5 Golden Rules to Follow When Setting Your Goals

In order to accomplish anything, setting goals are fundamental. Sports, business, personal life, and running everyday errands – all of these are always linked to the goals in your subconscious. We either think of the desired result or write it down and try to achieve it.

Properly setting goals incite us and make us try harder and harder. Acting without any goals is like trying to navigate without a map in a big unknown city. You do not have a clue what to do or where to head.

There are constant confusion and fear. Of course, one day somehow you will reach your goal. However, we have to underline “one day” and “somehow” because your actions lack focus. Therefore, the learning process gets significantly longer.

There is a tremendous difference of results between:

Having no plan
Having a plan in your mind
Writing down a plan

A Harvard Business study revealed remarkable statistics related to goal setting and success.

83% of the population does not have goals

14% have goals in their mind, but not written down

3% have goals written down

The study found that the 14% who have goals are 10 times more successful than those without goals. The 3% with written goals are 3 times more successful than the 14% with unwritten goals.

Clearly, a person is more likely to achieve a goal when it is written down.

Goal setting plays a crucial part in our subconscious. Writing something down has a grand impact on our thinking. Hereby I have to draw attention to the fact that the goal we write down has to carry a deep meaning. After setting a goal, our brain targets it and thrives us to actions.

Set Passionate Goals

Setting goals are very personal and should be thrived by what is important to you. I do not recommend you to set a goal for somebody else. The reason is simple – in long term, this goal might not benefit you and might become worthless. Your goal should become a priority in life because only this is how you grow and achieve remarkable results. Write down a goal that makes you shiver in excitement and say “Yes, I will do it!”

Break Your Goals Into Smaller Steps: Create a Plan of Action

At first, your big goal may seem like a faraway dream, which is why you need to act smart and strive towards it. One of the easiest and cleverest is to break your goal down into smaller achievable steps and move step by step closer to the objective. Here is an example to make it clear:

Imagine you wish to earn $1500 extra in a year. Feels appealing, right? Now you need to come up with ideas which help you collect this kind of money. Let us not think of the fast ways which help you get $1500. Let us start modestly. Dividing $1500 by 12, the result is $125. How about earning every month an extra $125, or saving the amount from the expenses? Seems already easier, doesn’t it? But from here on you have to be strict with yourself and follow the discipline.

You can work overtime, be a middle-man for a simple service, exchange goods for a commission, or save money from your salary 12 consecutive months, and after 12 months you have $1500 extra. Now the hardest decision – should you just spend it? I hope – when reading this chapter and collecting the amount within 12 months – you come up with something smarter. With that amount of money, you are already able to start a small business. Here is a recommendation – invest the money and increase your benefit.

Set a Deadline for Your Goals

Setting goals are great but have you thought of when should the steps be accomplished? Time is a crucial factor in goal setting. If you do not have a deadline then you might not ever get the urge to really going for it. When setting a time limit you start coming up with different ideas of how to achieve the steps and get closer to your goals.

Do not forget to set a realistic and reasonable deadline. There is no use in setting an unreal goal for a very short time period. It is going to be a kick below for your self-confidence. Think realistic, yet optimistic!

Monitor Your Improvement

While striving towards your goals it is critical to keep an eye on and analyze your activities. I recommend taking time off every 4 weeks and do a reality check of how are you doing. This way you are able to monitor your development constantly, make changes if needed, eliminate flaws, and more. If necessary you can also consult with family or people you know to get advice and recommendations you might have overlooked.

Do Not Back Down and Keep Pushing Through

Do not let yourself be discouraged if you get obstacles or setbacks on your way to the goals. This is perfectly normal.

Hindrances and difficulties make us stronger and come in handy when climbing the mountain. Just learn from your setbacks and obstacles and keep on moving, stronger than ever. Remember, difficulties arise to pass away. They are never permanent.

“Setting goals is the first step in turning invisible into the visible”. – Tony Robbins