Goal Setting
It concerns us to know the purpose we seek in life, for then, like archers aiming at a definite mark, we shall be more likely to attain what we want.
-Aristotle
Goal setting is the single most important aspect of your career. How you focus your time and how you organize what you do will largely determine either your success or failure. When you look at people who are at the top of their game in sports, entertainment, business and other pursuits, you’ll generally find they’ve set goals in an outstanding way. Most successful people manage their goals in a similar way.
Whether you want to be President of the United States, a first class parent, the fastest runner in the world, the head of your organization, or simply to feel happy and fulfilled, there are certain scientific goal setting principles you can follow to take you precisely where you want to go. I believe goal setting is a profound enough discipline that our success, the success of entire companies and even the success of entire countries comes down to how well goals are set. It’s that important!
At the end of this article I have attached several forms I would recommend printing and using on an ongoing basis. They’ll prove very helpful in your goal setting exercises.
I. You Need To Have an Overall Plan of Where You Are Going
During one of my first flights behind the controls of an airplane, between Oakland and Los Angeles, I remember my instructor spent most of his time reading a book and not really paying too much attention to what I was doing behind the controls. However, every few minutes he would look up from the book and shout something like “Heading 17!” when we were supposed to be on that heading, or whichever heading it might have been, and then he would resume his reading. I piloted the airplane for a few more minutes, then he would look up and once again shout out the heading.
By being off even a small number on that flight, we could’ve wound up in Las Vegas instead! However, he kept me on course.
Knowing exactly where you are going is extremely important. But very, very few people do, and they’re flying their personal airplanes with no direction.
If airplane pilots didn’t have a specific course charted, they’d be crashing into mountains and cities on an hourly basis. Therefore, pilots are required by the government and authorities to know exactly how to chart a course. They are given multiple tests and trained for weeks before they’re allowed to pilot an airplane alone.
However, no one demands such training from you in life. Most people are put on this earth and are given very few maps and no course to chart. With no course you can end up in jobs and relationships that are completely unfulfilling. Personally, I find it very disappointing and difficult to believe that neither schools, nor most parents teach goal setting principles. You absolutely must know where you are going, if you’re ever going to get there.
Whenever I meet someone who I’m impressed with on a personal and professional level, I like to ask them numerous questions about how they manage their time and what they want for themselves. People who achieve phenomenal success in this life typically force themselves to set massive and audacious goals for themselves. Once they have set these goals, they figure out a way to get there.
A. State Your Goals and Commit them to Writing
You need to know precisely what you’re after. For example, if you want to get in better physical shape, you might say to yourself, “I am going to lose at least 3 pounds in the next two weeks.” When you set a goal for yourself it’s important you be as specific as possible. Being specific will enable you to know when you’ve achieved the goal you’re after.
You absolutely, positively must know your goal. Commit your goals to writing and be absolutely positive you know what they are.
1. Aim high with the goals you set for yourself
Many people have fears about failing, and therefore, never set big goals for themselves. You need to understand that everyone has a “survival instinct” which motivates them to avoid pain. Failing for many people is painful, and consequently most people do not even try to compete at a level where failure is possible. You need to set big goals for yourself if you are going to achieve something magnificent in your life. The only possible limitations on what you are capable of achieving are those that you accept. If you accept that you are destined to attain only a certain level of achievement, then that is precisely what you shall have.
It Is The Man Who Thinks He Can
If you think you are beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you’d like to win, but think you can’t
It’s almost a cinch you won’t.
If you think you’ll lose, you’ve lost,
For out in the world we find
Success begins with a fellow’s will;
It’s all in the state of mind.
If you think you’re outclassed, you are:
You’ve got to think high to rise.
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.
Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But sooner or later the man who wins,
Is the man who thinks he can.
~Author Unknown~
The point of setting high goals for ourselves is not just to motivate. Aim for the stars and you will go high. The quality of the goals you set for yourself will determine the quality of your life.
2. Do not let others influence the quality of your goals
It’s important you take control of your life and do so through your own goals. Most people are so afraid of disappointing other people and maintaining their relationships they often spend their time doing for others and not for themselves. You need to worry about yourself and your goals as well. Other people are who they are—and you are who you are. Allow yourself to dream big dreams and become the person you want to become.
Writing out your goals is something that will dramatically take you forward in your life. There is a real power to committing something to writing. Once you’ve done this, you’ve committed to achieving those goals.
3. Set both personal and professional goals
Goal setting is a way of life. Therefore, everything you do needs to have a goal attached to it, and be measurable. You need to have both professional and personal goals. If you do not have personal as well as professional goals, your personal success engine will not run as it should.
It’s important to keep in mind and trust old adages, such as, “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” If you are focused on nothing but professional goals, then your personal life will suffer. Once your personal life suffers, you will doubt whether or not the pursuit of your professional goals is worth it.
Having both personal and professional goals is part of an overall and comprehensive system to manage your life and get the most fulfillment out of everything you do. Once you reach this point, you’ll be very excited about everything you are doing and everything will have a purpose.
The purpose of any goal management system is to give you total and complete fulfillment. You deserve to be fulfilled, and this is something you need in order to ensure your life engine is running as smoothly as possible. It’s my firm belief your personal goals are just as important—if not more important—than your professional ones. Once you strike a balance with these goals, you will find more success and fulfillment in everything you do.
4. Make sure each goal has a purpose
Every goal you set for yourself needs to have a purpose. Without a purpose you are simply spinning your wheels. This is the reason most people fail when they are setting their personal goals. They do not know why they want to achieve something in particular. When you know why you want to accomplish each goal you write down, you are further empowered and far more likely to achieve it.
Simply setting “to do lists,” like most people do, does not give you the reason why you want to achieve something. When there is a powerful “why” behind each of your goals, you are likely to accomplish far, far more with the same amount of time and effort. Your goals then have “meaning,” which is crucial to their success.
You need to ask yourself the following questions about each goal you set:
