Goal Setting Success

The importance of setting goals often only becomes clear when we realize we haven't achieved them. This is one of the reasons it is so important to write goals down in a notebook or journal, where you can track them over time. This is particularly true when it comes to reaching our career goals, where goal setting success is crucial if we are to enjoy a happy and fulfilled life.

If you set clearly defined short term and long term goals you will be able to measure your progress and eventually achieve personal satisfaction in all areas of your life. As you move towards your goals, your self-confidence will also improve as you see the progress you are making – progress which would be hard to measure if you have not formulated your goals properly and written them down. You will also find that with progress you become more aware of your capabilities, skills and talents, which in turn will also boost your self-esteem.

Learning how to set goals is not something which happens naturally, as we are encouraged to do what other people think we should do and give up our dreams as early as possible, since they are often considered impractical, if not impossible, by parents and teachers.

To start your goal setting, you should spend some time really thinking about what you want in life, not just in your career. It’s important to make sure that your goals will create a balanced lifestyle and not just career success, which, if not accompanied by friendship, family and fun, can be very hollow and lonely.

Start off with your long term goals and work backwards, considering job goals, financial goals, relationship goals, goals related to your interests and passions, and spiritual goals. Although your eventual career goal may seem a long way off, setting goals and objectives which will take you there will make the process a lot easier. For each goal you have written ask yourself what it will take to get you there. For example, if you want a senior management position in a specific company, the step before that might be middle management in the firm or a similar organization. If you are currently working in a different industry, you’ll need to find out what experience you’ll need to make the transition. There may also be qualifications and additional skills which you need to develop. As your list moves back towards the present, you’ll be able to plan each step and should find something which you can do today. That could be simply doing some online research into your chosen career or it could be checking out advertisements to see if you’re ready to move a little closer to your goal, or contacting a local college to enquire about night school classes.

As you uncover the steps you need to take to achieve your goals, you will see if your career goals are compatible with your lifestyle goals. There will be times when you have to compromise, such as when first starting out in a career which makes big demands on newcomers. An example of this is medicine, where junior doctors have to work extremely long hours. If you have a plan, you will be able to see where compromise is necessary and where it should end.

Another important consideration is that goals change as you get older. So what was important in your 20s may not matter at all by the time you reach 40 or 50. So it is essential to realize that goals will change and you must be flexible – there is no point in working towards a goal if it no longer interests you or conflicts with more important goals which have shown up later in your life.

Goal setting success is not the result of simply making a plan, it’s the result of developing that plan, making changes as necessary and perhaps even ditching it for a better one.

About the author :

By Waller Jamison Have you lost sight of your dream job? Re-motivate yourself for success. Discover what you were born to do with our Free Career Change Course
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