When we ask people what they want, almost everybody has an answer. Some will say they want a house; some will say they want a car, some will want lots of money and some will say they want to become something like a doctor, engineer, artist and so on but when we ask them “Why”, they get perplexed. For example, some people say they want to write a book. Now let’s look at some of the common possibilities, why they want to write a book:

1. They want to earn lots of money like J.K Rowling.
2. They want to impress people with their talent.
3. They want to become famous.
4. It’s their talent.
5. They have something important to share with the world.
6. Writing is their therapy.

So, if your ultimate goal is making money then there are other ways to make a huge amount of money rather than writing a book, as there are many authors who make little or no money at all. 

People need to understand the “why” of their goal. Why do you want it, how it is related to your other goals, what difference it is going to make in your life when you achieve it, are there other ways to achieve that goal, how important that goal is to you? These are some critical questions that you should ask yourself before setting a goal.

Knowing the ‘Why’ of the goal gives you power and robustness. If your goals are important to you and challenging which they should be, then you work hard and take risks for achieving them. And if your goal isn’t that important to you or you don’t know the actual why of your goal then you won’t put as much effort as it’s needed into achieving it.

As Michael S. Dobson says “Why do you want to achieve your goals? The answer to that question has power. It’s what motivates you. It’s what shows you the right path to take. And It’s what opens the doors that lead to your success.

People who are successful had a clear goal in their life. They always knew where they are headed and manifest immense strength and confidence. Effective goal setting was one of their keys to success.

You may be working very hard at what you do, but without setting an effective goal you will notice that it isn’t yielding meaningful results.

Studies show that only three percent of people have well-defined goals and only one percent of them write them down. People who write their goals and action plans to reach it have higher chances to achieve their goals.

Here are some of the components of an effective goal:

1. Effectives Goals are Specific and Measurable:
   When you write your goals, make sure that they are specific and measurable so that you can track your progress. Give a specific time limit to that goal. For example, you want to lose weight. So, you will define your goal as ‘I want to lose 5KG weight in 3 months.
    
2. Effective Goals are Relevant to your life:
   When to set a goal, ask yourself a question of what importance that goal holds in your life? How is it going to help you when you achieve it? Is it really relevant in your life? For example, some people say they want to climb a mountain. So, they should know the importance it holds in their life. Is it really relevant or are you just doing it because it sounds cool and other people are doing it.
    
3. Effective Goals are Realistic and Attainable:
   Do not set unrealistic goals in life. Effective goals are always realistic and achievable. Goals should challenge your skills but they should not reduce your performance and efforts. For example, you have never climbed a mountain but suddenly you set a goal to climb Mount Everest, which is unrealistic and unachievable in nature.
    
4. Effective Goals are always Motivating:
   Picture yourself achieving your goal. Picture the moment, the result, your feelings at that point in time. If you find that motivating and desirable then you will work hard to achieve that goal. Your Goals should be appealing to you. If it is not exciting to you then after some time you will lose interest in it and stop putting effort to achieve it.

Goals are something that gives meaning to your life. It helps you to channelize your efforts and move forward in life. Setting effective goals helps you to know what you truly want in life and writing it down gives you a roadmap to follow, to work hard towards achieving it.

Goals also help us to hold ourselves accountable, even when we fail. It helps us to prioritize things and gives purpose to our life.

Published November 11, 2021By Our Subject Matter Experts

Categorized as Effective goal s