Demystifying Effective Goal-Setting

Ever wondered about the secret to effective goal-setting ?

However simple and easy goal-setting may sound but there's so much more to it than what appears to

be at the outset. Goal-setting is an important process that defines the future course of our life, and therefore should be catered to with full attention and focus. The most basic purpose of goal-setting is to ensure our progress in life and pave the way for us to achieve and accomplish. Agreed, "action" is what helps us achieve and accomplish, but this "action" is a wasted effort if applied on wrongly prioritised/ identified things or tasks. Therefore, it becomes imperative for our success that we set right/ appropriate goals.

Isn't it the case that in full excitement, so many of us set numerous goals during  the onset of new year but only to find ourselves lose steam while pursuing them, during the course of the year, and ultimately ending in agony at having missed accomplishing the goals we set out to achieve ?

To  whatever extent, we may blame other factors for our failure in accomplishing our goals, the fact remains that the simple act of building "clarity" about things could have addressed this issue for us. 

So, the secret to effective goal-setting is CLARITY and this clarity is about the WHAT, WHY and HOW of Goals. Let's look at each of the 3 steps/ elements in detail

WHAT goal/ goals should be established ?

This is the first and foremost thing to to addressed and getting it right will set the tone for the rest of the 2 steps. How would it feel to see our effort and energy go waste just because we spent it on the "wrong" thing ?  It is definitely not a great feeling and plays heavily on our mind and body because a good amount of our emotion, energy and time got consumed on something that did not yield any returns for us. So, is there a way to identify and establish goals that ensure progression for us ? Surely, there is a way and it is quite simple. A quick recall of our passion and purpose could set the ball  rolling for us in terms of  identifying the appropriate goals. Each one of us are passionate about something and live with a bigger purpose in life, something that gets ingrained in us and become a part of our DNA (not literally). For living that big purpose in life require us to identify some practical milestones and these milestones get referred to as goals. So, whenever in doubt about identifying and establishing appropriate goals, think about what milestones would help you live the purpose of your life. Believe me, this could help us come up with plenty of relevant goals and then it's our discretion to pick the ones that matter most in the given context. For example, if my purpose in life is to be an enabler and empowerer of people, then my identified goals would be around Life Coaching, Training, Counselling and Blogging. Basis my SWOT Analysis, i could identify and establish few goals to focus on.

WHY those (identified) goals should be pursued ?

This is all about finding reasons for pursuing the identified goals. Asking ourself the following few relevant questions could help us be better convinced about the established goals 

• How do these goals help me live the larger purpose of my life ?
• What benefits these goals offer to me to help me progress and grow ?

Seeking rationale behind pursuing those identified goals keeps us focused and motivated and the
more direct and specific we get about the returns/ benefits, the better would be our effort for accomplishing these identified goals. For example, if one of my identified goal is to get certification in Life Coaching, then this step is where i start defining the benefits of accomplishing that particular goal. Here, in this example, one of the key benefit might be adding an international credential to my portfolio and opening my offerings to global audience. Anywhere, close to 3 reasons per goal should be convincing enough for us to pursue that goal.

HOW to accomplish the identified goals ?

This step is all about the Action Steps that we need to take for achieving the goals. Getting clear about the steps to take for accomplishing a particular goal makes it easy for us to take action. A goal may just remain a wish in the absence of action and so it becomes very important to identify the actions that will help us in fruition of goals. Anywhere around 5 action steps should be sufficient. Discussing the same example as above, few of the action items for the goal of "getting certified in life coaching" could be to research about the schools/ institutes offering the certification in terms of their validity, duration, fees, content, trainer, etc. Another step in the regard could be to connect with an existing coach to seek their opinion/ suggestion. Here also, SWOT Analysis could help in adopting a more realistic approach to identifying the appropriate action.

Related Articles :

• The Art of Achieving Goals 

• SMART Goal-Setting 

Remember, life is not made merely by setting goals but by achieving them too !

N.B. : The images used in this post are sourced from internet

SMART Goal-Setting (and Goal-Getting)

Goals ? Seriously !

Do we really need them at all in our life ?

Isn't that how many many of us feel about the importance/ relevance of goals in our life ? So many of us live with this notion that life is all action and we can do without goals. Aren't there so many of us who are continuously running without any sight of finish line ! And little do we bother about the destination till life stares us in our face and asks us this - What are you working towards ?

We spend so many precious years of our life, doing something(maybe many things) but achieving nothing (or little). We are living our life in "busyness" but without "business" (Related Post: BUSYNESS : The Utopian Paradox). Without goal(s), our life is like a "rocking chair", which when set in motion, keeps moving to and fro, but doesn't reach anywhere. 

 

Is it justified that we expend our life in working, without knowing what and why of it ? Goals are what brings purpose to our lives and satisfaction to our efforts. The sense of achievement and accomplishment guide our growth and makes our lives meaningful. The sooner we realise the importance of goals in our life, the sooner we will make something worth of our lives.

Let me share why all this talk about goals. It's for the simple reason that goal-setting can't be talked about in isolation, without a reference to goal(s) and goal-setting. Whenever we talk about goals, we need to talk about it from 2 perspective which are, 1. as an entity(noun) and 2. as a process(verb). 

Once we have a clarity about our goal(s), it's time to ensure that we establish it in the right manner and this is where the productivity tool comes into the picture. The tool i want to discuss about is perhaps the most popular and powerful tool for the purpose (of proper goal-setting). The tool is SMART and is an acronym that stands for Smart (S), Measurable (M), Attainable (A), Relevant (R) and Timely (T).

History and Background of SMART

George T. Doran, a consultant and a former Director of Corporate Planning for Washington Water Power Company,  is credited with using the SMART term for the first time in 1981, in his paper for the November issue of the Management Review. The paper was titled "There's a SMART way to write management goals and objectives".   

The initial research on the subject of goal-setting was done in 1960s and in 1968, Dr. Edwin A. Locke published his Goal Setting Theory to establish/ study the link between goal-setting and performance in organisations. The five principles of Locke's Goal-Setting Theory are as follow :

• Clarity - the goal should be specific and clear

• Challenge - the goal shouldn't be too easily achievable and should be such to stretch the person to some extent

• Commitment - the goal should have the buy-in of the stakeholders, right from the beginning/ start

• Feedback - regular and consistent feedback ensures the goal is on track

• Task Complexity - breaking the bigger goal into small and easily manageable and achievable pieces

Elements of SMART

Let's delve deep into the 5 elements of the SMART goal-setting tool

• S - Specific : This element deals with clarity about the outcome, objective and actions. 

• M - Measurable : This element deals with measuring the progress towards accomplishment of the established (specific) goal.

• A - Attainable : This element deals with the resources (skill, knowledge, competency, etc.) needed to accomplish the goal. This is where SWOT analysis could help (Related post: SWOT Matrix : Know Yourself First) 

• R - Relevant : This element deals with determining the alignment of the goal with the overall bigger goal or purpose of life.

• T - Timely/ Time-Bound : This element deals with the timelines/ deadlines/ target dates associated with the goal.

How to create SMART goals ?

Making use of few prompts or asking ourselves relevant questions could help us immensely in creating an effective goal. Let's look at the questions and prompts that could help us

• Specific
• Why do i want to achieve this goal ? (This also is the motivation for pursuing the goal) ?
• What is it that i want to accomplish via this goal ? (making the outcome as specific as possible and going in as much detail as possible would help) ?
• Who all are involved (stakeholders) in the goal ? This is where we need to be clear whether the goal can be achieved through individual effort or other's support/ help is also required ?
• Few optional ones could be 
• When is the goal to be focused upon ? This is relevant if "time frame" is a concern
• Where is the goal to be pursued ? This is relevant if "location" is a concern

• Measurable
• What tangible metrics or methods can be used to measure progress ?
• What are the identified milestones for measuring the progress ?
• What information should be measured ?
• Which "data sources" and "information collection methods" can be used ?
• Which of the two measurement methods - qualitative or quantitative would be most effective for the purpose ?

• Attainable 
• What are my strengths ?
• What are my weaknesses ?
• What resources are needed to accomplish the goal ?
• What competency needs to be focused upon ?

•  Relevant
• What is my purpose in life ?
• Which big goal" am i trying to accomplish ?
• How accomplishing this particular goal help towards achieving the "big goal" ?

• Timely
• How much time is available ?
• How much time is needed for each of the identified mini-goals ?

Please note that the above questions are neither mandatory, nor comprehensive. They are just suggestive and you may make use of any other prompts/ questions for the purpose.

Tips for SMART goal-setting

• Spend sufficient time in gaining clarity about your purpose/ passion in life. A small exercise that could help you in this is as follows -  "Sit in a quiet, comfortable place and position, away from distraction and close your eyes. Now, imagine yourself in future, a few years ahead (3 years/ 5 years) and notice yourself. Note how do you see yourself, in terms of work you are doing, environment you are working in, people you are surrounded with. Start refining the details as much as you can." Practising this consistently would sharpen the image and you would clearer about your passion, about what excites you, about what lies in your subconscious. 

• Don't work on too many goals at a time. Identifying 1-2 goals is preferable and feasible

• If the goal is big, break it into easily manageable mini-goals

• Use rationality and not emotion to choose the goal to work on 

• Ensure that the goal you select aligns with your overall purpose/ passion

• Wherever possible, merge mini-goals is they are aimed at achieving the same outcome.

• Try identifying the MIG (Most Important Goals), maybe 1 or 2. The easiest way to identify MIGs is to look for goals that will have the maximum impact on your life which means achieving those goals would build positive momentum in your life and have positive impact on other areas of your life too.

A bit about Goal -Getting

A set goal is only as good as on paper. There's a tendency to fall in "comfort zone" after setting the goal. Relevant, timely ACTIONS is what will enable us to accomplish the the goals. One of the effective strategies (that i ,also, personally use) is Reverse Planning or Backward Goal-Setting . This is where we start with the end-goal in mind and then work our way backwards. 

Another strategy is to work towards milestones, which comprises of achieving mini-goals. This way, we can control getting overwhelmed about the enormity of the goal and can plan to take mini-steps. Celebrating achieving the mini-goals add to the confidence and takes us closer to our main goal. (Related Post: The Art of Achieving Goals) 

Ending Note 

Remember, the process of goal accomplishment has 3 key stages, as mentioned below and as covered by me in this post. Just reiterating and summarising in a sentence the role of each the 3 stages below:

1. Understanding and Awareness about GOALS - This is the "WHY" of the process

2. Identifying and Setting the GOALS - This is the "WHAT" of the process. (I would cover the tool under this section)

3. Achieving the GOALS - This is the "HOW" of the process

In a nutshell, Goal-Getting to Goal-Setting is all about covering the WHY, WHAT and HOW of the Goals  !

Plenty of templates for SMART Goal-Setting at http://templatelab.com/smart-goals/

N.B. - The images used in this post/ article have been sourced from the internet

I am taking my blog to the next level with Blogchatter's #MyFriendAlexa

When Life Hits An Impasse !

source: www.goodtherapy.org

When our life is brought to a screeching halt and we are thrown in a tizzy, all we wonder is "What now?" . What had so far been a smooth cruise now appears to be a tricky and bumpy ride. Looking further ahead, we see our life engulfed in a cloud of confusion and chaos. This is when the reality hits us that our life has hit an impasse !

The "cul-de-sac" that stares at us in our face and leave us completely blank is in fact a manifestation of our ill-conceived goals and ill-directed actions. Now, when all our goals seem out of sight no clarity of direction, the only way forward is to do course correction.

Hitting a dead-end in life is not the end of the road for us. A little bit of self-probing and self-reflection could help us get our life back on track again. This is the right time to dig deep and identify what's holding us back.

The following could help us explore the root cause:

• Do i feel motivated (at this moment) to pursue the goal ?
• Am i pursuing my existing goals of my own free will ?
• Do i feel overwhelmed/ underwhelmed with my goal(s) ?
• Do i need to rework on my goals - maybe establish a different goal altogether or rework on the existing one ?
• Do i need to establish few mini-goals that will help me be motivated ?
• Are my action items in place ?
• Have i set my priorities right ?
• Have i built the necessary discipline in my daily routine for the tasks that needs to be executed? 
• Have i built a closure (timeline/ deadline) for the tasks identified by me? 
• Have i identified all the available options ?
• Do i have a mechanism in place for feedback ?

Pondering over the above questions could help us pin point where exactly the problem lies - whether in our goals, action items or time. Once the root cause is identified then its not difficult to do the necessary course correction and go beyond the impasse !

GOALS ensure GROWTH#AtoZChallenge

G is for GOALS

Our Success and growth in life is measured by our accomplishments which are represented by our goals. The forward momentum in life is an outcome of our action towards our goals. GOALS are like the checkpoints in our life which tell us whether we are moving in the direction of our identified purpose. GOALS hold importance in our lives as they act as the roadmaps for us . They are like the destination points in our lives. The absence of GOALS could be related to a rocking chair, which keeps moving but not achieving anything.     

Why GOALS are important ?

• They define purpose in our lives
• They give direction to our efforts
• They help us move forward
• They turn us into achievers
• They help us maintain work-life balance by helping us focus on all spheres of life
• They provide us confidence, raise our self-esteem, turn us into a go-getter.
• They make us dream big (and achieve it too !)

How to achieve GOALS ?

• Set realistic and achievable goals well aligned with our passion and purpose
• Ensure that goals are holistic in nature encompassing all major spheres of our life
• Break goals into short, medium and long-term to make them more achievable and manageable
• Get rid of distractions/ deterrents and build focus towards the goals
• Set Goals that are challenging (but achievable) and within our available resources
• Make a transition from goal-setting to goal-getting as mere planning would not ensure achievement/ completion of the tasks.
• Inculcate the habit of writing down goals. This would activate the RAS (Reticular Activating System) which would ensure that our brain start focusing on the goals.
• Internalising our goals through Creative Imagery. Imagining ourself as having already achieved the goal(s) through all our senses make it appear real to our subconscious which helps in taking positive actions.
• Reinforcing self with positive affirmations whenever we achieve a mini-goal will keep us focused on taking necessary actions for accomplishing major/ BIG goals.

So GET SET and GO for your GOALS !