HOW TO SET GOALS, PRIORITISE THEM, AND WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
How To Set Goals, Prioritise Them, And Why Is This Important?
Having trouble reaching your goals? It could be because you haven’t clearly defined them by writing them down and making them a priority. In this article, Beauty and Tips takes a look at how to write a list of goals, prioritise them, and why this is important.
If you were to ask your friends what their goals were, they probably wouldn’t be able to tell you.
“Hmm. Now that’s a good question … Hmm … Okay okay, give me a few minutes to think about this … Wait, I’ve got one! … Oh actually, no. It isn’t really a goal … Okay, how about just making it through the day? Is that a goal?”
This is because most of us don’t write our goals down, and we certainly don’t prioritise them. For many of us, making it through the working week and partying at the weekend seems to sum up our “goals”.
When you don’t write down your goals, though, you stack the odds against you. In other words, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll ever achieve them. In the years to come, you’ll be left with bitter regrets at a life that could have been if only you could have formulated measurable goals. Without goals that are written down in order of how important they are to you, they’re not so much goals as they are fantasies and dreams.
“I want to live in California one day,” you might say wistfully to a friend over cocktails. Okay, but is that an actionable goal that comes with a plan? Or is it just a dream inside your head?
Unless you take the time to write it down and make plans that will help you achieve the goal, it’s just wishful thinking. You want to live in California one day. When, exactly? And how will you set about achieving this goal? What smaller goals do you need to action in order to achieve this goal?
And what does living in California mean? Does it mean you rent a beach house, own an apartment or crash with friends?
Unless you write your goals down and prioritise them, your goals won’t become your reality. They will stay inside your head, just like everyone else’s “goals.”
We’re sure your friends want to run their own business or travel all their lives, but unless they make these goals concrete by writing them down, there is a good chance they’ll never happen.
Let’s take a look at how to set goals and prioritise them.
Figure Out What Your Goals Are
Before you can write down your goals, you first of all need to figure out what they are.
Most people don’t even do this. Not properly. They might have an inspired evening, where they get excited dreaming about a beach house in California, but they don’t really spend much time actually figuring out what their real, achievable goals are.
So ask yourself what you want most in life now. Do you want to lose weight? Do you want to change career? Do you want to move house? Do you want to start a new relationship? Do you want to get healthier or smarter?
Work Out Which Goals Contradict Others
Another tip on how to set goals properly is to make sure they don’t contradict each other. If a goal contradicts another goal, you won’t achieve anything. For example, if it’s your main goal to own a $50,000 car, but you only make $50,000 a year, you need to rethink how you prioritise your goals. And it’s only by writing them down can you do this. Once you’v written down your goals for the year, you can then work out what needs to be done first and last.
Your biggest goal will always be at the top. This the most exciting goal that drives you, and you probably can’t wait to get started on it. But you can’t work on it without working on your smaller goals first.
To get a car of your dreams that you can afford, you would need to work on other goals first. Work out what they are and how they connect to your bigger goal. Once you’ve done this, every decision you make will be made with that bigger goal in mind.
Be Specific
This is one of the most important tips on how to set goals. One of the reasons people don’t make good on their goals is that they aren’t specific enough.
For example, someone living in Russia might say: “My goal is to live in California.”
It’s a nice goal. But until she gets super specific with her goal, it’s just a dream that she probably won’t ever achieve.
If she were to get specific about her goal, she might say something like:
“My goal is to work hard for the rest of the year, so that I can live in California by 2019.”
Then, she would set smaller goals to strengthen that main goal and make it even more viable. For example, she would set a goal of applying for a VISA, as well as another goal of developing a certain skill set, so that she could get a job upon arriving in America.
Until you write down specific goals, you will struggle to achieve them.
Be As Positive As Possible
Another tip on how to set goals is to be as positive as you can. Remove any hints of negativity. For example, instead of writing that it’s your goal to get away from someone, write down a goal that helps you find someone new.
Don’t focus on the negatives. Always focus on the positives. Focus on what you’re moving forward to, as opposed to what you’re moving away from.
Doing this will eventually condition your brain and subconscious into thinking that are you motivated by a positive outcome (which you are). As such, it should be much easier to stay motivated.
Write Down Goals Each Week
This is another useful tip on how to set goals. The most successful people have macro goals, but they also have micro goals – goals they want to achieve each week.
What do you want to achieve this week? Write down your goals and then consult with your schedule to fit them in. The more you do this, the easier it will be to fit your goals into your schedule because you know what you need to do. Setting goals will also become easier.
What are your best tips on how to set goals?
Stay happy!
from Beauty And Tips Magazine
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