Goal setting breeds success.
Goal setting strategy is a common practice among successful people. Successful people know that people must be proactive instead of reactive. If you are already successful and want to stay that way, goal setting is one way of being in control.
Goals provide us with direction and objective enhancing our motivation and focus. It allows us to look beyond our actions and see the progress that is made. This anticipation provides us with fuel to further our drive to reach our goals.
The strategy of goal setting is an influential aspect of every research and practice in improving performance.
Goal Setting Strategy
There are several goal setting strategies that should be considered first before actually laying down goals. Visualize this strategy and picture the story of the bucket that never seems to get full:
1. Core values
A primal goal setting strategy is to decide on what is important to you. If you can identify your core values you can decide what core projects to set that your life should have primary focus on.
Imagine that these core values are the rocks that would be the first to be fit down in the bucket.
2. Secondary Values
We could divide the core values of our life into several aspects. We can then identify secondary values to complement the core values that you have identified previously.
Imagine that these secondary values are the pebbles that will fit down into the bucket in the spaces between the rocks.
These pebbles represent the other projects that contribute towards those widest categories of your life’s core values.
3. Daily Activities
Another goal setting strategy would be to identify actual daily activities that contribute towards our multitude of projects. These daily activities actually complement our secondary values.
Imagine that these daily activities are the sand that would fill out the spaces left behind by the rocks and the pebbles.
4. The Action that We Take
The bucket is already full of rocks, of pebbles and of sand. Yet there are still some very small cracks or crevice that needs filling. That is water. Even a small crevice could be filled-up by water.
This extra space that is available to water is also the most sensitive part of goal setting strategy.
This represents the very next action steps that we can take.
Remember that the big projects would only happen by the small action steps that we take. Remember to discard the things that do not truly contribute to your core and secondary values.
Always be mindful of the little strategies that you could use around you. It could be a book for learning, a paper for writing, PocketPC use, earphones for listening to training audios, etc. You can incorporate various mediums to effectively take action on your goals.
The Strategy to Success
The goal setting strategies mentioned above will make sure that you are always connected, mindful, and focused to the bigger picture.
Try to do it all. You can do this by breaking everything down into a hierarchy and make the most of every moment. It would always fit everything together by size, location, or by movement.
People who try to prioritize by level of importance, and who try to schedule specific activities to time, usually fail. This is because of the many distractions, interruptions, even changes in a persons mood and energy levels, or new inspirations or projects that reveal themselves as you move through time.
Try hard to prioritize or else you would get confused and worst be overloaded. Do this by keeping a running list of next step activities. Remember that willpower does not last long but pure intent together with preparation & organization allows you to do things you have never thought you could do.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Friday, May 13, 2011
Goal Setting for Teens
There is this story I remembered when I was still a kid, a series of stories about the ever lazy and ever stupid Juan: How Juan Motivates the Crabs.
This wasn't exactly the title but in the story, Juan appeared to be motivating the crabs when he whispered into them, "Go home, cross the sea and go to Mother. Tell her I'm still here, playing with my mates."
You see, Juan was asked by his mother to buy two big crabs at the market. The market was at the other island; Juan needs to ride a banca just to get to the other side. When he finally bought the crabs that was asked of him, he saw his playmates and was coaxed to play. What happened next, of course, you know by now. He "whispered" on the crabs and motivated them to cross the river.
Many teenagers nowadays are like Juan: love to break rules, don't finish a task assigned, and yes, do something stupid.
What can we do, as parents, to help them set a goal for themselves? We can't just sit there and let them be forever a Juan.
1. Identify the Teens Learning Style
We can't just feed onto teens goals we have set for them. We must understand how they tick, what moves them, and what drives them. We must learn and identify their learning style before we could pursuade them to set a goal for themselves.
The teens learning style could be visual, auditory or kinesthetics.
Visual learners could understand and remember better what they see. These learners would therefore display a sensitivity to visual activities or endeavour such as art or watching the movies.
If your teen daughter wants to be a fashion designer as a profession, show her pictures of designs made by renowned fashion gurus. Or have her watch movies from different eras for her to see the changes of styles through time. After that, encourage her to set goals for her dreams, like, designing her sister's winter dress.
2. Find Ways to Keep A Score Card
Goal setting for teens can be a tedious job. Remedy this by keeping a score card of his or her achievements.
This score card would give teens an idea if they are keeping abreast with their set goals, or the projects that they have undertaken are well defined.
Teens needs to see and understand the outcome of the set goals before they would even start to act on that goal. Not doing so would make them lose interest.
3. Define the End
When setting a goal, try to be specific. If the set goal is unclear, teens might see goal setting as something that keeps them away from friends. Don't ever let this happen. Goal setting for teens must be presented to teens like entertainment to gain their interest.
When creating a goal setting for teens, give clear instructions.
4. Be a Model
Goal setting for teens can be a very confusing activity. It is important that parents would be there to set goals with.
Let him participate in the family’s activities and let him marvel at each wisdom that he can discover from the interaction.
It is important to ask for their opinion of what they want in life.
Impress upon him that loved ones should always be considered when setting goals in life. They are the ones who would serve as your guide and be your motivation as one journey towards his dreams.
This wasn't exactly the title but in the story, Juan appeared to be motivating the crabs when he whispered into them, "Go home, cross the sea and go to Mother. Tell her I'm still here, playing with my mates."
You see, Juan was asked by his mother to buy two big crabs at the market. The market was at the other island; Juan needs to ride a banca just to get to the other side. When he finally bought the crabs that was asked of him, he saw his playmates and was coaxed to play. What happened next, of course, you know by now. He "whispered" on the crabs and motivated them to cross the river.
Many teenagers nowadays are like Juan: love to break rules, don't finish a task assigned, and yes, do something stupid.
What can we do, as parents, to help them set a goal for themselves? We can't just sit there and let them be forever a Juan.
1. Identify the Teens Learning Style
We can't just feed onto teens goals we have set for them. We must understand how they tick, what moves them, and what drives them. We must learn and identify their learning style before we could pursuade them to set a goal for themselves.
The teens learning style could be visual, auditory or kinesthetics.
Visual learners could understand and remember better what they see. These learners would therefore display a sensitivity to visual activities or endeavour such as art or watching the movies.
If your teen daughter wants to be a fashion designer as a profession, show her pictures of designs made by renowned fashion gurus. Or have her watch movies from different eras for her to see the changes of styles through time. After that, encourage her to set goals for her dreams, like, designing her sister's winter dress.
2. Find Ways to Keep A Score Card
Goal setting for teens can be a tedious job. Remedy this by keeping a score card of his or her achievements.
This score card would give teens an idea if they are keeping abreast with their set goals, or the projects that they have undertaken are well defined.
Teens needs to see and understand the outcome of the set goals before they would even start to act on that goal. Not doing so would make them lose interest.
3. Define the End
When setting a goal, try to be specific. If the set goal is unclear, teens might see goal setting as something that keeps them away from friends. Don't ever let this happen. Goal setting for teens must be presented to teens like entertainment to gain their interest.
When creating a goal setting for teens, give clear instructions.
4. Be a Model
Goal setting for teens can be a very confusing activity. It is important that parents would be there to set goals with.
Let him participate in the family’s activities and let him marvel at each wisdom that he can discover from the interaction.
It is important to ask for their opinion of what they want in life.
Impress upon him that loved ones should always be considered when setting goals in life. They are the ones who would serve as your guide and be your motivation as one journey towards his dreams.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Setting Effective Goals at Work
It has been five years since you've set foot on your office workplace that was painted in yellow before, but now it is blue. For five years, you have been typing away your work on the same spot, but now on a different chair and computer. The young lady sitting next to your cubicle is now pregnant; you even had a crush on her before, but you just don't have the courage to say how you feel for her.
Everything, for the last five years has changed. Even the way your boss smiles at you: before it was his trademark grin, now it is more of a grimace. The only thing left unchanged is your work position.
It's time to set realistic goals for yourself. If you want to be in your dream work position in a salary that you could actually boast of, set goals and try to achieve them within a particular frame of time. These goals must be realistic within your capabilities and resources.
It won't matter if you are a self-employed or a company employee, you must set goals on where you want to be in a year or five years from now. Aiming at a specific position and working towards that target would pave the way for a brighter future and a more fruitful life.
1. Know your target position very well
In setting work goals, know that there is no better way to be able to adjust better than to be aware of the underlining responsibilities of a target position. Ask your colleagues about the complaints or rewards of the target position so you can prepare yourself in the future.
Remember to be discreet for they might be gunning for it too.
2. The objectives should be realistic.
Setting work goals should be in line with your present work situation. It should be attainable and within reach in as much as short a time as possible.
If you are eyeing for a managerial position when you are barely a year from work, think it over. Although it is possible, realistically speaking, it can't be attained. Don't brag about in your entire department that you could actually be the youngest employee to be a manager due to sheer "talent." Your employer might sack you for daydreaming too much.
3. Gauge your competency
Know your strength and capabilities. As Socrates had put it, "Know thyself." Only when you are sure of your strength and capabilities that you could actually gauge yourself with competitors.
4. Single-out and note non-bias opinions
Positive or negative, opinions speak a lot about you. Feedback from outside sources is always worthy of your attention and is a sure key to your success.
5. Stay on focus
Once you have set your target, every minute and every effort that you make should be spent effectively towards reaching this target.
6. Contentment is the key
Remember that whenever you have succeeded in reaching a goal, you must be content with it and avoid the desire to make bigger targets outright when you have yet to prove yourself.
Learn to control your ego and retract your moves. You have to rethink the next goal over carefully. Remember that a job environment is always fluid and therefore careful planning is very important.
7. Refrain from envy.
This reminder is closely associated to the previous advice. If you teach yourself contentment, it should be heartfelt.
Never look up at your colleague who might have gotten a higher position and say to yourself that you have failed.
Remember that the present work goal that you have reached is just another step higher on the ladder. There would be more promising opportunities to come your way.
8. Monitor your progress
Monitor your progress. In setting work goals, take corrective measures to be sure that you are on the right track. If you have to retract your steps just to fix an impending problem, do it. You would be surprised of the rewards afterwards.
Everything, for the last five years has changed. Even the way your boss smiles at you: before it was his trademark grin, now it is more of a grimace. The only thing left unchanged is your work position.
It's time to set realistic goals for yourself. If you want to be in your dream work position in a salary that you could actually boast of, set goals and try to achieve them within a particular frame of time. These goals must be realistic within your capabilities and resources.
It won't matter if you are a self-employed or a company employee, you must set goals on where you want to be in a year or five years from now. Aiming at a specific position and working towards that target would pave the way for a brighter future and a more fruitful life.
1. Know your target position very well
In setting work goals, know that there is no better way to be able to adjust better than to be aware of the underlining responsibilities of a target position. Ask your colleagues about the complaints or rewards of the target position so you can prepare yourself in the future.
Remember to be discreet for they might be gunning for it too.
2. The objectives should be realistic.
Setting work goals should be in line with your present work situation. It should be attainable and within reach in as much as short a time as possible.
If you are eyeing for a managerial position when you are barely a year from work, think it over. Although it is possible, realistically speaking, it can't be attained. Don't brag about in your entire department that you could actually be the youngest employee to be a manager due to sheer "talent." Your employer might sack you for daydreaming too much.
3. Gauge your competency
Know your strength and capabilities. As Socrates had put it, "Know thyself." Only when you are sure of your strength and capabilities that you could actually gauge yourself with competitors.
4. Single-out and note non-bias opinions
Positive or negative, opinions speak a lot about you. Feedback from outside sources is always worthy of your attention and is a sure key to your success.
5. Stay on focus
Once you have set your target, every minute and every effort that you make should be spent effectively towards reaching this target.
6. Contentment is the key
Remember that whenever you have succeeded in reaching a goal, you must be content with it and avoid the desire to make bigger targets outright when you have yet to prove yourself.
Learn to control your ego and retract your moves. You have to rethink the next goal over carefully. Remember that a job environment is always fluid and therefore careful planning is very important.
7. Refrain from envy.
This reminder is closely associated to the previous advice. If you teach yourself contentment, it should be heartfelt.
Never look up at your colleague who might have gotten a higher position and say to yourself that you have failed.
Remember that the present work goal that you have reached is just another step higher on the ladder. There would be more promising opportunities to come your way.
8. Monitor your progress
Monitor your progress. In setting work goals, take corrective measures to be sure that you are on the right track. If you have to retract your steps just to fix an impending problem, do it. You would be surprised of the rewards afterwards.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Setting and Achieving Your Goal
There is no defined method to setting and achieving your goal. But if you read related literature and ask around for advice, the answers may be summed up into one thing: Know exactly what you want.
When setting and working towards achieving your goal, you have to be specific. General statements like "I want to own a car" are not as clear cut and effective as "I want to own a Ford Lynx within two years." Realizing this difference will help you be able to map out your life strategy more efficiently.
Paul Meyer, the author of "Attitude is Everything", suggest a S-M-A-R-T way to setting and achieving your goals. SMART means:
S- Specific (Again, know what you want)
M- Measurable (How much do you want?)
A- Action oriented (Something you can achieve by working for it)
R- Realistic (within your resources and means)
T- Tangible (something that you can appreciate and remind yourself of your hard work)
It would be good to set goals that challenge you. Otherwise, there really wouldn't be any point and fun to the process. When setting and seeking to achieve your goal, choose something that would not only benefit you in the end, but also offer a lot of lessons while you're at it. In this way, if you, unfortunately, do not get to reach your goal, you will still be thankful that you learned a lot of new things along the way.
To more easily set and achieve goals, take a little time identifying first what these are, so they won't contradict each other and leave you frustrated. The six areas you can set your goals against may involve family and home, spiritual and moral, finances and career, social, physical and mental. Identify goals in each of these areas to work out a clearer life plan. You will be thankful for the absence of mind clutter after.
Setting and achieving goals requires more than simply recognizing and identifying what they are. You have to realize the difference between a goal and a dream. A dream is something you just aspire for, whereas a goal is something that involves work and some form of sacrifice.
Setting goals is easy. It's the achieving part that poses the challenge. That's why you have to stay SMART at all times. Self-discipline is key. You need to be passionate enough to reach your goal, otherwise, what you've done is just writing random things down and wasting precious time and paper. And that is not smart.
An example is cheating on the goals you have set. You can't say you want to lose four pounds every month and then irresponsibly lose just one pound by not sticking to your diet plan and exercise plan. More importantly, you cannot make up for your blunder by saying "Hey, I'll just lose seven pounds next month." Not only will you be fooling yourself, you might even subject yourself to possible health risks!
As mentioned earlier, there is no fun to a goal that does not involve a challenge. It is boring and will more likely cause you to stray and break what you have set. If you think you don't have the willpower to achieve them, get a goal setting buddy. This way, you will be monitoring each other's progress.
Sacrifice and discipline are needed to setting and achieving effective goals. Sure, they can be quite difficult, but nothing definitely beats the satisfaction you get when you finally start enjoying the fruits of your labor. Now get smart and start moving.
When setting and working towards achieving your goal, you have to be specific. General statements like "I want to own a car" are not as clear cut and effective as "I want to own a Ford Lynx within two years." Realizing this difference will help you be able to map out your life strategy more efficiently.
Paul Meyer, the author of "Attitude is Everything", suggest a S-M-A-R-T way to setting and achieving your goals. SMART means:
S- Specific (Again, know what you want)
M- Measurable (How much do you want?)
A- Action oriented (Something you can achieve by working for it)
R- Realistic (within your resources and means)
T- Tangible (something that you can appreciate and remind yourself of your hard work)
It would be good to set goals that challenge you. Otherwise, there really wouldn't be any point and fun to the process. When setting and seeking to achieve your goal, choose something that would not only benefit you in the end, but also offer a lot of lessons while you're at it. In this way, if you, unfortunately, do not get to reach your goal, you will still be thankful that you learned a lot of new things along the way.
To more easily set and achieve goals, take a little time identifying first what these are, so they won't contradict each other and leave you frustrated. The six areas you can set your goals against may involve family and home, spiritual and moral, finances and career, social, physical and mental. Identify goals in each of these areas to work out a clearer life plan. You will be thankful for the absence of mind clutter after.
Setting and achieving goals requires more than simply recognizing and identifying what they are. You have to realize the difference between a goal and a dream. A dream is something you just aspire for, whereas a goal is something that involves work and some form of sacrifice.
Setting goals is easy. It's the achieving part that poses the challenge. That's why you have to stay SMART at all times. Self-discipline is key. You need to be passionate enough to reach your goal, otherwise, what you've done is just writing random things down and wasting precious time and paper. And that is not smart.
An example is cheating on the goals you have set. You can't say you want to lose four pounds every month and then irresponsibly lose just one pound by not sticking to your diet plan and exercise plan. More importantly, you cannot make up for your blunder by saying "Hey, I'll just lose seven pounds next month." Not only will you be fooling yourself, you might even subject yourself to possible health risks!
As mentioned earlier, there is no fun to a goal that does not involve a challenge. It is boring and will more likely cause you to stray and break what you have set. If you think you don't have the willpower to achieve them, get a goal setting buddy. This way, you will be monitoring each other's progress.
Sacrifice and discipline are needed to setting and achieving effective goals. Sure, they can be quite difficult, but nothing definitely beats the satisfaction you get when you finally start enjoying the fruits of your labor. Now get smart and start moving.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Tips on Goal Setting
Setting Goal is like painting the tracks towards your desired destination. Without goals, you will get lost in the jungle of life. Although you may reach your destination, the means of reaching it might not be within the standard of your morals.
In order to reach your goals guilt free and swiftly, consider the following tips when setting goals.
1. Remember that every person has goals
Similar to the dissemination of information in a company, you may need to have some form of communication to relate your goals to those people who are directly affected by these goals that you have set.
Remember that everyone have goals of their own. So it is important that those closest to you be informed of any goal which you perceive can have a direct effect on them.
2. Start from top to bottom
When setting a goal, start from the top to bottom and not the other way around. Remember to have a foresight, to know what you really want in life.
Start from there, then work your way down. Start from the most important aspect to the least important aspect of your life.
3. Define areas of division
To avoid getting too overwhelmed with the goals that you have set, learn to divide the areas of interest.
From there, identify and set important goals. Again, implement this rule of thumb, "set from top to bottom."
By defining areas of importance, you may open your eyes to new possibilities that you have never seen before. You would realize that these areas are intertwined and setting goals in one area would have an effect to the other areas or would entail sacrifices from you.
6. Set benchmarks for your goals
Before you could even measure your goals, you have to first set reasonable benchmarks.
You would use these benchmarks to measure whether you have achieved your goals or not. These benchmarks can usually be expressed in quantitative terms.
7. Know when to stop
What are the signs that your goal is going on the wrong track? When it is time to bid goodbye to a goal and walk away? Consider the following:
- You are losing money than you have to
You tried gauging the monetary equivalent of a goal. You found out that you are spending way too much just to get the target. What should you do? Walk away and set more attainable goals.
You can go back to this expensive goal if, and only if, you've re-mapped your goal plan, studied every pros and cons for pursuing it, and raising enough money to actually attain in.
- You have spent too much time and effort to reach it
If your goal has been taking all your time, away from yourself and loved ones, walk away from it. You have other important goals to attend to.
- More and more of your loved ones are begging you to let it go
If you're a family man and your wife and kids are begging you to let go of your goal, learn to halt. Don't think that halting is like giving up. You have just learnt to know of your priorities.
You can start pursuing for your goals again after you've studied and learnt to manage your time and resources.
In order to reach your goals guilt free and swiftly, consider the following tips when setting goals.
1. Remember that every person has goals
Similar to the dissemination of information in a company, you may need to have some form of communication to relate your goals to those people who are directly affected by these goals that you have set.
Remember that everyone have goals of their own. So it is important that those closest to you be informed of any goal which you perceive can have a direct effect on them.
2. Start from top to bottom
When setting a goal, start from the top to bottom and not the other way around. Remember to have a foresight, to know what you really want in life.
Start from there, then work your way down. Start from the most important aspect to the least important aspect of your life.
3. Define areas of division
To avoid getting too overwhelmed with the goals that you have set, learn to divide the areas of interest.
From there, identify and set important goals. Again, implement this rule of thumb, "set from top to bottom."
By defining areas of importance, you may open your eyes to new possibilities that you have never seen before. You would realize that these areas are intertwined and setting goals in one area would have an effect to the other areas or would entail sacrifices from you.
6. Set benchmarks for your goals
Before you could even measure your goals, you have to first set reasonable benchmarks.
You would use these benchmarks to measure whether you have achieved your goals or not. These benchmarks can usually be expressed in quantitative terms.
7. Know when to stop
What are the signs that your goal is going on the wrong track? When it is time to bid goodbye to a goal and walk away? Consider the following:
- You are losing money than you have to
You tried gauging the monetary equivalent of a goal. You found out that you are spending way too much just to get the target. What should you do? Walk away and set more attainable goals.
You can go back to this expensive goal if, and only if, you've re-mapped your goal plan, studied every pros and cons for pursuing it, and raising enough money to actually attain in.
- You have spent too much time and effort to reach it
If your goal has been taking all your time, away from yourself and loved ones, walk away from it. You have other important goals to attend to.
- More and more of your loved ones are begging you to let it go
If you're a family man and your wife and kids are begging you to let go of your goal, learn to halt. Don't think that halting is like giving up. You have just learnt to know of your priorities.
You can start pursuing for your goals again after you've studied and learnt to manage your time and resources.
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