Basically, a good goal comes in a format of:
What do I want to achieve & by when?
And to assist you in setting your goals it’s important that you know the SMART formula which will remind you of the important components of well set goals.
S is for specific and your goals should be as clearly defined as possible so that you know exactly what you are aiming to achieve without doubt or ambiguity.
M is for measurable because if you can’t measure it you can’t make it. Important in the goal achieving process is to reward yourself when you achieve a goal and, if you have no measure of success, you can’t achieve that.
A reminds us that our goals should be attainable and not so far out of reach that it is too big a stretch to achieve them. It’s always better to set smaller goals and have the euphoria of achievement than the disappointment of failure.
R means relevant in that goals must be congruent with what you want to achieve in your life. There is no point setting a goal which may be nice to achieve but which has no impact on you attaining those things you want out of life.
T means time bound because every goal you set must have a deadline otherwise you can keep deferring them indefinitely. Once you put a time deadline on a goal you have something by which you can gauge your success.
Now there’s something you must do when you’ve set your goals and that is to commit them to paper because, once you’ve written them down you’ve got them set in concrete. You’ll not be as prone to change them as you may be if you just have them in your head.
Don’t be afraid to revise your goals due to changing circumstances but not because you are not achieving them. The only thing certain in life is change and, as a consequence, there is nothing wrong with adapting or modifying your goals to suit those changing circumstances.
The great part of goal setting is that 60% of the effort is in setting those goals which means that only 40% of your effort is expended in achieving them. What this tells you is that, when you’ve set well balanced, meaningful goals to which you are committed, you are more than halfway to the success that you desire.
