Why do you need to set GOALS?
Question that I mostly come across is “why do I need a goal setting?”, in this dynamic world the only thing that is constant is CHANGE. So why set goals? Answer is simple, you need to know what you want and how you want to do it, how to break it down with timelines. You cannot get what you want unless you know WHEN, WHAT & HOW you want, which is nothing but setting GOALS.
What do you Need for setting GOALS?
Identify what is it that you really want is
By when you want
Develop a plan to meet it
HOW TO set Goals?
Your GOAL need to be SMART…. Wondering what it is??? Read on to know more…
S – Your goals have to be SPECIFIC. Most often we think we know what we want, but when it comes to putting down on paper we struggle with our thoughts. Goals have to be specific and not vague like “I want to move higher up the corporate ladder” is vague, now compare it against a Goal which says “I want to be a Manager” sounds more specific??
M – Your goals need to be MEASUREABLE. We often have goals but mostly lack when it comes to measuring the same. We often hear people saying “I want to lose weight” but that’s a very wide term, you need to break this down into measurable goals. Like “I want to lose 20lbs” Now when you put a measure, you know if you are getting where you have to. Always remember, you are only as good as your results
A – ATTAINABLE. We are too ambitious when setting Goals and stretch the limits, however it is most important to realize that a GOAL should always be attainable, not something which you know for sure you will never be able to achieve in the given timeline.
R – REALISTIC. A Goal has to be realistic. We most often set goals which may practically not be realistic. Like say get from an Executive level to a VP of the organization is a timeline of 1 year. This goal could be broken into several goals where the immediate goal should be to reach to the next level and what needs to be done to get there. Final goal being a VP maybe in 5-6years time. Goals need to be realistic in order to make it more practical and attainable
T – TIMELINE. Last but never the least, the most important. We most often make goals however fail to have timelines or probably don’t meet them rigorously. Every time a timeline is missed, the reasons need to be analyzed and if required re-visit your goals and make changes accordingly.
So make sure your goal is SMART and that it gives you a direction as to where you need to go and how to get there.
In today’s world with CHANGE being the only constant thing, what we set as Goals today may completely be irrelevant tomorrow. It is important that, you constantly need to re-look and re-visit your goals. If at any point in time you find that the Goal is no-longer relevant or need to be altered, do the same.
