Goal Setting

By Jane Lovas on January 28, 2010

Guest Blogger Jane Lovas' weekly series called “What I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Life and Career” runs each Thursday.

Are you aware that one of the simplest things you can do to increase your chances of success are creating your goals, beginning to list the actions you need to take to accomplish them and then reviewing them daily?

If you’re not up to that, even taking the time to create a list of what you’d like to accomplish can be a big help.

One of the reasons setting goals is so powerful is that it makes you think about what you want your life to look like instead of just moving through life with no plan. Making that decision is similar to getting behind the wheel in your car; you are in control, you decide where the car is going.

Here are some simple steps to doing your own goal setting session. (Suggested Supplies: 2 inch square sticky notes, pens (lots of colors), wall space, sticky easel pads, large year at a glance calendar, and notebook)

1. Write down your vision statement. (If you haven’t created a vision statement, begin with the goals you want to accomplish now. You can visit my blog at blog.janelovas.com and read the article about creating a vision statement.)

2. Start listing your goals - you can use the following categories or modify them as you see fit.

Using the sticky notes write down one goal and the category per sticky note along (or use a color for each category), do this quickly, making sure you write each goal as a positive statement in the present or past. Such as: I have a new job making $50,000 per year. Or I can do 100 pushups. Sometimes it helps to just start jotting down the main idea for example in the travel section maybe you jot down the places you want to visit.

1. Business/Career
2. Relationships/Family
3. Education/Community
4. Travel/Recreation
5. Health/Fitness
6. Spiritual

Write down at least 6 goals in each category.

3. Compare the goals to your vision statement - do they support your vision statement? You want to make sure all your goals are in alignment with your vision statement and your other goals. (If you don’t have a vision statement at this time you’ll skip this step.)

4. Determine which goals you want to focus on this year and which ones are 3 and 5 year goals. 
Add by-when dates to your goals (this is the date by which you want your goal accomplished.)

5. Focusing on the goals for this year - create an Imagination Movie, this is a Technicolor movie in your imagination of what your life will look like with these goals accomplished. Use as many of your senses as you can, get it real, making sure you are center stage.

6. Write a Living Vision. This is a write up of what your life will be like when your goals are accomplished. Make sure to write it in the present tense. Write it as if it is already true. Have fun with it, be a descriptive as possible.

7. Write down the action items that you know to do for each goal that you want to accomplish this year.

One way to do this is to transfer each of your sticky note goals to a page in your notebook and then list what you need to do and how long you think it might take you to do it.

For some of the goals you might only know a couple of steps that you need to take, such as talk to someone or find and read a book, that’s ok. Start with what you know and as you make progress the next steps will show up.

8. On the calendar write down when you intend to accomplish your goals. (One of those huge write on calendars is great for this or the fold out year at a glance, or even make one with the easel pads (write 1 – 31 across the top, and Jan – Dec down the side)

As you start laying your goals out on the calendar you might need to begin modifying the dates – you’ll probably want things spread out throughout the year.

9. Next add the action items to your calendar.

10. You're done for now! You now have a calendar with the steps that you need to start taking all laid out.

11. Hang your calendar where you can see it on a daily basis.

12. Every day read your Living Vision and re-play your Imagination Movie.

13. At least twice a month review your goals and calendar and make any updates. Some things might be moving faster and others slower adjust the dates and keep moving forward.

14. Celebrate as you reach each goal.

I know I said this was simple and this looks like it could be a lot of work. I can assure you the work really is in deciding what you want your life to look like. Have some fun with it call a couple of friends and work on your goals at the same time. Then watch what happens this year!

Feel free to email me with any questions, or even better let me know how much progress you’ve made.

Have a great week.

Jane Lovas is a career specialist who is the creator of the life changing 12 week tele-seminar “Creating the Life of Your Dreams”. She is also our guest blogger, whose column will run every Thursday. If you would like to contact Jane, you can reach her here, here or here

"Self portrait: Goal!" courtesy pigsontheinguk via Flickr Creative Commons