The New Year is a great time to set new goals. And GenuLines wants you to make sure those new goals are the right goals.
Are You Setting the Right Goals for Yourself?
There is a lot more to goal setting than just picking a goal and moving forward. Yes, this is important.
But it’s also important to make sure that you’re setting the right goals at the right time. These questions will help you head in the right direction:
Are You Setting Specific and Realistic Goals?
It takes a little research to ensure that a goal is realistic. If you’re not sure if something is actually achievable then you haven’t done enough research.
Once you know that the goal is realistic you need to give it a clear description. This will let you work backward to make a schedule of action you’ll need to succeed.
Are Your Goals Multifaceted?
Focusing on only one part of your life is a bad idea. To feel successful people make goals for all areas of their lives.
Say you have a wonderful business and career but your personal life suffers. No matter how successful you are, you won’t feel successful.
Make sure your goals include something from each aspect of your life.
Does Your Scheduling Show Real Need?
For instance, you want to exercise 30 minutes per day. But setting aside only 30 minutes isn’t going to be realistic.
You’ll probably need to set aside an hour. This will cover getting ready as well as cooling down or getting cleaned up to go back to work.
Are You Learning from Failure?
You might feel like giving up when setting goals and schedules. You put your plan into effect but you notice there are things you’ve forgotten to take into account.
Don’t quit. Learn from the failure and change the schedule to be more realistic.
You might find that in practice you have to rewrite all your goals and your schedule. This is natural.
Failure feels like a negative. But the truth is if you don’t fail sometimes you’re not going to learn much and it’s likely your goals are too easy.
Do Your Goals Represent Your Needs and Wants?
A lot of people set goals that represent what someone else wants instead of what they want. This can cause a lot of bad feelings and resentment.
And it can derail the best-laid plans.
As you set your goals for your life, ask yourself if they’re what you want for yourself or what someone else wants for you. Ask yourself if you’re okay with any goal you make being for someone else before you embark on your journey.
Are You Checking in Often to Stay on Track?
To-do lists pale in comparison to a well laid out calendar of tasks and activities that get you from point “A” to point “B”. Make sure that you look at your schedule often.
Make note of when you succeed in sticking to your schedule and when you don’t. Noticing a pattern of activity can help in improving your schedule.
And it can help you stay realistic about whether you’re sticking to the plan.
Do Your Goals Have Positive Focus?
Try writing down a goal and then changing the words to sound more positive to see if it isn’t more motivating. For instance, “losing weight” seems like a good target.
But for some people, it might signify deprivation. Instead, frame the goal as “improving my BMI by 10 points” or “improving my cholesterol by 10 percent.”
Do You Have Too Many Goals Set at One Time?
Just as setting too few goals can be a problem, so can setting too many. Instead, pick one personal goal, and one other type of goal to focus on until you reach them.
Later you can add more as time goes on. You don’t need to do everything today.
Slow and steady wins the race is a good motto to hang on to.
Setting the right goals for yourself takes some thought and consideration. Don’t try to set them all in one day.
It’s better to set some goals in different stages and in different areas of your life. And give a lot of thought to why you’re setting the goals in the first place.
JohnK 1-4-2021
Overheard: “What the mind can conceive and believe, and the heart desire, you can achieve” ~Norman Vincent Peale
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