Against all odds
Maybe you know people who have a dream. And in this time of day it seems like this dream is not realistic. It simply cannot be reached according to others. There are too many ifs, and but’s. Yet the goal setter feels strongly that this is what he or she needs to do.
The practical side of Goal Setting
An action plan is designed to motivate and guide toward a chosen goal. SMARTI criteria are an essential part of goal setting. It is a major component of personal development and our behaviour:
S. target a specific area for improvement: keep it simple!
M. measurable and meaningful: quantify an indicator of progress
A. acceptable, actionable & achievable: what results can realistically be achieved, they start with a verb
R. responsible: specifies who will be able to do it
T. time-related: specify a date or time (a goal without a date is just a dream!)
I. inspiring: does it add to a higher purpose for ‘all people’ and does it inspire myself to spring into action (heart & soul)?
General or specific: what do you do?
Studies have shown that more specific and ambitious goals lead to more performance improvement than general goals. As long as the person accepts the goal and has the ability to attain it there is a positive linear relationship between goal difficulty and task performance. Yet within the NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) it is stated that the vaguer the goal or vision the more people feel drawn to it. For example: ‘let’s improve the world’. Most people would agree and feel inspired. But as soon as they hear we will stop driving cars and using plastic…
How to…
Make sure you write down your goals. Research shows that people who write them down accomplish significantly more than people who don’t. Remember to keep them small in number. It is difficult to focus on more than five goals. So: you must be capable to memorise them by heart.
Also: share them selectively with positive yet realistic people who help you to polish them into viability. It is also a gentle push towards your goal because they will inquire how you are doing on your path. Make them visible (on your screen of you smart-phone with a metaphor for example) and look at them frequently. You will become a happier person in life.
