Focus on the process more than the goal; because goal leads to success or failure, but process leads to the goal
Goal setting is an art of planning a list of specific, strategic and systematic targets with the deadline and calculated risks. A goal without a plan is merely a fantasy. You might have dreamt of many goals starting from your teenage; ask yourself honestly, have you achieved all of your goals? A goal needs you to be specific, strategic and systematic to make it happen.
The most essential skill you need to set an achievable goal is self-introspection. You need to have the clarity in thinking while doing the self-introspection. Self-introspection is an art of questioning yourself, attentively. One needs formal operational skills and good attention skill to do the best in self-introspection. I hope you already have these skills; otherwise, you would not bother to read this article on goal setting.
In this article, you will be acquitted with the art of goal setting through two sections:
So, without further delay, let’s get started.
Three Golden Rules to Set a Goal Strategically
#1 Be Clear, Concise and Specific
A goal without a specific objective and targets merely becomes a disaster of confusions. Goals are part of human life. In fact, the goal of life is to live with a goal.
Life is like a boat. If you don’t give it a direction, it will go with the flow.
To become specific, clear and concise on your goal, you need to give the goal a specific direction, specific targets, strategically. The question is how to do it, consider asking yourself the following questions, do self-introspection.
- What is your primary objective?
- What is your weakness?
- What can be done and what can’t be done?
- What needs to be done and what doesn’t need to be done?
Visualize yourself in the situations, be attentive and think with clarity and list the down summary & targets of your research.
#2 Make Priorities
If you set many priorities, you set confusion and become a dreamer with no priority. You need to schedule your priority with clarity. Strategic priorities are the consequence of calculated risks and calculated workflow, to do set the specific priorities, first of all, you need to make the table as shown below and make the list of priorities accordingly.
| Task Name | Task needs to be done before | List of Obstacles | Probable Positive Consequences | Probable Negative Consequences |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task 1 | Task 3 | Obstacle One | Positive Outcome One | Negative Outcome One |
| Task 2 | Task 1 | Obstacle Two | Positive Outcome Two | Negative Outcome Two |
| Task 3 | Task 2 | Obstacle Three | Positive Outcome Three | Negative Outcome Two |
When you make this table, you have to think with clarity through self-introspection and make a conclusion out of it and proceed further to list down the priorities.
#3 Make Deadlines
Every goal has an ultimate deadline; however, most people forget to set deadlines for each & every priority. Without priority wise deadlines, the ultimate deadline becomes dead and the line keeps expanding. Be realistic while setting the list of deadlines; take the lead to make it strategic and realistic, but don’t let the confused mind to take the lead and create more confusion.
Make sure that deadlines are achieved accordingly; a goal with an affirmation of “having enough time left” leaves the goal. If one priority is achieved with desirable time-frame, you have to achieve the next priority within the next time-frame. Always remember; time never waits for your turn, it gives you a chance to learn and earn.
Three Bad Habits to Avoid While Setting a Goal
#1 Negative Attitude
Negativity only leads to self-destruction. When you become negative while setting a goal, your mind generates negative feedbacks and creates confusions as a consequence, you also waste time and energy unnecessarily. The secret to remaining positive is to bring the attention back to what you are doing when negativity surrounds you.
Negativity lives only in your thoughts, you have to make replacement of the negative thought to get detachment from it.
Negativity leads to deception, positivity leads to achievements; to achieve your goal. So, you always need to stay positive.
#2 Multitasking
Multitasking is a skill of doing many things at different times, according to priority and schedule. If you follow this rule, you can follow it. However, most people confuse multitasking by doing many things at the same time. This kind of activity is the primary reason for making the mind confused and become depressed as a consequence.
#3 Making Excuses
If you give yourself excuses, nobody is going to rescue you. It is your responsibility to stop giving excuses to yourself. The most common excuse we often do is, ” I have enough time.” The negative thought, that may surround you while doing self-introspection is also one of the primary cause of unwanted excuses. As already said, you have to bring your attention back to your goal statement when negativity hijacks your mind.
Conclusion
Dreaming a goal is not the beginning, planning for the goal is the beginning, executing the plan is the progress and making it happen is the success. Also, you need to program your mind that failure is a part of the success journey, through repeated affirmation. You have to fail to enjoy the success and you have to stay positive whatever may be the situation. Positivity always wins because it is the law of nature, it is the energy that let us grow, instead of letting us go.
Ashim, the Founder of MindWiper, loves to learn, share, and educate various dimensions of life skills development. After graduating with an engineering degree, he worked with major ICT industries in India and finally he followed his dream to integrate technology for Cognitive Skills & Life Skills Development.