Share
Before we understand about the facets of goal setting at the outset we need to understand the true meaning of a goal.
A goal is your desire or wish in an intangible state aspired to be made tangible in due course.
To cover this distance from the intangible state to tangible it requires a cumulative approach comprised of inspiration, belief, action, dedication, optimism, fearless self and confidence.
Having a goal is good, accomplishing it is great. Sometimes the word goal is so extensively used that its meaning becomes gibberish. When you have a goal you have something to look forward to. You are not gazing at space you are looking at something concrete. Now that you got a hang of what a goal is let me tell you the essence of goal setting. Here are the eight primary prerequisites to goal-setting when you have clarity about what is that one goal you want to chase through and see it getting accomplished.
1. Setting a goal requires self-introspection of your capabilities and core competencies. This helps you set a goal which is realistic and achievable. Your job looks more doable. Somebody knocks your mind’s door and says boss you got it right. That somebody is your instinct which eventually helps you discover the hidden paths leading to your goal. You don’t have to look around. This is absolutely internal. Listen to it and pay attention.
2. Write your goal. Reasearch says people who vividly describe their goal are 1.2-1.4 times more likely to successfully accomplish their goals. Neuropsychology has identified something called “generation effect” which basically says individuals demonstrate better memory for material they have generated themselves than for material they have merely read. When you write down your goal, you get to access the “generation effect” twice: first, when you generate the goal (create a picture of it in your mind), and second when you write it down because you are essentially reprocessing or regenerating that image. You have to rethink your mental picture, put it on the paper, place objects, scale them, think about their spatial relations etc. There’s a lot of cognitive processing going on right there.
3. Don’t look at other goals as a benchmark. You are a completely different individual with a completely different constitution. When you set a goal looking at others you end up losing it even be-fore you have attempted to accomplish it. After the inceptive period, you would lose interest because it was never a part of you or your plan. You simply jumped in because you saw somebody else is having a whale of a time. That’s truly unintellectual. Never adopt a goal. Period.
4. Nurture a goal, not a delusion. When goals are influenced by fantasy they will never live to see the light of the day. Set goals that are real. Goals are just imagination without any action. It’s time you blink out of a reverie and start acting. Set goals that are actionable and achievable.
5. Be consistent. In your endeavour, you might encounter failure and not once but several times. Don’t let yourself fall apart. Don’t give up. This is where self-doubt raises its vicious hood. Don’t let it demotivate you. Be consistent. Fail to fail better. Each failure prepares you for the upcoming win. Persistence is the key.
6. Before setting a goal have a blueprint ready. Try to find the paths leading to it. In nutshell, plan for it. It has to be comprehensive. It should answer the How, When, Where, Who. This makes your goal measurable which helps you later when you go all out. It’s a myth that planning should fol-low goal setting. It can go hand in hand too. Let’s do things differently and get this correct.
7. Break your goals into years, months, days, hours, minutes. This smaller goals not only makes your accomplishments appraisable but motivates you to move further closer towards your final goal. Go one small goal at a time before the big show. It’s like a round of ramp rehearsals. Go slow and stay focused & don’t forget to celebrate those small wins.
8. Never postpone your goal. This pulls down your confidence and as time passes that tomorrow never comes. Our mind starts playing tricks. It makes us lazy. It makes us doubtful. Eventually, you will let go of it and start finding a new one which you will postpone again trapped in a vicious cycle. Well, I guess there are times it really pays off to be impulsive.
