I've done the goal setting things in the past. I heard of the
studies where only the successful 3% have goals written down. I
had ideas of what I wanted to accomplish. But for differing
reasons, I didn't always reach them as often as I would have
liked. Some were just ideas which stayed ideas. Others I worked
at didn't turn out as planned. So I wondered why.
From what I came up with, some were due to things I was or
wasn't doing. Not happy with that as an answer, I looked around
for other possibilities. And I came up with my own list of what
goals have in common. Characteristics if you will.
A goal must be...
ACHIEVABLE: Just because we may not have done something
doesn't make it impossible for us. Odds are, someone, somewhere,
at some point in time, has done what we would like to do. That
by itself, makes it possible. And, like running the 4-minute
mile, what seemed impossible before, is now achievable.
BELIEVABLE: Can we do it? Can we learn how to do what it
takes? Do we have the time? Can we find the time? Do we have the
self-discipline it will take to keep going to achieve it? Have
we made any steps toward it? Have we reached any other goals in
our lifetime no matter how small they seem now? As long as we
can answer yes to some of those questions, and our goal is
within reason, it can happen for us.
DESIRABLE: Whatever we set as a goal, it must have
meaning to us. We should have our own set of reasons as to why
attaining this goal is important. By knowing why we want to
attain something is a powerful force behind our getting it.
Things will happen to derail us, but keeping focused on why we
do what we do, will help considerably on those days when things
seem to be against us.
MEASURABLE: We need to know we are getting someplace. All
too often we feel as if we are stuck just because we haven't
gotten where we wanted to go yet. We don't always see how far we
have come, we just see the long road ahead. By having our goal
set up in such a way that we can see the steps we can take, will
help provide the momentum needed to keep going.
WORKABLE: Each step along the way is part of our plan to
get there. The plan should be written out so we can see what we
will need to do next. Plus, it gives us something to mark off
along the way. Like a shopping or to-do list, the plan gives us
a basic guide for what needs to be done. It's up to us how to
work it.
FLEXIBLE: Our plans should provide room for changes along
the way. We have learned so much from Murphy's law that whatever
can go wrong, will at some point. We need to be able to just go
around the problems we face. It may mean adjusting our goal a
bit or re-working our plans. But as long as we have room to
change, we won't get stuck.
I hope something in this article inspired you to begin looking
at your own goals. Well, at least that was MY goal.
About the author:
David Stoddard - the Unmotivated Motivational Writer - is author
of "In Search Of Ourselves" and "The Time For Me Is Now." He is
also editor-in-chief of "It's About You," a monthly motivational
ezine which gives a gentle nudge to help you on your way to a
better life. http://www.djstoddard.net
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