Goal Setting – The first step (Lakshya toh har hal mein pana hai)

“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.”    -Jim Rohn

“This one step – choosing a goal and sticking to it – changes everything.”    – Scott Reed

Everyone has some unique strength and once they decide to do anything, no one can stop them. The zeal inside you could drive it, but only they need to set some goal for themselves. There are two things that matter most: Desire and motive. Desire is what we want and motives tell us why we want it. So setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible. A goal without a plan is just a wish list. We should not have even any moment without having any goal. Without a goal, we are like wandering. So we have to set some targets for ourselves and keep checking our progress and where we stand to achieve our goals.

If someone wants to achieve something in their life they need to set some SMART goals. The goal should be SMART, what does SMART (acronym) mean:

Specific– The goal must be clear and well-defined. Vague or generalized goals are unhelpful because they don’t provide good direction.

Measurable – The goal should be precise amounts, dates, and so on in your goals so you can measure your degree of success. There should be some criteria defined define to check the progress of the goal. This is prominent that we keep checking the progress and work as per the need to achieve the goal.

Achievable– Make sure that it’s possible to achieve the goals you set. If you set a goal that you have no hope of achieving, you will only demoralize yourself and erode your confidence. For instance, if you are going to the gym for the first day you should not choose a 25kg dumbbell. We should start with less weight and slow progress. So the goal should be within our capacity.

Realistic – Goals should be relevant to the direction you want your life and career to take. By keeping goals aligned with this, you’ll develop the focus you need to get ahead and do what you want. The goal should not be a wishful dream, it should be realistic.

Timely – Your goals must have a deadline. There should be some date which you have to chase. The goal cannot be left endlessly.

The goal can be short-term and long-term. We should have set both short-term and long-term goals. There are five basic steps that we should follow for the goals set:

1. Set Goals That Motivate You – This is essential that goals should be linked with your own motivation, else you won’t be committed to the goals.
2. Set SMART Goals (as defined above). –
3. Set Goals in Writing. – Generally, writing journals helps to make you committed and motivates you regularly. So everyone should write the goals and keep writing the progress and work on the gap as per the plan.
4. Make an Action Plan and follow it – We should have a brief plan for both short team goals and long-term goals. Short-term goals should be validated every day and long term can be validated on a weekly or monthly basis.
5. Stick with It! – People perform better when they are committed to achieving certain goals. Another aspect that goes with goal commitment is also goal acceptance.

Guys, once goals are set and a brief plan are ready so you have already taken the first step toward success. All you need to keep chasing the goals and keep validating progress as per the plan. Goals can be life goals, behavior changes, relationship improvement, a passion that you want to add to your life, or an aspiration for a career. Wishing you great success in setting your goals.