To get what you want you must know what you want.
Without well-defined personal goals, what you want from life will most likely not be what you get. Even with the best of intentions, life has a funny way of getting in the way, and time can pass quickly while you accomplish little. The forward-thinking process you follow while setting personal goals takes the focus off today and forces you to consider tomorrow. It requires that you not only define your dreams and expectations, but also create a plan to achieve them. Although personal goal-setting takes time, the investment you make today can have a big payoff tomorrow.
Be Honest
Set personal goals that represent you rather than the expectations of others. The effort and action steps you put into achieving each goal require not only ability, but also willingness and determination. It will be difficult to impossible to resist the temptation of short-term distractions or navigate roadblocks that threaten your progress if your goals do not come from your heart.
Avoid Overload
Because the life plan you create when setting personal goals typically includes a variety of topics, it can become rather large. Although each goal is important, avoid overwhelming yourself by tackling them all at once. Define and prioritize goal categories, such as career, family, faith, finance, special interests or others you decide are important. Then, work through the process of defining specific goals and steps to take for achieving each, one goal at a time.
Set a Time Frame
Establish a time frame far enough in the future for each goal to significantly affect your life, keeping in mind that each will have its own time frame for completion. For example, if you set a career goal of becoming a board-certified surgeon, a period of 10 years is not long enough, while if you choose to become a nurse or teacher the same time frame is more than sufficient.
Be Specific
Vague generalizations make creating action steps difficult and achieving goals less likely. Using a system developed by author Paul J. Meyer and cited on the University of Kansas Office of Multicultural Affairs website, goal-setters address six "W" questions that can help them avoid generalizations and create goals with as much definition as possible. Define each specific personal goal by addressing the who, what, where, when, which and why of each. As described by Meyer, "who" refers to who the goal involves, "what" refers to what you expect to accomplish, "where" refers to location, "when" establishes a time frame, "which" identifies steps and potential issues and "why" is a statement of your purpose or reasons for including the goal, as well as benefits achieving this goal will provide.
Track Your Progress
Develop a system for tracking progress you make toward achieving each goal by combining action steps into shorter time lines. For example, if your time frame for a particular goal is 10 years, set a time frame for every two years and include action steps you expect to accomplish within this time. This will create checkpoints that help you stay on track as well as motivate you to keep going.
Tags: each goal, time frame, action steps, personal goals, achieving each, achieving each goal
