“The thing about goals is that living without them is much more fun in the short run. Though it seems to me that the people who get things done, who lead, who grow and who make an impact… those people have goals.” — Seth Godin

What do you want from life?

Are you just drifting through life? Do you feel you have little or no control over where your life is going? Have you lost your dream? Do you find you are not where you thought you would be?

“It must be borne in mind that the tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goals to reach.” — Benjamin E. Mays.

Maybe it is time for you to rethink what you want and where you want to be in the long and short term.

1. Determine your values:

Please answer the following questions in your journal

1. What do you care most about in life?

2. What matters most to you?

3. What rules do you live by?

4. How would you like things to be 1/5/10 years from now?

5. How does your current behaviour support your values and goals?

6. How does your current behaviour stop you from being the person you want to be?

2. How do I set goals for myself?

S.M.A.R.T is an acronym that you can use to guide your goal setting – it stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely.

Note:

• Set goals that motivate you.
• Write down your goals – create a habit to do that every morning.
• Create an action plan by writing down your steps to achieve that goal.
• Stick to your plan.

How do I do that?

1. Think of the ”big picture” of your life and where you want to be. What do you want to change? Write that down. You can include family, career, finances, education, health, personal development, etc.
2. Now, break up the big picture into smaller parts—what do you need to do and put in place to achieve that big-picture life goal? These goals can be divided into six-month, one–, two–, or five-year goals.
3. Create daily and weekly to-do lists to stay on track with what you planned.

Review your goals every week. They won’t bear fruit if you don’t spend time on them every week.

Make adjustments as you go – rather than giving up.

Resources:

How to write SMART goals