Going for Goal

When you were a child did you ever do the experiment where you took a magnifying glass, caught the sun in it and burnt a few twigs? Setting goals can be likened to this concentrating the rays of the sun into a force powerful enough to start a fire. Goals provide both our conscious and unconscious mind with a focus that compels action, and unleashes our inner motivation because they enable clarity of vision, and install a sense of purpose. The best goals are those that completely compliment your values and mission, and their accomplishment contributes to a greater sense of overall satisfaction and motivation both professionally and personally. If your goals aren’t exciting and energising then the likelihood of you achieving them is dramatically reduced.

It is this time of year, as we all return to work and try and shake of the No More Christmas Blues, get our head into a work space and set the goals for the coming year. How many of us made new years resolutions to hit the gym and get fit? How many of use decided that the work load that had been piling up before the break was then going to break you and now your going to break it?

Setting goals is a fundamental part of success, how do we know we have been successful if we didn’t even know what we wanted to achieve. I have already started to to set some short terms goals and am quite proud of already achieving some of them. The gym attendance fell by the wayside around 10th jan so it’s not that one. professionally I’m on a roll and have got so much done in the first two weeks of the year, all to do with the goals I had set myself for the month. Goals can be long term or short term, goals for a day, a week, a month or a year. Lot’s of businesses set themselves out in three to five year plans.

Although it is really important to set yourself goals, just setting them doesn’t mean that you will achieve them. This 5 step process can be a very useful guide that helps the accomplishment of any goal:

1 Set your goal

Decide what it is you want to achieve and why you want to achieve it, you are more likely yo achieve a goal if you know exactly what you want to do. Does it excite you? Do you want to achieve it? How motivated by your goal are you?

2 Take Action

You haven’t started them yet, are the goals going to take care of themselves or your going to start them tomorrow? it may be obvious to say Take Action but how many times has a goal been sat waiting for you? Set yourself some mid way points and get going

3 Notice when you actions work

Be aware of what you are doing and be observant of what is happening around you. Check that what you are doing is moving you forward towards achieving your goals

4 Be Flexible

Adapt your approach if needed. be prepared to change your actions if you are not on course for goal achievement. If your actions aren’t serving you well, change them

5 Be Excellent

Take on the belief that you are excellent and everything you do is from a point of excellence. If your goal is worth doing it is worth doing to the best of your ability.

So give yourself this “High 5” and just watch how successful you will be in 2013

Ric Hayden, LearningCog