Goal Setting for Achieving the Life you Desire!

The end of another year not only brings a new year of opportunities but as well a time to reflect on the lessons learned in 2013. It also a great time to think about what you want in life and to realize what truly makes you happy. I’m not one for setting New Years resolutions however this time of year is a great opportunity to think about your future and to set realistic goals to turn your vision into reality.

Goal-setting is an essential and powerful tool for everyone who wants to achieve their ambitions and desires and to create the inspired life they dream of! Setting goals can help you focus on what’s most important, increase your effort and motivation to stick with your plan, consider new strategies regarding how to accomplish your goals and help you track your progress.

As we all know, setting goals is the easy part, executing and achieving them is the biggest challenge. I’m here to inspire and empower you to think more authentically and to identify steps to achieve and live the life you dream of. Whether you want to have amazing relationships with yourself, your partner, friends, family and coworkers, to embrace your ideal physique, to improve your health and create balance, to find a career that inspires you daily or to pick up the pieces of a broken life I’m here to help empower you and reveal your happiness and confidence.

I want you to think of the people in your life that you would consider a role model such as family, friends, coworkers, working Moms, coaches, athletes, mentors and even celebrities etc… someone who you consider to be a role model who you look up to and are inspired by and ask yourself these questions; Do you think they set goals that helped them get to where they are in life? What goals do you think they set? What advice do you think they would give you about goal settings? Have you ever set goals in fitness, health, school, work, relationships or other areas of your life?  If not, why?

Three Simple Steps to Achieving Your Goals

Step One…

Create your big “picture” of how you see your life.  How do you want to feel? How do you want to look?  Who will be the people involved? Think of the largest goals you would like to achieve in your lifetime. This will give you the overall picture and will guide you with the decisions you will be making in the near future.

Think of the following areas of your life in which you would like to set goals and take the time to brainstorm what you genuinely want to achieve.

• Physical & Health – What health & fitness goals do you have? Do you want to look better? Do you want to improve your health?
• Career – What do you want to achieve in your career?
• Family – How do you want to best spend your time with family? Do you want a family? If so, how do you see yourself as a parent?
• Life Outlook (Spirituality)– How do you see life? Is the glass half empty or half full? What is your attitude on life? How would you like to improve?
• Relationships – Who are your social connections? Do you plan time with a significant other? Are your connections becoming stronger?
• Pleasure – How do you want to enjoy your life? What makes you happy?
• Education – What skills and education do you need to grow and to achieve these goals?

Step Two…

After you have created your lifetime goals you need to break these down to smaller goals that will help you achieve the larger goals in life. Start by setting a 5-year plan, 1 year, monthly, weekly and daily to help you achieve these goals. Then once you have done this create a checklist of what you want to achieve each month, week and day to work towards these lifetime achievements.

Goal Setting Examples….

Fitness & Health – Run a Marathon and feel Healthy!

1 Year Goal: Successfully complete a marathon and feel fit and healthy!

6 month Goal: Plan a 10 K race

3 month Goal: Run 5 km without stopping

1-Month Goal: Incorporate a consistent training and running program into my daily/weekly routine

1 Week Goal: Speak with a qualified trainer to help set out goals and training required to accomplish a marathon.

Career – Become Account Manager of the company I work for

5-Year Goal: Become Account Manager

1 Year Goal: Volunteer for projects that the account director and manager are organizing.

6 Month Goal: Take courses that are required for the position and that will build my business and sales skills.

1 Month Goal: Talk to the current manager to determine the skills and experience needed for this position.

1 Week Goal: Book a meeting with my account manager.

Be sure that you review your plan on a daily basis to make sure that it suits your current life and that it is realistic in accomplishing.

Step Three…

Once you have your plan in place it is time to take the necessary steps to achieve these goals. It is also important to review your goals and steps that you have planned out on a daily basis and to make adjustments as you progress.  Ask yourself; what works? What does not work? How can I improve my progression?

Setting SMART Goals

One of the most effective tools to help achieve your goals realistically is by following the SMART mnemonic. By learning how to set your goals based on the SMART method can make the difference between failure and success!

S – Specific – Set goals that are well defined and focused

M – Measurable – Know the completion date of your goal and measure your progress to be sure that you are on track

A – Attainable – Goals must be realistic and attainable

R – Relevant – Your goals must be an important tool in the larger “picture” of reaching your vision.

T – Time Bound – Goals must have starting points and ending points. Deadlines will help you keep focused on your efforts before the due date.

Tips For Setting Your Goals

• Create specific, measurable goals
• Set both long- and short-term goals
• Set positive, not negative goals
• Make goals moderately difficult
• Create target dates to achieve goals
• Create strategies to achieve goals
• Write down your goals and make them visible on a daily basis
• Share goals publicly (trainers, family members, mentors) to obtain support from others
• Track goal progress and being flexible in changing goals, if needed

If you haven’t already been setting goals for your future, today is the best day to start! As you make this technique a part of your life you will be amazed at how easy it gets and most importantly what you are capable of achieving whether it is with health & fitness, career or relationships.

 “The difference between the possible and the impossible lie in a man’s determination. Set your goals in life, and go after them with all the drive, self confidence, and determination that you possess.” ~ Tommy Lasorda