Course Content
Section 4 – How to define your goals
How to define your goals
Now that you have understood the meaning and types of goals let us look at the next step. Defining your goals.
Clarity and believe
When you define your goal, it gives you some clarity of what you want to achieve and how to make it. You also understand what kind of steps and measures you would need to take to achieve your goal. Apart from having clarity, you also need to believe in your goal. The minute you start believing in it, you will begin finding the right ways to achieve your goal.
Measures and Action Plans
The measures and action plans you make are supposed to be very precise. These can include safety precautions, life-changing decisions, work opportunities, etc. Since you have the main goal in mind, you would need to switch from one path to another until you have found the right way to take you to your goal.
Evaluate and Re-evaluate
Setting goals is not about only clarity and measures. It is also about evaluating and re-evaluating your steps based on the present conditions/situations. Remember, life is all about self-discovery, and when you are trying to achieve your goal, you also need to discover yourself. By evaluating and re-evaluating your steps, you will understand where you have gone wrong and how to mend your ways.
Realistic and achievable
There are goals, and there are realistic goals. I would like to deviate a little bit. To help you understand realistic goals, let us look at a small situation.
A friend of yours bought a car worth Rs. Five lacks. She shows it off to the entire group with pride. Now you get inspired and start making a goal in your mind to achieve something on the same range. This is a good sign, as you have found a meaning for your life. But if you want to accomplish the same thing only to prove that you can do it as well, it is called showing off, then that is not a realistic goal, it is agreed or ego.
Your goals have to be realistic without no end motive of putting someone else down. It should be achievable and realistic but only to make you a better person. The minute your end goal has an element of negativity that is not a goal but just a want or a need for short-term happiness.
Rules to achieve your goals
Now we come to the most interesting part of this course, the rules to help you achieve your goals. These rules are a few reminders that will help you when you work towards achieving your goal.
- Set and achieve stretch goals helps you define your goals with clarity.
If you remember, we had spoken about different types of goals. To achieve their goal, they need to have a blend of all three main goals. You have to be clear in your mind about how you plan to work your way through the path of achievement.
- Write your goals down
It is not enough to just think about your goal; you need to remind yourself about it. Writing down your goals will give you a sense of direction. It will also help you to focus and achieve each of them one by one.
Make sure your goals are consistent with your gifts and talents
When you have goals consistent with your abilities and gifts, it becomes easy for you to pave your way. Aiming at something that is not even in your zone will only add pressure to your head. Do things in which your heart lies. You will see the best side of you coming out. For example, if you’re good at painting, you can opt for being an architect, painter, graphic designer, etc. But aiming to be a lawyer when you are not even good at it will only make your life complicated.
Don’t let other people talk you out of your goals
Too many cooks spoil the broth- this is a very true saying. The more you listen to others, the more you will get confused. If you want to do something, go ahead and do it. Do not do something because somebody else wants you to.
You have to be persistent in the face of failure; you see failure is not the end.
As much as people look down on failure, the fact is failures are the stepping stones of life. Every time you fail, it does not mean that you are not worth it or useless. It means that 1. Either you are on the wrong path or 2. You have to try out a new way of doing things. Failure teaches you how to become a better person as long as you learn never to give up.
Let the goal-seeking mechanism do its work take the pressure off stop worrying about
When you start to worry, you block your mind; this will only take you away from your path. As long as you stop worrying and solely focus on your goals, you will find that it will become easy for you to achieve it. Worrying is like the ripples in the water when you throw a stone, it takes the water to different directions and creates illusions.
Have belief in your desire and your achievement drive
When you have belief, you can shift mountains, overcome obstacles, and meet challenges head-on. The belief has to be in yourself. You should focus only on things that will help you achieve your goal. Although the path may be tough, time-consuming, and frustrating, it may involve a lot of hard work. In the end, you will bear the fruits of your patience.