However, if you’re not staging guideposts-or milestones then it’s quite difficult to understand the progress you’re making which could be one of the most sought reasons holding you back from achieving your goals. Having said that, when thinking of a guidepost, you should want each one of them to bring you one step closer to that of your final goal. Keeping in mind that a guidepost should be challenging, time-driven, and concrete can further advance your progress.
- Action Strategy: Oftentimes, you know what you want, you even know how to get there, but having to take specific actions pertaining to a certain goal can be a tricky affair. Having a strong and viable action strategy can help you look at the possible options and pick the one that’s most suitable to you. The three underlining questions that you can yourself in order to build the best action strategy for you, are:
>What is my aim?
>What actions should I inculcate in order to attain my purpose?
>Why should I take these actions?
Having a dedicated action strategy can help you figure out why you’re doing the things you are while shadowing upon the efficacy of the activities and how much time you need to invest in order to acquire its benefits.
- Reward System: A lack of reward system is often the most neglected part on the goal-achieving journey. Celebrating little achievements and acknowledging your little wins should be something that needs to be highlighted and included timely.
There’s a whole long way to travel between where you are now to where you will be post fulfilling your heartfelt desires. Having a positive mindset, a burning zeal and the right approach will not cut short the way but will definitely make it easier and worthwhile.
