How to set goals in 5 easy steps

How do you set goals? Like all things, its actually quite simple - once you've done the groundwork! The goal setting process is something like this:

• Step 1: Get the 'Big-Picture' first, and always keep your eye on it.


• Step 2: Work out what you REALLY want, not what you think you want.


• Step 3: Work out what you can realistically do and achieve.


• Step 4: Prioritise and synergise.


• Step 5: Set SMART goals.

Goal setting is of course an on-going and dynamic process. Your priorities and therefore your goals will change from time to time (for example if you start a family) and when this happens, it's important to sit down and go through the goal setting process again.

Also as you grow older and mature, your motivators and drivers will change so on-going review is necessary to make sure your goals are still relevant to you. What you want when you're 20 will not be the same as what you want when you are 40. But armed with these skills, it is a tool for life - no matter what stage you're at or how old you are.

Get the 'Big-Picture' first
The first and most important step in how to set goals - what is YOUR 'Big-Picture'?

Your 'big-picture' is your one guiding principle, your shining light, that forms the basis for all your decisions and actions. If you were a company, your 'big-picture' would be the Vision or Mission Statement.

So, it is a statement outlining an idealised description of your life's outcome. It will inspire you and create your target. It can apply to different parts of your life - your family, your career - and it is the end target that you want to achieve, and where your goals need to take you.

To help you work out exactly what your 'big-picture' is, think about your tomb-stone. Macabre I know, but your tomb stone is a concise summary of your life - what you have achieved, and how people remember you.
How do you want to be remembered? What will be on YOUR tombstone?

Of course, you may want to be remembered in several ways - as a career woman, family man, skilled professional - there are many aspects of your life that you need to consider. Too much focus on one aspect of your life could leave you feeling empty in another.

It's a question of balance, and you're the only one who knows the perfect balance for you - and your goal setting needs to reflect this.

So what do you really WANT?
Now that you have an eye on your 'big-picture', what do you REALLY want?

Remember that goals must be personal and meaningful, otherwise you'll have no reason to achieve them. So you need to work out what YOU really want, not what other people think you want.

The best way to work out what you really want is to brainstorm your thoughts to come up with a wish-list for each of your relevant aspect of your life. This is the chance for you to let loose by picturing your perfect life, and putting down in writing what that perfect life would look like.

Mind Mapping is a great way to do this - the Life Planning workbook in the resource section shows you how to build a mind map to help with your goal setting.

So what can you really ACHIEVE?
So now you know what you want, but what can you really achieve?

Well, hypothetically, you can achieve anything you want to - but that's not always the case. Resources, natural skill and ability, time - these all factor into whether we can achieve something or not.

The aim of goal setting is to set achievable goals, even if that means taking a larger goal or dream and breaking it down into bite-size chunks.

A personal SWOT analysis is a great way to work this out - it's a detailed look at you and your life and will help you identify the most beneficial goals worth pursuing right now based on your current situation, and to identify goals that will help you prepare for the future.

The Life Planning workbook in the resource section shows you how to do a SWOT analysis to help with your goal setting by identifying where you need to improve, and therefore help you set goals to make these improvements. More importantly though, the SWOT analysis allows you to identify your internal strengths that you can capitalize on to sieze your opportunities and thwart any external threats.

Prioritise and Synergise
So you should now have your 'big-picture' [as a tombstone inscription], a wish-list of what you really want [from your Mind Map] and an analysis of what you can actually achieve [from your personal SWOT analysis].

It's now time to prioritise the goals to focus on so you don't take on too much at once.

Goal setting is a skill, and like all skills, how to set goals takes time and practice to become proficient at it. So if you're new to goal setting, start with a single, easy goal or two to practice on. Once you've achieved this one (or made some progress towards it), you'll feel motivated to try the process on some harder goals and confident in applying the process.

How to chose which goal? Well you need to consider:

• How important the goal is to you. Starting on high priority goals will keep you more focused and motivated to achieve, than goals that are just considered 'nice to do'.


• The type of goal - 'habit' changing goals are often short-term goals and may therefore be easier to achieve. 'Skill' goals can have quite a clear path and may therefore appear easy, but beware that 'skill' type goals can take a long time to achieve so its important that they have lots of milestones to make the process manageable.


• How comfortable are you that you know HOW to achieve the goal - for example, achieving optimum health and fitness may be a Must-Do goal for you and there is heaps of information and guidance on how it can be done, so that would be a good goal to chose as a starting point rather than something like achieving world domination!

Make the most of goal synergy - some goals have benefits in several life aspects. How to set goals that synergise? Riding your bike to work for a 'fitness' goal will also help the planet and your hip pocket. Kill as many birds as you can with the one stone for maximum goal setting success!

In a nutshell, prioritise and synergise!

Make your Goal SMART
Once you have a set of personal goals that are meaningful to you and will ultimately help you achieve your 'big-picture', all you need to do is develop your chosen goals and make sure they're SMART.

SMART goals are:
Specific: A goal is a well-defined target that gives you clarity, direction, motivation and focus towards what you want. Your goal statement needs to reflect this. The goal needs to be significant enough to inspire you to move toward the life that you want. It will be either towards something you want, or away from something you don't want.

Measurable: It is easier to track progress against a goal if it is measurable. Some goals of course are easy to measure - weight loss, running speed, income. Others are difficult to measure as there are no apparent quantities that define it. In these cases, you'll need to develop some kind of ranking system, or measure time spent on the goal. Measuring your goals helps you determine if you are going in the right direction and make any necessary adjustments along the way.

Actionable: You will need to develop a strategy for how you are going to achieve your goal. You don't need to know all the details at first, just start with a general plan. Focus on actions you can take that are in your direct control.

Reasoned and Realistic: Goals need to be relevant to you and to your life - they need to be meaningful and significant, in order to make a difference in your life. Remind yourself why you want to achieve this goal.

Goals also need to be realistic, in that the actions you need to take to achieve your goal are things that you can actually do and control.

Time-bound:For goals that have a measurable finish ending (eg weightloss goal), it is important to set a deadline. Goals without deadlines lend themselves to being put off until another day - we've all done it "I'll start my diet tomorrow". Action items also need to have deadlines to keep momentum up.

Ethical, enjoyable and exciting: Goals need to be something you are excited about and are going to either enjoy doing or enjoy the outcome. If goals don't meet these criteria, you probably won't do them. And of course, make sure your goals are ethical.

Resourced: You will need to commit some resources to achieving your goals - this may be time, money, external support, information resources, etc. You may even have to make some sacrifices to achieve your goals, but if your goal is truly what you want to achieve, then a few personal sacrifices shouldn't deter you. No pain, no gain!

When you've documented your SMART goal, read it through - and commit yourself to your goals!

For more information, check out www.achieve-goal-setting-success.com - this site gives you all the FREE tools and advice you need for achieving your own personal success through goal setting.