Welcome back to day four of our goal setting series. So far you have done some dreaming and conducted research into your dreams. Now it is time to get more specific and to do this you need to be honest with yourself. In order to make informed decision about what goals you can reasonably set out to achieve THIS year, you need to do three things;
• Take the ‘where am I now’ test. List your strengths and weaknesses, skills and experiences. What are the logical steps towards your goal – your research will help you determine this.
• What are the obstacles and risks that could prevent you from achieving your dream/goal? Don’t hold back here; be real!
• Wins and Losses – Identify the investments and sacrifices inherent in you pursuing your dream. For example, what time do you have available to actually work on your goals once you set them? Are your goals dependent upon you having capital? If so do you have this or does accumulating capital need to be a goal?
It may seem as though we are taking a very long road towards the ‘goal’ of setting some goals. Don’t be discouraged by this. When you are working through the above steps, keep in mind that what we are working towards is a point where we can set actions around the statements we make. So, instead of saying, ‘I want to lose weight’, the goal would read, ‘I will lose 5kg in six weeks by working with a dietician and a personal trainer to develop a healthy eating and exercise plan that I will follow on a daily basis’.
Can you see how the above sentence is a direction, or a call to action. It tells you what you need to do rather than being a grand statement of desire. This is what a goal is made of. Our goal setting series will return next week. This gives you time to conduct your research and analyse your currently position against the above steps. Good luck.
