Time-Tested Goal Setting and Motivation
Strategies
Part 1 of 2
Goal setting and motivation go hand in hand. Goals help us keep our lives on track. Like anything else in life, it can be hard to stay motivated... especially when something goes wrong. This article will help you learn some time-tested ways to set effective goals and then stay motivated while you work through them.
Goals are important and everyone has them. They are the stepping-stones to having a life that makes us happy and a life that has meaning. If you do not aim for something, you might feel like you are drifting aimlessly through life. Similarly, if you know what you want but have not clearly defined it…you will end up feeling frustrated and even lost.
Knowing where you want to be in life is one thing, but until you take steps to achieve it, you will find that it is harder to accomplish your objectives. When you employ personal goal setting around where you want to be, that serves as a road map for you to follow.
Every big goal can be broken down into smaller goal setting activities that lead to your ultimate objective. For example, you might want to open your own restaurant. Begin by aiming for smaller objectives. Those might be attending a culinary school, working in a restaurant, managing a restaurant... and then ultimately owning your own restaurant.
Getting Started...
Goal setting and motivation begin with setting some clear objectives for yourself. Goals are merely desired results that you want for yourself. They can be set around things related to education, career, relationships, to health...or even material things. There is nothing wrong with creating a goal for having a car… or owning your own home. Similarly, there are none too big or too small.
Your goals will evolve and change as you reach your desired objectives, create new ones or change course. They are a work in progress… so do not worry about leaving off something. You can always add to it later. For now, just write down your goals…they must be in writing.
Once you have them written down, you can begin to prioritize. What are your short-term and long terms goals that you have recorded? Go through your list and number each according its importance. Number 1 will be the most vital goals and Number 10 being those that are of least importance.
Once you have your goals sorted by priority, you can now further classify them by their time frame importance. Which ones need to be done within seven days, thirty days, six months, one year, two years, five years, and over five years? You can designate any time frame that you want. Just sort them out by what time frame you would like each goal to be accomplished.
Remember, when goal setting, break each one into small steps. The advantage of doing this is two-fold. First, it keeps you motivated. As you accomplish each smaller step, you are motivated to continue. Secondly, when you are looking at a list of big goals, it can seem overwhelming and daunting. Breaking down your larger goals into smaller ones makes them more manageable.
Go to Part 2 of Goal Setting and Motivation
Go To Goal Setting Tips and Strategies
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