5 steps to effective goal setting

A lot of people have goals, but not everybody spends time actually thinking deeply about their goals. And that’s the precise reason why we have goal setting workshops. They provide a dedicated time and space for you to reflect on where you want to go and how you can get there.

Unfortunately, most people don’t take goals very seriously. And that’s one major reason why these goals never get achieved and just remain as dreams. Therefore goal setting workshops are very important and one’s that shouldn’t be taken lightly. It’s a part of corporate training. Just thinking of what your goal is in your head is not enough.  One needs to stop and spend time with the goal. Check and see whether this is truly what you want in life and ask yourself what you’re ready to give for it.

Goal setting is therefore an extremely important exercise and not setting proper goals can compromise their achievement. Therefore one needs to follow certain steps to get their goals right and maximise their chance of fulfilling them:

Step 1: Believe and Visualize

The first and most important thing to do in order to set a goal is to believe in yourself. One needs to believe that he or she is capable of achieving the goal or else you’ll lose the motivation to work towards it on the way.

After that, visualize what you want. Picturize yourself in the situation when you have achieved what you want. How does it feel? Do you feel motivating enough to pull it through? If yes, then you’re on the right track. If no, you probably need to change or modify your goal. If you however still feel that you want to go ahead with that goal, reflect to understand the internal resistance you may be facing. Check what fears you have or what challenges you may face on the way that are affecting your motivation levels. 

Step 2: Create a SMART goal

Make your goal SMART; specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound. If it isn’t SMART, work on it until it is. Making your goals SMART also provide you with insights on how to achieve the goal.

Step 3: Put it on paper

Only 3% people put down their goals on paper. And these 3% people have higher chances of achieving their goals as compared to those who don’t. Writing your goals down on paper indicates your seriousness towards your goals. It also helps your mind see things more clearly.

Step 4: Start Now and Stick to it!

To start working towards your goals, the best time is now. Start working on your plan as soon as possible and stay focused until you achieve it. Goals cannot be achieved over night and what you achieve over night may not a big enough goal. So stay patient, stay focused!

Step 5: Review

Make sure you are reviewing your goal on a timely basis. While in the process of working towards it, you might realise that your goal needs alterations. It may cease to motivate you anymore or you may even realise that you have the potential to achieve much more. And that’s when you will need to alter your goal and action plan.

As you can see, it’s important that you set your goals appropriately. And this is exactly what goal setting workshops help you do. A goal setting workshop provides you with a guide who takes you through the process of understanding the importance and implementation of these steps in depth. They can also give you good insights on the quality of the goal set by you and the challenges you may face on the road to achieving them.