Methods toward approaching your goals so that you have a concrete plan for achieving the desired result
The direction of our lives is ambiguous until we are clear on our goals. You must have heard the saying, “If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll probably end up somewhere else.” If you are reading this blog, the chances are that you are not among those wanderers and have an idea of where you want to be in your life.
Our goals provide stability, drive, motivation, and a direction for our life path. However, there is a scientific formula to have a higher success rate for achieving these goals. The purpose of this article is not to convince you to shrink your dreams and aspirations, but rather to encourage you to get smart with your goals so that you have a concrete plan for achieving the desired result. Many of us experience failures in pursuing our goals due to a lack of planning, resources, and ambiguity. This blogpost will provide you with proven scientific methods studied by many MBA graduates and business schools that ensure higher success.
Exercise:
Step 1: Before we dive deeper into the process, take a moment to review the primary significant goals that you have had in the recent and furthermost past, those you stopped pursuing, didn’t accomplish, or failed at. Make a mental note of the reasons for the failures, such as inconsistency, lack of motivation, ambivalence, lack of resources, circumstances, etc.
Step 2: Think of a goal that you would like to achieve from this point on. This does not have to be big or small and can be related to any aspect of your life, career, personal development, health and wellness, or self-care. Something that will add value to your life. Think of the rewards you’ll reap from this goal.
Be Specific
Let’s start with getting absolutely specific about what needs to be accomplished? Who will be the responsible parties? What needs to be done? How will you do it?
Example:
Linda:
Specific goal: Increase Instagram followers for business accounts.
Responsible: Myself and the marketing team.
How to do it: By optimizing content and starting ad campaigns.
Steve:
Specific goal: Lose weight.
Responsible: Myself.
How to do it: Lifestyle changes, exercising regularly, eating healthy.
Get as clear and as precise as possible. Having specific goals provides us with a clear direction to focus on. It keeps us from wasting our time and energy on vague efforts that will result in failure or demotivation.
Creating specific goals creates accountability, leading us to taking action and making the goals more achievable in real time.
Make it Measurable
Specifying your goals is a great starting point, but quantifying the plans will allow you to track progress and know when you have achieved your goals. This could be getting deeper into the specification process. And ask yourself, how will you know once you have reached this goal?
Unmeasurable goals are open-ended that, over time, lose value, and become tedious and tiresome, leading to zero fulfillment.
Here are two examples of unmeasured versus measured goals for better understanding.
Example 1:
“Linda would like to grow her business Instagram followers to increase her viewership online.”
“Linda would like to grow her business Instagram followers to 10,000 subscribers to increase her viewership online.”
Example 2:
“Steve would like to lose weight.”
“Steve would like to lose 10 pounds.”
Assess the Achievability
Once you have clarity on goals and set measures, take the next step to give yourself a reality check. Although there are big or small goals, most of our limitations are created by our minds. But at the end of the day, you want to bite what you can chew. Your goals should be realistic and attainable.
In Linda’s case, she would like to achieve 10,000 Instagram subscribers to increase her viewership for her business, but does she have the bandwidth to do so? She might look at her goal and realize, given her small social media team and the heavy workload it would bring to them, the goal is not sustainable. In this case, she should break down the goal to 1,000 new Instagram followers each month, until she reaches 10,000 new subscribers.
Safeguarding the attainability of your goals is much easier when you are being realistic about your resources.
In Steve’s case, if he would like to lose 10 pounds, he should consider if he has the time to work out 4 to 5 times a week, the determination to change his lifestyle and eat healthily, and the physical health to support such a drastic lifestyle change. If not, then Steve should set more minor and incremental goals, such as, losing 4 pounds, sustaining the new achieved weight, and then losing another 6 pounds.
Understand the Relevance of Your Goals
Think about the big picture: Why are your goals important to you? Do they align with your values and bring you fulfillment and added value to your life? It is crucial because you will spend a lot of time and energy achieving them. And you don’t want to spend so much time and effort on something and later find out that this is not what you wanted or needed in the first place.
For Linda, having 10,000 Instagram subscribers for her business account should not be triggered by what everyone else is doing online. The questions she can ask herself are:
What value will these new subscribers add to my business?
Will this help me grow my business?
Will this increase customer loyalty?
Will this provide increased credibility for my business?
Will this increase my company’s revenue?
For Steve, losing 10 pounds should not be based on the trend of looking skinny. Instead, he should interrogate:
Will losing this weight improve my physical health?
How will losing weight impact my well-being and mental health?
Will this new lifestyle bring me fulfillment, or will it make me more stressed?
Seal the Deal with A Timeframe
Having a timeframe for our goals encourages motivation and focus. This allows you and your team to stay on track, assess your progress, and revise the strategy if needed.
“Linda would like to grow her business Instagram followers to 10,000 subscribers to increase her viewership online in the next 12 months to increase her revenues.”
“Steve wants to lose 10 pounds in the next 10 months to improve his health.”
Using the SMART goals technique can help you set clear, attainable, and realistic goals, no matter how big or small they are or if they are personal or professional goals.
We hope this article will help you in your journey toward your success.
If you are a HerMeNow participant or alumni, book your free coaching session now through the HerMeNow website https://www.hermenow.com/wellness.
 | Anam Anjum Wellness Consultant +971 52 629 9656 anam@hermenow.com almawellbeing.com |