Everyone should have goals in their life. Instead of just floating through, allowing what will to happen, a person should set themselves a schedule for how they want their life to turn out. Unfortunately, people are deterred from making a commitment to themselves that they will reach what they dream of. “My life is too busy to work towards something.” If that’s true, your life my not be as fulfilling as it could be.
When setting goals for yourself, there are 6 main categories to focus on: family, spirit, social, financial, physical, and mental. It is best to set a goal in each area to reach a balanced life; make a choice and set a goal that you will strive for. When choosing what your goals should be, choose something you truly want, not what you think someone else wants for you. This goal must be something you, yourself, are committed to. Otherwise, you will begin towards your goal and become discouraged, and most likely quit. Failure is more easily achieved when you set yourself up for a goal that is not truly yours.
Next you must make yourself a “roadmap” for your goals. Set a schedule of smaller goals that will lead you to the larger goal you have decided on. Each small victory will lead you closer to the desired finish and will encourage you to continue on. It is far too easy to stop striving for your goal if you do not see in progress on a regular basis.
When setting your goals, have your subconscious mind to assist you in reaching your desired finish. Describe in detail the outcome you are looking for. Do so in a positive light. If you have set goals to lose weight, be specific. “I will lose 30 pounds through diet and exercise. I will decrease my fat percentage and increase the amount of muscle I have. I plan to do this by walking daily for at least 30 minutes and cutting back on the amount of calories I eat a day.” The more detailed, the easier it will be for your subconscious mind to help you achieve it.
After writing your goals out, you must review them on a daily basis. When you get up in the morning, read over your goals and set your sights on getting one step closer that day. Visualize the completed goal. When your day is complete, read the goal again. This will put it in your mind when you go to bed, helping your conscious and subconscious work together towards the goal. When you have met your goal(s), you will be that much closer to a more fulfilling life!
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I tend to agree with you. Thinking about achieving something is only half the battle. We're much more likely to get there if we take the time to write those goals down and then look at them regularly. It's harder to shove something to the back of your mind and eventually forget about it when it stares you in the face each and every day.
And yes, definitely the more detailed the better. It's one thing to have a goal, but if you have no clue as to how to accomplish that goal, you're just as likely to give up as if you'd never written it down in the first place. Just writing "I'll climb Mt. Everest" isn't enough. When do you want to accomplish the climb? Are you going alone? Why do you want to do it?
It's all in the details!
-Fallon
I totally I agree with you. We should have goals in our lives, and I'm sure all of us do. Our goals always end up being something like "I want to be successful" and "I want to be happy". But I think that it is really hard for someone to follow it everyday. In our society today, people tend to get distracted so easily. Prehaps it depends more on how much one is willing to do to achieve one's goal. What can you say to motivate those who are having hard time focusing on their success?
To make it easier to focus on the goals you are trying to acheive, make sure you know what you are trying to acheive. Saying "I want to be successful" or "I want to be happy" is too general. Instead, state what you plan to do to reach those goals. How do you plan to become successful? Do you want to be an actor/actress? Or are you wanting to be an author? With success, do you mean fame, money, or your job? As far as being happy, there are several things one person can do to establish happiness. Again, this could do with your job, or it could mean your friends and family.
So instead of simply saying "I want to be successful", make a plan as far as what you plan to do to reach this goal. An example would be: I want to become an author. I will enroll in college classes with a major in creative writing. I will begin working on a fiction book and begin researching publishing companies. I will find contacts and submit completed book within 2 years.
This way, you will have a guideline for your goal and something to look at daily. With this daily reminder, you will be motivated to reach your goal as planned.
You can also set daily goals as opposed to long term goals. Long term goals may be more difficult to set just because some have no clue what they really want to do. I try to set daily goals, like eating breakfast since I usually skip it, or getting one page of my paper done. At least with small goals, I can feel good about accomplishing them and they are attainable.
At one time I tried to set long term goals like - I will make X amount of money by the time I am 30. Well, now I am 30 and I didn't reach my goal. Having not met my goal, I felt rotten so setting the goal turned out to be more negative than positive.