Setting Goals and Objectives

Setting goals is a critical element to success in every area of your life. Personal goal setting is important because without it you will drift along in life, only sometimes getting the things you wish for.

As the years go by, you will feel frustrated with your mediocre lifestyle and the lack of personal growth, development and advancement. Because you have not set a goal or target, you have nothing to aim for.

Your personal goals and objectives are your guide to help you move in the right direction. Setting goals is your starting point and your road map to wherever or whatever you are aiming for.

Goals can be tangible and intangible. They can be measured not only in quantity but quality.

Break them into categories.

You can categorize and set your personal goals any way you wish. You don't have to sort them if you don't want to. But breaking them down in each area of your life will allow you to work on each one and create a balance. This way, you will not neglect and abandon the other important things and people in your life.

An example of categorizing your goals and objectives is to break them down as follows:

1. Family goals
   
2. Health goals
   
3. Hobbies, sports activities and toys
   
4. Career objective
   
5. Economic development goals and objectives
   
6. Personal development goals
   
7. Contribution and charity

What do you want? Make that decision.

The first critical component about setting goals is your decision on what you want to have, to achieve, to experience, to give and to become. Your goals must be personal. It's something that you want and not what other people want you to have.

Write down your goals.

The way to get started with setting goals is to write them down. Keep writing everything that you would like to have, do and become. Think of everything and anything. Don't bother or worry whether it's possible for you to achieve them. Make it a very long list. You don't have to write them in detail for now.

Merely thinking about them is wishful thinking. It's only a pipe dream until you have written them down. It's not strong enough to motivate you to take action.

The act of setting goals and writing them shows your seriousness. Writing down your goals attracts and activates the process of fulfillment. You will remember them because the writing process imprints the goals on your mind.

Fix a dateline.

Now that you have written your goals in your setting goals process, write down the dateline beside each goal. When do you want to achieve them? Is it within this year, 3 years, 5 years or 10 years from now? Write them down.

Take a look at your datelines. Are they only short term goals, those that you want to reach within a year? If it is, think of your medium and long term goals. What do you want to experience 3 years, 5 years and 10 years from now? Go back to the process of setting goals and add your long term objectives and targets.

Break them down.

One of the reasons people procrastinate, don't take action and don't achieve their goals after writing them down is because they feel overwhelmed. They don't know how or where to start.

Now pick the 4 most important goals that you want to achieve within the next 12 months. If you have categorized them, pick 4 from each group. If not, just pick your 4 important ones.

What's your purpose? State the reasons or the "why".

Knowing your reasons of why you want to accomplish your goals is very important. Go to each of your 4 goals and state the reasons why you want them. Write down as many reasons as you can. When your goals are yours, it's easier to state your purpose.

Set your intentions. There are so many things that you want but you don't get them because you don't know why you want them. You'll attract the things that you set your mind and your heart to them.

Write down your plans and strategies.

There is a saying - "the harder you prepare, the luckier you get". So preparation is essential part of setting goals. In your day-to-day life there are unexpected interruptions. Plan your activities ahead so that you know what your priority is.

Think of the information you need and where to get them. Focus on the actions you can take. Find lots of way to do what you need to get done. You can take action and then think about it. Or you can choose to plan in advance and then take action. Choose whichever works best for you.

You will produce better results with sufficient preparation and planning. Now that you have your reasons, write down a list of things you can do. At this point of time, you may not know the actual "how" of things. It's alright.

Write down what you can do immediately and do them. An example is if you plan to lose 10kg of fat from your body by the end of this year, you can start to go for at least 20 minutes of brisk walk daily starting today.

Take action. Do it.

Dedicate yourself and set the disciplines to take action each day to reach your goals. Self discipline will make you do what you need to do whether you like it or not. Be willing to pay the price. Take the risks and act boldly although it can feel uncomfortable for a while.

Take action every day even if it's only a small one. Make it a point that at the end of the day when you look at your activity list, you have done the things that you should. If not, do it. All the daily actions will accumulate and bring you the success that you desire.

Measure your results.

Did things turn out according to your goal list and expectation? Good. You can check that out or cross it. Celebrate your achievement. Add another goal. Keep expanding your list. You have found a strategy that works. Repeat it to bring you more success.

Measuring your achievement is important. You have to keep score because that is the only way for you to know whether you have reached your goals.

Analyze.

If you are not happy with the outcome or your lack of progress, pause and take a look at what you are doing. The important thing for you to do is keep going and not to quit. Sometimes, things may take a while to materialize or the result may look like a failure.

There are no failures but feedbacks. Learn from what doesn't work and adjust or try something else. Go for it another way. There is always something you can learn from the result you are getting.

Model the achievers.

Someone, somewhere have achieved what you want to do, have or become. Find out, read, study and emulate how they have done it. If you can copy what someone can do, you can do it too. Persist long and hard enough and you will get the same results. You will become an expert after countless practices.

Reprogram your mind.

Your limiting beliefs and self destructive thoughts are your worst enemies. Your mind doesn't agree with you. Subconsciously you sabotage yourself.

This is one of the major reasons why you can't accomplish your goals even after you have gone through the setting goals process, stated your purpose and planned your strategies.

One way to overwrite your old and limited mental programming is to replace them with positive images and affirmations. You need to become aware when these thoughts appear, cancel and replace them.

Take notice of your emotions. When negative related feelings show up, pause and look at what you've been thinking. Question and challenge your thoughts and replace them.

A simpler method is to overwrite old mental programming and manifest your future is to use subliminal messages and images.

Visualize your dreams.

Visualization is a tool that everyone possesses and one of the ways to maintain your aspiration and keep your dream alive. You can use your imagination to preview your future. How often and how vivid you imagine the realization of your goals will affect your outcome.

In your imagination you can have, do and be anything or anyone. What you vividly and clearly picture in your mind will show up in your life.

If you find that visualizing is difficult for you, click this link for the tool to help you start manifesting your future now.

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