Goal setting was not always my strong suit. At least, not formal goal setting with clearly stated goals and objectives, tactics and milestones. I do, however, have a long history of having goals and follow through that has helped me achieve results.
The approach I’ve taken for most of my life has been more informal by nature. State the goal and start in that direction, even if I couldn’t see the entire path forward. If the goal mattered to me, and I could actually see myself achieving it, that meant I had enough clarity and drive to move forward in its’ pursuit.
Consider these goals –
- Want a horse and must buy it on your own (oh, and you are just 12 years old)? That requires a goal AND a plan.
- Want to spend a summer studying ceramics with a master, and need to finance the school and lost wages, while maintaining employment at the same time? A BIG goal, that required a thought-out plan.
- Want to go to the Summer Olympics three years in the future and need to fund the travel to and from, plus venue tickets, lodging and food for two weeks? That required a carefully orchestrated plan.
- Want to change careers and start your own business, in a field you’ve never worked before, in your mid-20’s? That required a goal and a plan and a huge leap of faith.
It wasn’t until I became an executive director for a large nonprofit organization (with satellite sites and statewide reach) that formal goal setting and strategic planning became part of my vocabulary and ever-growing world. I was a slow convert at first, since the processes seemed overly tedious and time consuming. That was, until I reaped the rewards.
It’s one thing to hold a goal in your head and move toward it, especially if you don’t have many competing priorities. That goal can be your one thing, like it was for me in the previous examples. But, when you are flooded with information on a daily basis and demands for your time and attention keep coming at you from multiple sides, taking the time to goal plan can make all the difference.
Taking time to think through and document your goal, then reflect on what it means, what will be different and how you will accomplish it (or at least the immediate next steps) can be the difference between success and coming back to an incomplete goal six or 12-months down the road.
When I started taking the time to work through certain exercises over a period of weeks, I was able to get clarity about what I wanted to achieve and why, and to determine the gap between where I was and where I wanted to be. The gap was bigger than I anticipated at first but having gone through the work and knowing my motivations, it was that much easier to identify and prioritize my next steps. Then, I began going in that direction. One step at a time. I had built my roadmap to guide me, so I didn’t have to keep rehashing the work and decisions I’d made. (Clue: that can be a sign of procrastination.)
What about you?
- Is there a goal or dream you’d like to get serious about in 2019?
- Are you in the middle of a change or transition?
- Do you know where you want to be and by when?
- Do you know how to separate facts from fantasy, fear and insecurity when it comes to your goals?
Maybe you have a goal, and your real question is how to go about getting from where you are now to where you want to be. Or, maybe you’ve tried doing this in the past, only to find that you haven’t made progress.
If you want to learn more about setting goals, keep reading. If you want to go a step further than learning and start working on your own goals, be sure to click HERE to access our free worksheet at the end of this post.
Let’s get started.
What is a goal? Simply stated,
“the end toward which effort is directed”
-Merriam Webster Dictionary
It is simply a statement (or declaration) about something you want to accomplish. When a goal is stated concisely and with specificity, it becomes a clear guidepost to your efforts. Goal statements might be dreams written on a bucket list, business ideas on a cocktail napkin, or blog concepts on a sticky note. Goals can be complex and take a long time to accomplish and they can be shorter term and reachable in only a few months or a year.
Some goals:
- Run a marathon
- Visit every baseball park in the nation
- Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro
- Get a pilot’s license
What are your specific goals? Now, all we must do to accomplish one of those goals is direct our effort toward those ends, right? Not so fast. These are big and somewhat “fuzzy”. While each could be measured (did I do it or not), none are powerful drivers of actions yet.
What makes a goal more powerful is when it is S.M.A.R.T.
S.M.A.R.T. is an acronym that stands for Specific Measurable Actionable Realistic and Time-bound. Over my years of planning with individuals and organizations, using the frame of a smart goal has always been useful. It takes a “hoped for” future and brings it into focus with edges that help us be accountable.
To take any one of these goals (or your own) to the next level, take a few more minutes to make it S.M.A.R.T. Restate it and fill in the blanks.
My goal is to ______________________________ by ____________.
Example: My goal is to run and finish a marathon by November 2019.
These added details have put parameters on the goal. They tell me my goal is not just entering and starting a marathon. My goal is to finish (so it might take more than one race). Also, I have a goal date – to do this by November 2019. If I am already in shape and running, have no health or other challenges, that could be an easy goal. But, that might not be the case. What adding the specifics to the goal statement does is remove the wiggle room and take the “someday” factor out of the goal.
Clue: as you think about your own goals, pay attention to the “R” in S.M.A.R.T. My years of working with individuals and organizations have shown me it’s an area we have the most trouble, being realistic. We overestimate what we can get accomplished in the short-term and often underestimate what we can achieve over time.
As I mentioned in the beginning, goal setting was not always my strong suit. This has changed over the years through experience and practice. I’m confident that you too can reap the rewards of goal setting with a bit of work and practical advice. Remember to grab our free personal goal setting worksheet by clicking HERE. Forge your path forward, with no limits and no excuses!
