How to Set Realistic and Effective Goals (Part One)
by Craig Lock
How to Set Realistic and Effective Goals (Part One)
by Craig Lock
Oh no, not another article on goalsetting!
It's past half-way through the year already and have you put all your January 1 2003 goals (business and personal) into ACTION,or werethey just New Years resolutions - merely WISHES? Or perhapsjust distant, long-forgotten memories in the deep recesses of your mind!No matter,now is a good time of year to reflect on life, our family'slives,our journey - where we've come from and where we are headed.Who knows!
'There is one quality which one must possess to win, andthat is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what onewants and a burning desire to possess it.' - Napoleon Hill (author of the classic book, 'Think and GrowRich')
'Nothing happens, no forward steps are taken until a goal isestablished.'- David J. Schwarz (author of 'The Magic of Thinking Big '-an excellent book by the way!)
' Your life is controlled by your thoughts. Your thoughtsarecontrolled by your goals.' - Earl Nightingale
' When we have no personal goal which we are interested in,and which means something to us, we are apt to go round incircles.'- psychologist Maxwell Maltz
'The key to peak performance is not potential or skill, but motivation and dedication....having clear performancegoals and putting in the training effort to achieve them.'- Dr Sven Hansen '
I would like to repeat the critical importance of committing your plan to writing. It cannot be over- emphasised!'- Paul J. Meyer of Success Motivation Institute
'Learn how to set your goals: a. Write down your goals b. Give yourself a deadline c. Set your standards high.' - Napoleon Hill and W. Clement Stone (co-authors)
UNDERSTANDING GOALS Setting goals is the first step towards ACTION. They get youinto motion. The energy of motivation should be harnessedby being transformed into clear goals and a clear PLAN toachieve them. Goals are dreams which come true ....and they are far easier to achieve once they are focussed.Goals therefore help to fulfil one's PURPOSE in life by givingexpression to your core inner values, the 'real YOU'. Psychologists have found that helping people to develop personal goals has proved to be the most effective way tohelp them cope with personal problems by:
1. Crystallising one's purpose in life - through adding meaning .2. Helping make difficult decisions. 3. Giving direction to your life and keeping you on track byconcentration.4. Resolving conflict 5. Building confidence and 6. Adding to your self respect (or sense of value = selfworth)
The power of imagination in goal setting comes from havingBIG HOPES AND DREAMS. I believe too often we underestimate our capabilities. Use the amazing power ofyour CREATIVE IMAGINATION to think what you REALLY WANT OUT OF LIFE..Then visualise your dreams actually coming to pass.
Albert Einstein once said, "Imagination is more powerfulthanknowledge".Very true, as I believe the human imagination is our greatestasset. Thoreau once wrote these beautiful words:
'If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreamsand endeavours to live the life which he* has imagined, hewill meet with a success unexpected.' (Sorry ladies!) *
* Only joking - you can have dreams too and achieve themeven better than us "mere males" (and please don't beat up " Mr un- PC" Thoreau for neglecting you).
'Be true to your ideals, no matter what may happen now. Then things will take a turn and the very things you wantedto happen will happen.' - anon
That one has just inspired me as I write this.
*
Summary:
Set realistic, yet achievable goals. Ones that stretch you...because we are all different, what is achievable for oneperson might not be so easy for another. Also, because we are all unique creations with different hopes, desires,aspirations and dreams, what goal is important to you maybe totally inappropriate for another individual's life direction.I believe setting goals is vitally important in achievingwhatwe want out of life ....and setting even small daily goals are a great help ina daily action plan to move your life forward. I find itvery satisfying ticking off even small routine tasks, like paying bills (well that is a big goal for a "starving"writer!).These small immediate goals are stepping stones to our bigger goals " down the track".
WRITE THEM DOWN, because putting them down on paper makes for more COMMITMENT. It focuses your thinking on what you want to achieve, like a magnifying-glass (that's called asimile,by the way!). Doing this chrystallises (nice big word) our hopes, aspirations anddreams. They keep us on track towards our medium-term and long-term goals - the "grand plan or vision" for ourlives.This is most important... Re-evaluate your progress from time to time. Doing this keeps you on track to see how you are progressing towards the "big picture". I find it extremely satisfyinglooking back and ticking off the goals I have achieved. ( Of course , I don't achieve all of them, but am workinghard on that.)
It can be very encouraging seeing how far you have come ,when you look back at your first "teeny-weeny" goals anddoing this is a great motivater to me. Goals are the first step in a positive plan of action. And always remember, every great journey down the "river of life" starts withone small first step.
YOU CAN ACHIEVE ALL YOUR PERSONAL GOALS.
SoWHAT'S STOPPING YOU FROM TAKING THAT FIRST STEP RIGHT NOW?
Craig Locka href="http://www.craiglock.com "http://www.craiglock.com /a a href="http://www.craiglockbooks.com "http://www.craiglockbooks.com /aP.S:As the ancient Chinese philosopher said so well,
"A journey of a thousand miles starts with a ... broken fan belt and a flat tyre"... er sorry...
a single step.
"A wish is just a wish, A New Years Resolution is just a resolution. Goals have deadlines and are the stepping stones down thepath,the stair-case to your dreams." - Craig Lock
End of Part One
Authors Note:
Craig Lock has studied and written extensively in the fieldof self help.This extract is from Craig's first published book HANDBOOKTO SURVIVE - a collection of writings on various subjectsto help every man or woman survive in a rapidly changing,uncertain world. To order HANDBOOK today, click on: a href="http://www.nzenterprArticle"http://www.nzenterprArticle/a Title: "How to Set and Achieve Realistic andEffective Goals (Part One) Author Name: Craig Lock Line Space: 60 characters (approx) Category (key words): Self Help, Personal Growth, Motivation, Goalsetting Web Site: a href="http://www.nzenterprise.com/writer/books.html"http://www.nzenterprise.com/writer/books.html /a Copyright Date: Copyright: © Craig Lock 2003 Additional Articles: a href="http://www.bridgeniche.com/clockarticles/index.html"http://www.bridgeniche.com/clockarticles/index.html /a Publishing Guidelines: This article may be freely reproducedelectronically or in print.
"We share what we know, so that others may grow." *HOW TO SET AND ACHIEVE REALISTIC AND EFFECTIVE GOALS (PARTONE)
Copyright: © Craig Lock 2003
Oh no, not another article on goalsetting!
It's past half-way through the year already and have you put all your January 1 2003 goals (business and personal) into ACTION,or werethey just New Years resolutions - merely WISHES? No matter,now is a good time of year to reflect on life, our family'slives,our journey - where we've come from and where we are headed.Who knows!
'There is one quality which one must possess to win, andthat is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what onewants and a burning desire to possess it.' - Napoleon Hill (author of the classic book, 'Think and GrowRich')
'Nothing happens, no forward steps are taken until a goal isestablished.'- David J. Schwarz (author of 'The Magic of Thinking Big '-an excellent book by the way!)
' Your life is controlled by your thoughts. Your thoughtsarecontrolled by your goals.' - Earl Nightingale
' When we have no personal goal which we are interested in,and which means something to us, we are apt to go round incircles.'- psychologist Maxwell Maltz
'The key to peak performance is not potential or skill, but motivation and dedication....having clear performancegoals and putting in the training effort to achieve them.'- Dr Sven Hansen '
I would like to repeat the critical importance of committing your plan to writing. It cannot be over- emphasised!'- Paul J. Meyer of Success Motivation Institute
'Learn how to set your goals: a. Write down your goals b. Give yourself a deadline c. Set your standards high.' - Napoleon Hill and W. Clement Stone (co-authors)
UNDERSTANDING GOALS Setting goals is the first step towards ACTION. They get youinto motion. The energy of motivation should be harnessedby being transformed into clear goals and a clear PLAN toachieve them. Goals are dreams which come true ....and they are far easier to achieve once they are focussed.Goals therefore help to fulfil one's PURPOSE in life by givingexpression to your core inner values, the 'real YOU'. Psychologists have found that helping people to develop personal goals has proved to be the most effective way tohelp them cope with personal problems by:
1. Crystallising one's purpose in life - through adding meaning .2. Helping make difficult decisions. 3. Giving direction to your life and keeping you on track byconcentration.4. Resolving conflict 5. Building confidence and 6. Adding to your self respect (or sense of value = selfworth)
The power of imagination in goal setting comes from havingBIG HOPES AND DREAMS. I believe too often we underestimate our capabilities. Use the amazing power ofyour CREATIVE IMAGINATION to think what you REALLY WANT OUT OF LIFE..Then visualise your dreams actually coming to pass.
Albert Einstein once said, "Imagination is more powerfulthanknowledge".Very true, as I believe the human imagination is our greatestasset. Thoreau once wrote these beautiful words:
'If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreamsand endeavours to live the life which he* has imagined, hewill meet with a success unexpected.' (Sorry ladies!) *
* Only joking - you can have dreams too and achieve themeven better than us "mere males" (and please don't beat up " Mr un- PC" Thoreau for neglecting you).
'Be true to your ideals, no matter what may happen now. Then things will take a turn and the very things you wantedto happen will happen.' - anon
That one has just inspired me as I write this.
*
Summary:
Set realistic, yet achievable goals. Ones that stretch you...because we are all different, what is achievable for oneperson might not be so easy for another. Also, because we are all unique creations with different hopes, desires,aspirations and dreams, what goal is important to you maybe totally inappropriate for another individual's life direction.I believe setting goals is vitally important in achievingwhatwe want out of life ....and setting even small daily goals are a great help ina daily action plan to move your life forward. I find itvery satisfying ticking off even small routine tasks, like paying bills (well that is a big goal for a "starving"writer!).These small immediate goals are stepping stones to our bigger goals " down the track".
WRITE THEM DOWN, because putting them down on paper makes for more COMMITMENT. It focuses your thinking on what you want to achieve, like a magnifying-glass (that's called asimile,by the way!). Doing this chrystallises (nice big word) our hopes, aspirations anddreams. They keep us on track towards our medium-term and long-term goals - the "grand plan or vision" for ourlives.This is most important... Re-evaluate your progress from time to time. Doing this keeps you on track to see how you are progressing towards the "big picture". I find it extremely satisfyinglooking back and ticking off the goals I have achieved. ( Of course , I don't achieve all of them, but am workinghard on that.)
It can be very encouraging seeing how far you have come ,when you look back at your first "teeny-weeny" goals anddoing this is a great motivater to me. Goals are the first step in a positive plan of action. And always remember, every great journey down the "river of life" starts withone small first step.
YOU CAN ACHIEVE ALL YOUR PERSONAL GOALS.
SoWHAT'S STOPPING YOU FROM TAKING THAT FIRST STEP RIGHT NOW?
Craig Locka href="http://www.craiglock.com "http://www.craiglock.com /aP.S:As the ancient Chinese philosopher said so well,
"A journey of a thousand miles starts with a ... broken fan belt and a flat tyre"... er sorry...
a single step.
"A wish is just a wish, A New Years Resolution is just a resolution. Goals have deadlines and are the stepping stones down thepath,the stair-case to your dreams." - Craig Lock
End of Part One
Authors Note:
Craig Lock has studied and written extensively in the fieldof self help.This extract is from Craig's first published book HANDBOOKTO SURVIVE - a collection of writings on various subjectsto help every man or woman survive in a rapidly changing,uncertain world. To order HANDBOOK today, click on: a href="http://www.nzenterprise.com/writer/books.html http://www.nzenterprise.com/writer/books.html
THIS ARTICLE MAY BE FREELY PUBLISHED
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