Personal Goals

Setting personal goals is a strategy which helps you to look forward and make constructive and realistic plans for the future. Goal setting puts you in the drivers' seat of your life - you are in control and taking an active role in where you are going. Goal setting helps you to crystallise what is important to you.

The first step in setting life goals is to sit down and think about what you'd like to achieve. You can split this into short, medium, and long term goals, and you can also divide the goals into different life areas. A sample format for goal setting is over the page.

Once you have decided on your goals, make them achievable by following this process:

Rank your goals in order of personal importance
Spot incompatible goals and select the most important to you, or try to adjust both goals to come to a compromise. For example, if one of your goals is to have a baby before the end of the year, but you also have a goal to trek to Nepal in October, a compromise needs to be made. For example, you could plan to go to Nepal sooner than October. Or, plan on taking the baby to Nepal!
Focus on one goal at a time. Either start with the most urgent or the most meaningful goal. It's better to achieve one goal at a time than to race headfirst into trying to achieve 50 things before breakfast. That's the way to burnout, not to sustained success!
Be specific about what you want to achieve. This is the difference between a goal and a dream. For example, saying to yourself that you want to be rich is a dream. But if you come up with more specific information, such as "I want to enrol in a property investment course", then it becomes a goal which you can work towards.
Decide whether you goal is achievable as it is or whether it needs to be broken down into smaller steps. For example, if your goal is to get a promotion, you could break this down into: prepare a case to argue for a promotion, make an appointment to discuss the idea with your boss, come to an agreement or compromise with the boss.
Plan specific time frames for each goal to be met. For example: "by the end of the weekend, I would have researched potential property investment courses". And don't forget to stick to these rules! Don't allow yourself to get sidetracked by anything else, and don't buy into avoidance. Remember, achieving this goal is your number one priority, so make sure you behave as if it is!
Evaluate your success in carrying out the goal. If you have completely achieved your goal, congratulate yourself on a job well done! This suggests that you have been realistic with your goal setting, and haven't set impossible tasks for yourself. If your goal has not been fully achieved, assess why. Was the failure due to something entirely out of your hands (e.g., your boss is holidaying in Spain and no-one knows when he'll be back), or was the difficulty due to the goal being too complex? If it is the former, you may need to use problem solving to come to an alternative solution. If it is the latter, break the goal down into smaller objectives, or attempt to address it from a different angle. This doesn't mean you've "failed" - don't give up! Good coping is all about stick-to-itiveness. You know the saying - if at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

Other effective ways to stick to your goals:

Time Management
Problem Solving

My Personal Goals

	Next week	Next month	Next 6 months	Next year
Relationships/Family
Work
Recreation/Hobbies
Friends/social
Learning
Health
Financial
Spiritual
Other

Feel free to extend your goals past 12 months - the sky's the limit!