Goal Setting TechniquesYou're probably familiar with some goal setting techniques. Every New Year's Eve you probably set some goals- exercise more, eat less, lose weight, etc, then a couple of weeks later you're back to you old patterns. How do you get goals that actually last more than a week or two? What can you do to keep your motivation up while working towards your goal? Effective goal setting techniques are critical to maintaining your motivation while working towards your goals. Time FramesGoing through the process of personal goal setting gives you direction and focus for your life. Rather than making a general goals that don't last, think about where you want to become in the long term. What do you want to accomplish in the next 10 years? The next 5 years? W setting starts with the big picture. What do you want to accomplish in your life? This can be a difficult question to answer, but just thinking about it can be very valuable. One of the most useful goal setting techniques is to start from the end, think about what you want your obituary to say, it can really help to clarify what is most important to you. Some of those new year's goals then start seeming pretty meaningless- would you really want your life summed up with "well, she was able to eventually lose those last ten pounds". Think bigger. Get a concrete idea of what you want your life to be about. Once you have an idea of the big picture, the next step is to determine what intermediary steps you would need to take to get there. Goals like weight loss and exercising more may be good steps along the way. Those types of goals can improve your energy level and and overall health, which ultimately can help you to accomplish your larger goals, but don't make them more important then they really are. Your short term goals should be the smaller steps in reaching your higher aspirations.Write them down!Once you have an idea of the big picture, take the time to write your long and short term goals down. The act of writing forces you to verbalize general ideas and feelings into concrete shape that you can then evaluate and refine as you need. It also gives you the ability to track your thoughts over time. Putting your goals into writing is a form of commitment. You now have defined the direction of your life, and you now have the responsibility to act.EvaluationWith a written set of goals, I would strongly suggest to take some time to think about the why behind the goals. Are you goals things that you really want, or are you doing them because it's what everyone else is doing, or because you feel like you should do them? Think about the core reason behind the goals. A common goal is to make more money, but money is really just a means to something else. Usually you want more money so you can have more freedom, more security, more things that might help you enjoy life more, or some other reason. Same thing with losing weight- is it so you feel more healthy, or so other people find you more attractive, or something else? Take the time to understand the core reason for your goals, then re-evaluate to make sure that your goal will really achieve what you want intend. Deep down, most reasons resolve into increasing your overall sense of fulfillment or escaping painful situations. As yourself, will your goals really help you to achieve what you want?Find the time to take actionAnother aspect of personal goal setting involves evaluating how your daily activities actually contribute to your long term goals. Will watching T.V. for a couple of hours make any significant improvement in your life? Probably not. What will really help you reach your deeper potential? Most of our days are filled with the unimportant and insignificant activities that, in the big picture sense of things, are meaningless. Try to cut out of your life those things which aren't helping them achieve your goals, and replace them with more relevant activities. Break your goals down to where you have actions that you can take every single day to make some progress towards your goals. Take the small steps, start changing habits, and stay mindful of the big picture that you have created for your life.Using these goal setting techniques can result in much greater motivation to achieve your goals. Following these goal setting techniques will give you a specific plan and good goals to help you achieve your potential. Return from Goal Setting Techniques to Personal Goal Setting Return from Goal Setting Techniques to Self Motivation Strategies
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