Secrets for effective goal settings

A few years back, nothing was working my way. I was devastated by how things were in my personal and professional life. One day, I watched a video of Canadian author Bob Proctor and immediately realised what was missing. In this feature, I will be sharing a few tips that helped me in my journey. If you can replicate the same, you’ll be able to redesign your life and fulfil your dreams. The technique is Goal Setting. Now you must be wondering how goal setting can help me redesign my life. See, without any destination, it’s hard to know the roadmap and when you have no idea where you are going in life, you will end up being frustrated. This frustration leads you to a place where you never wanted to go. So, it’s better to take the driver’s seat, change gears, and decide consciously where you must go to live a happy life.

“In the absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until we ultimately become enslaved by it,” this quote from Robert Heinlein sums up why setting a goal in life is essential. Many people get pumped up at the beginning of the year and start writing their goals for the coming year. However, within a few days, the motivation is lost and the task remains incomplete. Here are a few tips that can help in achieving your goals:

Set a realistic goal
People often give up on their goals because they set unrealistic targets to begin with. Try setting short term goals so that you can track your progress in regular intervals. If there is something that cannot be done in one year, try to make different goals that will take you closer to the main objective and build from there. “Most people overestimate what they’re going to do in a year, and they underestimate what they can do in a decade or two or three or four.” This quote from Tony Robbins reinstates that nothing is impossible, we just need to be realistic. 

Know your ‘why’
People tend to fall in love with new things easily. With that fire in mind, they think that they are making goals. However, the truth is very different. The interest only lasts for a few days and the fire starts diminishing. Once that fire is gone, the interest will be gone as well. If you want to achieve something then don’t just fall in love, be ready to give whatever it takes. To make this easy, find out why you want to achieve it? It’s your strong ‘why’ which will push you towards your objective.

Stay focussed
Don’t shift your focus to the things you don’t want. It is one of the most difficult tasks as we tend to think about things that we don’t want rather than the ones we want. As Robbins says, “energy flows where attention goes”. If you focus on something that is not important, you will end up spending all of your energy on it. Your focus should be aligned towards your goal only. Don’t get distracted.

Growing or dying? 
Don’t think about the outcome. With your ‘why’ understand how this journey will help you grow as a person. I strongly believe that if you are not growing, you are dying. If you grow in the process of achieving your goal, then that’s success. Your evolution during the journey is how success should be measured. 

Celebrate small wins 
People set long-term goals and want instant results. Keep motivating yourself to complete the next objective. Now celebration does not mean that you’ll throw a party and get distracted. Share your success with your best friend or a family member and tell them about your next objective so that the focus remains. Long-term goals take time. For instance, I want to transform 50 million lives by November 17, 2025. Now if I think about it again and again, I will end up getting stressed. It is better to focus on the process that will gradually take me to the targets I wish to achieve. During the journey, I will celebrate my small wins to keep the fire burning inside.

Don’t look back
Let me keep it simple, never stop setting goals for yourself. If you limit yourself and don’t wish to attain the ‘impossible’, you will merely exist and not attain happiness. There will be no purpose, no growth in life. When you achieve your goals, your energy levels go up. So, when you are about to achieve one of your objectives, set another task for yourself so that you are constantly motivated to give your best.