| GOAL SETTING by Sheri Adegbesan |
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| Goal setting is a formal process for personal planning or targets. By setting goals on a routine basis you decide what you want to achieve in life, and then draw up a step-by-step strategy towards the achievement of these goals. The process of setting goals and targets allows you to choose where you want to go in life and how to get there. By having a clear understanding of what you want to achieve, you will know what you have to concentrate on to achieving it. |
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| Goal setting is a standard technique used by top-level athletes, successful business-people and achievers in all fields. It gives you long-term vision and short-term motivation. It focuses your acquisition of knowledge and helps you to organize your resources. |
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| By setting clearly defined goals, you can measure and take pride in the achievement of those goals. You can see forward progress in
what might previously have seemed a long pointless grind. |
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| By setting goals, you will also raise your self-confidence, as you recognize your ability and competence in achieving the goals that you have set. |
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| The process of achieving goals and seeing this achievement gives you confidence that you will be able to achieve higher and more difficult goals. |
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| Once one goal is achieved, another should be set. In other words, a goal should be consistent. |
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| Goals are set on a number of different levels: |
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First you decide what you want to do with your life and what large-scale goals you want to achieve. |
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Second, you break these down into the smaller and smaller targets that you must hit so that you reach your lifetime goals. |
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Finally, once you have your plan, you start working towards achieving it. |
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| For a goal to be effective it must be SMART, meaning: |
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| S – Specific, you must know exactly what you want. The jobs / career you want, it cannot be speculative. Example of someone looking for a job: you to know the field you want to go into and have a job title. You cannot say I would like to work with people or in a customer oriented environment, you need something more specific than that, for example you could say I would like to work as a customer service assistant / sales assistant in a retail shop. |
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| M – Measurable, your goal must be quantifiable, in standard or quality. In other words, the purpose of the goal has to be satisfied. If you say I want to be a midwife, ask yourself why? and see if it is fulfilling a purpose in your life. Some people become doctors because they want to save lives. |
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| A – Achievable, can this goal be accomplished? Set performance goals, not outcome goals: You should take care to set goals over which you have as much control as possible. There is nothing more dispiriting than failing to achieve a personal goal for reasons beyond your control. These could be bad business environments, poor judging, bad weather, injury, or just plain bad luck. If you base your goals on personal performance, then you can keep control over the achievement of your goals and draw satisfaction from them. If you decide to be a doctor, consider the skills you have now and what skills you are able to take on board in the medical field. |
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| R – Realistic, be truthful to yourself. It is important to set goals that you can achieve. All sorts of people (parents, media, and society) can set unrealistic goals for you. They will often do this in ignorance of your own desires and ambitions. Alternatively you may be naïve in setting very high goals. You might not appreciate either the obstacles in the way, or understand quite how many skills you must master to achieve a particular level of performance. |
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| T – Time bound, the timing of every thing is very important. For example you could say I want to achieve a nursing qualification in 4 years, this is realistic and it is also timely because a nursing qualification takes at least 2-3 years depending on the level of qualification. |
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| Don’t forget be smart with your goals. In the next edition we will look at the 10 keys to success. |
