When people think of accomplishing goals, they think of the ambitious entrepreneur trying to build a successful company or the aggressive corporate executive looking to climb the ladder of success.
Goals can be used by anyone who wants to develop a career focus, reach financial objectives or even improve on personal lives.
The most important step in this process is to begin by writing down your goals. Most people don’t really do enough of this. In fact, it’s been studied that just about 5% of the American population have their goals written down.
World’s successful persons are on one page in saying that to be successful you need to jot down your goals on a paper frequently so that your career can be given a specific direction.
Why written goal is important
A number of people prepare written will and deeds. By means of a will, we want to tell people what we wanted to do. The written document work for us when we no longer exist.
It’s important to always make sure your thought process is “okay, what do I want going forward?” Your subconscious’ only duty really is to carry out instructions, and in the process, it will automatically help you determine right or wrong.
That is of course if you’re consciously sane. The more positive directives you give your mind, the more constructive would be the results.
You see, when you write a goal down, you become more emotionally committed to making it happen.
The act of putting thoughts into something tangible creates an instinctual bond between your mind and what you’re trying to accomplish.
Hand-eye coordination is a reinforcement tool for learning, similar to how studies demonstrate that chewing gum during studying may help during test taking (that is of course if you’re chewing gum again).
And it’s very important to be thorough in your goal planning process; make sure to incorporate gradual targets and visualize short-term objectives and obstacles.
Without short-term planning, there really is no viability. If you’re having trouble meeting these short-term objectives, make sure you have a method that allows edits and updates.
As you move along, there’s a great chance that you’ll want to change your current targets. Likewise, it’s very important that you have an opportunity to develop new ones based on your previous assignments.
Multiple pages of goals can be confusing and disorganized, causing you to lose sight of what you’re really trying to do. And this doesn’t mean to type them out.
It’s been said that writing actually promotes more a more efficient and clear thought process. If you’d like a backup of your written records, feel free to supplement them with electronic records.
If you’re really tech-savvy, you can use your smartphone for writing things down digitally.
Next, your goals need to be realistic to be achievable. So if one of your goals is to triple your salary in one year without a realistic plan for accomplishing that goal, then it will only serve to de-motivate you as opposed to motivating you.
Analyze your situation and create realistic goals that you know you can achieve.
If you’re a procrastinator, make sure you write down your goals in the present tense as well. Saying “I will do this…” can only lead to lack of success.
And don’t hesitate to go back and look at previous goals. Using previous achievements as standards for the future is vital.
For example, if you’re prominent investment manager and you’re looking to increase revenues for the current fiscal year, you may want to look back to previous years’ strategies to see exactly where you stood.
Of course, backtracking can also help you locate obstacles that once stood in your way.
This will give you the ability to foresee similar impediments and challenges that may be in store for you in the near future.
Using the same example, perhaps there was a market scare that caused folks to pull funds – Mr. Zwirn could always avoid these types of ill-fated investments in the future.
Last but not least, writing down your goals presents the opportunity for you to practice repetition, which is vital in any learning process.
In other words, be sure to always jot down your goals more than once, and recite them aloud if you have to. If you’re a visual learner, perhaps you’ll want to try accompanying your written goals with images.
The process of establishing business goals is dynamic, and it inspires you to continually improve your skill set and your status. Put your goals in a notebook that you can refer to on a regular basis and make any notes or changes as you go along.
Writing down your goals and creating a comprehensive plan for achieving those goals puts them on paper for you to see every day. Post your goals at your desk at work and on your bedroom wall at home.
Use those written goals as the inspiration you will need to move your career or business forward towards your idea of success.
Like everybody, I have my goals. Although I haven’t written anything which is not my work-related goals. It’s not a bad idea and I should try this sooner.
A goal on paper, as opposed to a goal in mind, should make me more eager to accomplish your goal.
I am very successful with goals and I keep them in front of me constantly. It is a good way to keep me focused on them. I constantly monitor my progress and adjust my efforts to reach the goals.
Do you just try to reach it or exceed it if possible. Say you reached your goal before time, what would you do?
I have found writing my goals for my site has really kept me focused on achieving them! Great tips!
I shamelessly admit I don’t have a written goal for my blog
There’s nothing like putting pencil to the paper and writing it out to make things feel more real! 😉
Yes definitely, more real and easier to memorize and rehearse
The idea of writing a journal may seem childish and a waste a time. However, the benefits obtained, especially for goals setting, are anything but a waste of time. A large percentage of the worlds greatest achievers and successful people have all kept journals or written about themselves and their lives on a daily basis.
That’s a very good observation Mark. Thanks for the comment
I am planning to do just that! Assess myself in writing and set goals in writing, i.e. on my blog. At least later I can go back and re-read and remind myself what I really want to achieve.
Its a wonderful way to use blogging for self improvement. I saw many blogger doing that.