A familiar reminder

January arrives and without fail we begin to get reminders about how important it is to set goals. Why? What is the purpose of goals? Do we really need to do them? Is there a big enough reward?

These are questions you may be asking yourself. Or, you may be one of those people who doesn't need to be reminded. Depending on your personality style, goals may be something you truly enjoy, or they may be of less interest to you.

Why goals matter

Goals are one of the best ways to measure your life's progress. Although coming up with and following through on goals takes real work, it's absolutely essential if you want a life full of outstanding accomplishments.

As Michelangelo said, "The great danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark."

Do nothing, gain nothing

How many people drift through their precious life, aimlessly hoping that good fortune will fall out of the sky and land on their head? But this does not happen.

As Jack Canfield, author of "The Power of Focus", points out—doing nothing in the hopes of gaining fortune is like looking for a grain of sugar on a sandy beach.

10 powerful tips for setting goals

It's about more than taking the time to set goals. The goals need to be powerful. Follow these 10 tips from "The Power of Focus" to make sure your goals can carry the full weight of your dreams:

1. Your most important goals must be yours. Don't let others create your goals, or they will create your future and you might not like what you get. Ask yourself, "What do I really want?" Be brave and honest. It's up to you to create your own definition of success.
2. Your goals must be meaningful. Your goals must be so important to you that you will do whatever it takes to make them happen. Ask yourself, "What's most important to me now?"
3. Your goals must be specific and measurable. As Jack Canfield notes, this is where many of us don't give our dreams the strength they deserve. Your goals will have muscle when you dare to be specific and to aim for accomplishments you can measure. In coaching my clients, I urge them to be very clear on what they want and by when.
4. Your goals must be flexible. Wait a minute. We just learned that goals need to be specific and this is true. But it is equally important that your goals be flexible. Don’t design goals that are so rigid you can't adjust to life as it happens. Leave room for creativity and adaptability.
5. Your goals must be challenging and exciting. Don't settle for a boring life. In a world filled with possibilities and opportunities, nothing could be sadder. Think big. Create goals that fire you up and have fun bringing them to fruition.
6. Your goals must align with your values. When work seems effortless, we often say we're experiencing synergy or flow. As Jack Canfield points out, this happens when our goals align with our key values. Think of it as harmony in motion.
7. Your goals must be well balanced and integrated. Who looks back on their life and wishes they'd worked longer hours? We're more likely to wish we'd travelled more, spent more time with family, or pursued a creative interest. Use goals to support balance in your life.
8. Your goals must be realistic. We're not suggesting that you tone down your dreams. Being realistic is mostly about time and other resources. As you set your goals, make sure that you allow enough time to achieve them.
9. Your goals must include contribution. This world gets better when we help one another. Make it a conscious part of all your goals to contribute to others. The contribution could be with your expertise or financially. There are many ways to give back without expecting anything in return.
10. Your goals need to be supported. Find the people you trust most and tell them about your goals. They will help you keep going and they will make you accountable.

Call to action

Now, it's time to get to work. Decide what you want. What would you like to achieve? Where do you want to go? What do you need to learn? How much do you want to earn, save and invest? These are just a few questions to get you started in setting goals.

A value-added resource

To obtain goals, we need to understand what motivates us and use that motivation to empower ourselves. To assist you in this process we’d like to provide you with a value-added resource from our Leading the Life You Desire course. Download our free goal setting worksheets to help identify your goals and strategize how to carry them to completion.  Click here to start goal setting!

Your Friends,
The UpCloseTeam