Can There Ever Be too Much Said on Goal Setting?
There is no shortage of information regarding goals, especially this time of year. Even with the amount of information available, 83% of the population DOESN’T HAVE GOALS. I guess I am adding to the pile with this article. That said, the reason I continue to share and research the subject of goals is the critical nature they play in helping set ourselves up for success. It is a form of planning and that is the key ingredient for long-term success in my mind. The act of goal setting and planning plays a specific purpose in our roles as leaders. It forces us to evaluate our current state and envision a future state different from where we are today. Those basic steps alone will set you ahead of most others. This article dives a little deeper into the benefits that come from that act of goal planning.
The 14% of people that have goals are 10x more successful
Many of the articles that surface at the start of the year focus on the setting of goals. Everyone has their thoughts and opinions on setting SMART goals. There are some excellent articles on the subject such as Personal Goal Setting: Planning to Live Your Life Your Way from Mindtools.com. It also speaks to the importance of SMART goals and shares some different takes on the often used acronym.Other popular methods are 90-day goals or the 3-month year speaking to breaking the year into smaller chunks and working on portions of your goals at one time. I am convinced at this point that there is no right or wrong way to set goals. You simply need to complete a regular process for capturing what you want to do within a given period of time. Then, just as importantly, define HOW you will go about achieving those goals. This planning process is the critical stage. It is where you can anticipate the obstacles you may face. Further, the calendar rarely matters in terms of when you set your goals. As much is made about resolutions or goals for the new year most people have given up on them by the middle of the first month. THAT’S CRAZY! How can someone give up on their goals after only 15 days? You have barely begun. And if you have stumbled at that point, try again for heaven’s sake.
92% of new year goals are dead by January 15th.
The purpose of setting a goal is to complete or achieve something that (hopefully) is meaningful to you. If it wasn’t important, why try to do it in the first place? If you have established a SMART goal, then you should dedicate some time to following up to see how you are doing towards that goal - right?
40% of people with goals never verify whether they achieved them
I believe one challenge we face is the amount of information on the importance of setting goals far outweighs the information about the critical step of achieving them. You must PLAN to achieve your goals. ‘Hope is not a strategy’ is a familiar quote we have heard, and it holds true for goal achievement. You can set goals, even write them down, but if there is a not specific plan for HOW you will achieve them, the odds will dramatically decrease your ability to realize them.The next logical step we need to take then is to spend more time on goal achievement. To share a little of my thinking on this and where I plan to take it is to revisit this same subject at the end of February. By then most will have a good understanding of where they are so far on this year’s goals. Some will be making good progress. Some will still be committed to achieving their goals, but haven’t started yet. And many will have already abandoned them and succumbed to the status quo or rigors of everyday realities leaving no time for new goals. By discussing this again in February we can have a more realistic view of what the realities are and what next steps should be taken. Plus, there will be less ‘noise’ about the kicking off the new year.I do believe there is a benefit in breaking down larger goals into smaller segments of time. Setting a goal for the year is a big window of time. Creating urgency for something you have 365 days left to complete is a challenge in anyone’s reality. But if you start to look at shorter chunks of time and define actions that can be done today, the ability to realize progress becomes motivational to carry forward to the next day and the next step.Setting goals is easy. Achieving them is an entirely different thing. Creating priorities, urgency, and importance takes time, effort, and grit, but will lead to new levels of success in realizing the fruits of the goals we set for ourselves.What are your biggest obstacles keeping you from reaching your goals? Click here or on the comments button above to share your thoughts.