Goal Setting Hacks

Goal Setting Hacks

This article will provide you with 10 goal setting hacks to help you achieve success.  These goal setting hacks should be kept in mind as you set your long term and short term goals.

Goal setting is a motivational technique of identifying what you want to accomplish and establishing an action plan to guide you toward a goal.  Goals are usually not attainable overnight so patience is a very important aspect of the goal setting process.

Here are 10 essential goal setting hacks to keep you on the right path:

ONE
Set clear goals.  Decide exactly what you want to achieve and then set your goal.  Another vital factor to consider when goal setting is separating what's important from what's irrelevant.  A specific goal has more chances to be accomplished than a general goal.  Specific goals helps to give you direction and develop an effective plan.  Vague goals do not take into account where you currently are.  To figure out where you currently are you need to have some firm data or statistics.

"You can't make it in life as a wondering generality.  You have to become a meaningful specific." -Zig Ziglar

TWO
Stay committed.  Make a list of daily distractors and delete them.  If you want to achieve the goals that you set you must remain focused and stay committed.  You have to determine the 'why' for your goal to help you stay committed.  Why do you want to achieve your goal? Anytime you feel like giving up you must remind yourself why you set the goal in the first place.  Using an image to remind yourself exactly why you must accomplish your goal will help you stay committed.

"If my son is happy, then I am happy." -Chris Paul

THREE
Measure your progress.  Develop benchmarks to be sure you can measure your progress toward reaching your goal.  What gets measured gets managed.  If we are unaware of what is happening how will we be able to make necessary changes.  Analyze your progress and use the information that you gain to develop insight to help you achieve your goals.

"The number one reason why people give up so fast is because they tend to look at how far  they still have to go instead of how far they have gotten." -Vaibhav Shah

FOUR
Be organized.  Organizing your time can help you execute your goals.  Good organization will help you save more time which will enable you to achieve more goals.  When we are organized we are in control.  Organized your day every morning by making a plan for your day.  Organization is about reducing stress and clutter to make space for efficiency and opportunity.

"Science is organized knowledge.  Wisdom is organized life."  -Immanuel Kant

FIVE
Communication is vital.  Goal setting requires communication.  You must be able to communication with the people in your life that are able to help you achieve your goals.  Many of us ignore the importance of communication because it can feel uncomfortable or uneasy.  The key is finding comfort in our discomfort.  The more we do it, the easier it will become.

"Communication, the human connection, is the key to personal and career success." -Paul J. Meyer

SIX

Build a team of supporters.  Knowing that other are monitoring your results ensures commitment to your goal and serves as motivation.  You can only accomplish a specific amount alone whereas you can achieve the impossible with an effective team.  This factor is seen in sports: Players that are able to make their teams better are the most successful whereas selfish players end up on the bench.

"Unity is strength.  When there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved." -Mattie J.T. Stepanek

SEVEN
Be flexible.  Goal setting is a continuous process not just a means to an end.  Your end destination may not change over the long term yet the action plan you set for yourself can change significantly.  Instead of remaining stuck in old behaviors be willing to change your mind and be open to the opportunities that exist beyond fixed patterns.  As opposed to fighting the old start building the new.  Innovation is change that unlocks new value.

"Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape." -Michael McGriffy

EIGHT
Keep your end goal in mind.  Develop a personal mission statement to keep your goals in focus and to maintain a clear vision of your destination.  It always seems impossible until it is done.  You must be able to envision in your mind what you are unable to see with your eyes.  Many of us fail to strengthen our mentalities and only focus on what we are able to see in the physical.  Focus on your mental being as opposed to a desired physical creation.

"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." -Henry Ford

NINE
Do not get discouraged.  Goal setting is a path not your destination.  Just because it is stormy now does not mean you are not headed for sunshine.  Until you are broken you will never be able to see what you are made of.  When obstacles arise consider them opportunities to rebuild yourself in a more effective manner.  You have to have faith that you were given this life because you are strong enough to handle it.

"I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward." -Thomas Alva Edison

TEN
Set short-term and long-term goals.  Goal setting gives you long-term vision and short-term motivation.  Many of us are overwhelmed by our long-term goals therefore we must break them down into short-term goals.  When these short-term goals are combined your ultimate goal will be achieved.  On the contrary long-term goals can be used to consider the bigger picture when we face difficulties achieving our short-term goals.

"You must have long-term goals to keep you from being frustrated by short-term failures." -Charles C. Noble