5 Steps to Create Solid, Powerful Goals
By Stephanie
Frank
You know where you want to go, but how do you get there? You may find
that making some decisions is easier than others. What do you do first? How
long will it take? Will you need help getting there? How do you decide
what's right for you?
It helps if you understand what makes you tick; your personal value
system. These values are the ones you live with, not necessarily every day,
but over the course of your life, that enable you to live with your
decisions.
First, sit down and make a list of the top 20 or 30 values that are
important to you:
* family
* personal time
* fun
-- you get the idea. Narrow that list to 10, and then five. Next, rank
those five in numeric order, one against the other, until you have your top
three.
When making choices, ask yourself if the decision would honor your top
three values. If not, it's the wrong choice for you at the time.
Setting the right goals for you is almost as important as having goals in
the first place. They have to be realistic and coincide with your value
system. How does your vision mesh with your goals? You may experience fear,
feel overwhelmed or confused because you don’t know how to go about setting
goals effectively, but it’s a straightforward process and you will overcome
the emotions as you go, as you feel more in control. The Five-Step
Goal-Setting Process
1. What do you want, specifically -- This is the first thing to ask
yourself in your goal planning process. What is your vision? Your dream?
Without being clear as to your explicit desires, no other steps can be
taken, and no progress made.
2. Why do you want it (what value does it serve) -- The pivotal question
in your goal-setting process and a prime motivator. You must reflect on your
values list in order to answer it. Does your desire reflect your values? If
so, you've accomplished the second step and are on your way to goal setting
success.
3. When do you want it – Determining specific dates for completion of
tasks is a crucial part of your goal setting procedure. Knowing that you
have committed yourself to achieving a certain thing by a certain date will
enable you to plan your time and thus maximize your efforts.
4. What will you give up or overcome to get it – Confusion? Fear?
Procrastination? Insecurity? Make sure you keep in mind why you want your
goal. It will give you all the courage you need to push through your fears
and move forward.
5. Create a detailed plan to get there -- We are not born knowing how to
do anything, really, except eat, sleep and breathe. The rest we learn as we
go along, and creating a detailed plan to achieve your goals is no
different.
Brainstorm things you can do, actions you can take. Bounce ideas off of
friends, relatives. Throw out ideas (none are too insignificant or crazy).
After you get the first few implausible or facetious ideas out of the way,
more creative, clever and valuable ideas will surface. Brainstorm until you
are able to get your ideas down to very specific, measurable tasks that you
can then cross off a list when you’ve finished them.
In order to reach a key goal, you'll need to set interim goals – multiple
short-term goals. Broken down into bite-sized pieces, the objectives are
less intimidating. If you get stuck trying to create a plan, ask yourself
more questions! Keep asking questions until there are no more questions,
only actions left.
Prioritize your plan according to your most important goal, approach each
goal individually and set a date for completion. You’ll be amazed at the
progress you make!
Stephanie Frank is an internationally acclaimed author, speaker and
entrepreneur. Take the free quiz "Do You Have What It Takes To Be The Next
Accidental Millionaire?" and receive over $1,574 worth of business building
tools and resources at
http://www.AccidentalMillionaire.com
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