When it comes to living a happy and fulfilled life, it is important to know how to set and achieve goals. Simply writing them down isn’t enough. Goal setting involves keeping your eye on the big picture while taking small steady steps toward achieving those goals.
Let’s say you have a financial goal to buy a new home. Goal setting involves planning and then working toward this goal step-by-step. It sounds simple and it is, if you know what you’re doing.
Here are five very basic steps for turning dreams into goals and goals into reality:
1. Decide what you want.
You won’t know where you’re heading until you decide what you want to achieve during the next six months, two years, five years and beyond. This part of the goal setting process takes some time, soul-searching and planning.
Let’s just take for example your future home. Ask yourself:
~ What do I want my lifestyle to look, feel and be like? What type of home will I have? How many rooms? Where is it located? What type of view does it have? What will the furnishings look like? How does it feel to sit around the new kitchen table? Will I have a gardener or take care of the landscaping myself?
Why should you ask yourself these questions? Your vivid description of the future is forming a clear and descriptive picture in your mind (physical) of exactly what your goal looks and feels like (emotional). What you’re doing is engaging both your intellect and emotions in the goal setting process.
2. Now, what’s it going to cost financially to make this home a reality?
It’s time to place a dollar amount on your goal.
Begin doing some research into home values. Pick up real estate books and start looking for the home that most resembles your dream home. What are the features and what does that home cost? Is it close to your goal home?
Let’s say your dream home is $250,000. You now have a financial starting point. It’s time to begin laying out some definite financial goals and steps for making the dream a goal.
3. True goals have beginning dates and completion dates.
What day and time will you begin working toward and saving for your new home?By what date will you be living in your new home? Write them down and make an emotional and physical commitment to achieving this goal.
See it in your mind’s eye, feel it in your heart and believe it with every cell in your body. Here's an example of an affirmation to support and reinforce your goal - I, _________, will be living in my new beautifully decorated home worth $250,000 or more on or before __________.
4. What steps do you need to take toward your goal of the new $250,000 home?
How are you going to achieve the dollars and cents portion of your goal? What do you want to accomplish daily, weekly, monthly and yearly to make this goal reality?
What will you do to keep yourself emotionally and physically motivated? Ask yourself, “Why do I really want this goal to become reality?” This is your BIG WHY!
5. Lastly, make a commitment to making your goal reality.
There is a power of purpose in making the commitment to achieving your goal. Belief is a vital and necessary element of goal setting.
Here’s how to help reinforce your commitment:
Goal setting is simply the process of keeping yourself on track toward achieving those things that are important to you and your loved ones. Goals provide the motivation that can keep you going if the going gets tough. Goals can help make the future more exciting and hopeful. What are your goals for the future?
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