With focus, you can create a powerful laser-like ability to get things done. However, it is very important that you focus on your goal, rather than just focusing on working hard. Many people, including leaders, believe that hard work is all there is to it. Unfortunately, a person can work too hard with efforts focused in the wrong direction and fall short. Hard work does not guarantee success. It is an ingredient, but you should focus your hard work and efforts towards the result you want to achieve. With focused effort, you can achieve more with greater ease. However, before you can focus, you must know one thing: what your goal is.
You must know where you are going
When people discuss that leaders have a vision, they are simply saying that the leader knows the outcome you want. A vision is nothing more than a clear picture of what you see for yourself, your organization, or the world in the future. A strong, attractive vision can be exciting and energizing. But most importantly, a clear vision provides direction and meaning. Without a vision, without goals to work toward, a leader and the organization he leads cannot focus energy toward the desired results. Without goals, how do you prioritize? When a leader has a clear vision and goals, the chances of achieving them are much greater. Because goals are so important, and focus without them lacks the power to achieve the greatest successes, the remainder of this article will be a short primer on goal setting and achieving them.
Setting goals and achieving them
There are endless resources in goal setting. Many of these are very good, and the people who pursue them end up with greater results and lead more successful lives. Unfortunately, not many people design their own lives. Studies show that the majority of people do not formally set goals and achieve them. Many people spend more time planning a vacation each year than they do on the important things they are going to get done or achieve.
Goals should be set in all areas of your life. You must have balance. Areas to consider goal setting include: mental goals, such as learning more about a subject and improving yourself; physical goals, such as engaging in an exercise program and eating healthy food; family goals, such as spending time with your wife or husband, children, and extended family; Social goals, such as going to community events, joining a local service group, or socializing with people in your industry to share ideas; spiritual goals, such as attending a religious service, reading from great religion texts, or simply being more useful to people; Career goals, such as doing what is needed for promotion or leading your company to success; and financial goals, such as owning your home, getting out of debt, and increasing your net worth to gain financial independence.
After you have identified the areas in which you will set goals, you should commit to writing them down. Studies show that sticking to paper increases the likelihood of fulfillment. In an interview with Forbes, Lee Iacocca said, “Writing something down is the first step toward making it happen.” There are many ways to write down your goals. Different books and courses have a variety of formats to use for recording goals and sub-goals and the mission statement that governs them. For the purposes here, just stick to writing down the goals. It doesn’t have to be recorded in an expensive magazine or on complicated flow charts. In fact, keeping it simple is often best. Just make sure it’s challenging but accessible, quantifiable, timely and paper-bound. If you do this, you will be ahead of most people, and if you do it for your business, you will have more chances to succeed to great heights. Now that you’ve committed to sticking to your goals on paper, let’s take a look at how we can make them smart.
Numerous books, articles, and courses teach SMART goals. It’s a good acronym to use when you’re starting to set your goal. SMART goals are simply:
specific
Vague generalities don’t inspire us much. Our minds need specific goals to work towards. You must state exactly what you would like to achieve. Provide enough detail to eliminate indecision when deciding exactly what to do. To set specific goals, you must answer the six “W” questions: who, what, where, when, what, and why.
Measurable
How will you know if your goal has been achieved or not? A measurable goal has an outcome that can be evaluated. It must have measurable progress, and it must set specific criteria for measuring that progress. Measurement helps you stay on track, reach target dates, and experience the joy of accomplishment when a goal is achieved.
can be achieved
When you set and set specific goals that matter to you, you begin to discover ways to achieve them. You go above and beyond to develop the attitudes, abilities, and skills to reach each goal you set. You can achieve any goal you set, if you really want it and are willing to make the necessary sacrifices to achieve it.
TRUE
Goals should represent things that you are willing and able to work towards. It can be loud, and it’s still realistic. Only you can determine what is too high. Your belief and commitment to the achievability of a goal represents whether or not it is realistic. This cannot be emphasized enough, it is your call whether or not the goal is realistic. What is realistic for one person may not be for another. Your goals must be within your credibility.
right on time
The goal should have a time frame. We are driven by deadlines, and setting them to achieve our goals is a powerful motivator. It should not be set too far into the future, or be easily put off. At the same time, it should not be too close, which makes it unrealistic and discouraging. If you don’t set a time, goals won’t happen. It’s so easy to think you can start at any time, and you never do. Without a time frame, there is no urgency to start taking action toward your goals, toward your dreams, toward your success.
Setting goals is powerful. Use the SMART acronym to help set goals you will achieve. Once set, remember that you must focus on your goal and stay focused until you succeed. Deviation and drifting in different directions will stand in the way of true success.