Published 6 August
We all have a choice on how we spend our lives. We can either be goal driven or we can meander haphazardly through life. Although how you live your life is a deeply personal choice, the important issue is that it should involve choice. Jim Rohn, an American entrepreneur articulated the importance of exercising a choice “If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you will fall into someone else’s plan”. So, if you do not want to watch days slipping past while you are caught up in daily trivialities or responding to the wishes of other people, you need to start setting goals. Decide what you want to achieve, today, tomorrow, this year and this life. The path towards a meaningful life starts with setting goals. It is therefore important that we set clear goals, whether it is work or home related, so that we have a sense of purpose in life. Below are a few helpful tips in using goals to create purpose and progress in your life.
Define a clear vision that will inform your goals: You need to have a clear vision and understanding of what it is you want to achieve in your life. Life lists and personal mission statements are great ways to develop long-term goals and can be very powerful tools to shape your personal and professional life. Personal mission statements are normally overarching goals that will guide how you live your life. They are aspirational and often encompass concepts such as serving society. There are many examples on the internet so just go and look. Life lists are often more specific goals, in essence “things you want to do before you die”, career goals, personal goals, travel goals etc.
Use the SMART methodology to define goals: SMART stands for: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely. First start by defining the specific goals you want to achieve. SMART helps us anchor our goals in reality and creates a framework to monitor success. By defining the date when a goal needs to be achieved you can track your progress.
Develop an implementation plan: Once you have defined what you want to achieve and by when, start focusing on the how. Break down your goal into smaller components. Every journey begins with the first step. Irrespective of how ambitious your goals are, the first step is always to break down the steps to achieving your goal into smaller manageable actions. This prevents you from losing confidence and feeling overwhelmed by big ambitious goals. Each smaller step you complete can be celebrated as a milestone towards achieving your goal. Breaking it up into smaller steps also ensures that you quickly identify obstacles. If your goal is to complete a master’s degree. The first step would be to register for the qualification. If this is not possible define why? If you do not have the registration fee, you need to amend your first step to saving up the tuition fees and registering becomes step two.
Be flexible: To paraphrase General Helmuth von Moltke (1871) “No plan survives the first contact with the enemy”. Critical to achieving your goals are understanding that there will always be obstacles. Try to identify them as soon as possible and initiate actions to mitigate against them. Develop some scenarios by visualizing what can go wrong go wrong, think through how you will react if this happens.
Keep track of progress: Management guru Peter Drucker famously said, “If you can't measure it, you can't manage it.” You need to track your progress towards achieving your goals. So, review progress weekly or monthly. Adjust your plan as your life evolves. Achieving goals gives meaning and purpose to life. Celebrating small victories will keep you moving forward.
Staff Writer