Goals are set to push us to become better. They are set to motivate us and stretch us to improve. And with recent events centered around goal setting, what better time to assess what goals we are setting for ourselves and how we can perform to the best of our abilities?
Do you have a professional goal in mind but not sure exactly how you are going to reach it? Close your eyes and think about what you would consider to be a success in your career. Go ahead…close your eyes and think about it for 10 seconds, I will wait. Got it? Ok, maybe you want to become an accomplished entrepreneur. Maybe you want to be an extraordinary sales person. Or maybe you want to successfully run your own business. Whatever it is you want to excel at, you have got to define your steps to success so your dream can become a reality.
What should your goal be?
To help you clarify whether or not this thing you want to do is actually something you can excel at, and something you’ll enjoy doing long term, you should start by asking yourself a few questions:
- What do I most enjoy doing?
- If I could have any job in the world what would it be?
- If money was out of the equation what would I choose to be doing?
- What do I excel at?
Hopefully you can use the answers to these questions to determine the right direction for your life. You want to find something you’re motivated about committing yourself to. Ask yourself where you want to be in five years. In ten years. What kind of people do you most admire? Who would you like to emulate? If the answers to these self-reflective questions point in the direction of your overall goal, then you are headed in the right direction.
Personal mission statements
Your mission statement should be a clear description of your end goal and the person you intend to be in the process of accomplishing it. For example, you might say. “I intend to be the most successful salesperson in the North East. I will accomplish this through my intense focus on customers, my infectious positive attitude and my continuing efforts towards self improvement.”
Use the mission statement to constantly assess how your actions and interactions measure up to your stated goal. Creating a personal mission statement will help ensure this plan you have for what you want to do actually jibes with the things you find important in life. It should be a set of clear, defined attributes that will guide your decision-making. It is up to you how low or high the bar should be set, but once it is set you need to be sure to follow up frequently so that you are continuing on track to your goals.
Define the steps
Your end goal should not be a wish. A wish is simply a statement of what you want, even if it is on a star. A goal has steps, backup plans, dates, and can be tracked with each step taken. Each step should maximize the use of your resources (time and energy) so that you are most likely to achieve your objectives.
The beauty of goal setting is that we can get ourselves to grow in any aspect we choose. Be aware that setting a goal and failing to reach it is not failure, but a chance for growth. You only have complete failure when you stop trying.
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