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Author Joe Vitale says “A goal should scare you a little, and excite you a lot.” Indeed insightful words! A lot of introspection is warranted while doing the goal setting exercise and there is nothing amiss if it appears scary. Any endeavor before its onset looks daunting.

The interesting thing however is that we considered it our goal in spite of feeling scared. That is simply because the idea of the achieving it feels exciting enough to endure and overcome the fear.

All of us have dreams for ourselves. Dreams could be of achievements and aspirations in personal space, professional arena, for our businesses, health related, spiritual or emotional. What differentiates a permanently unhappy dreamer from a happy achiever is that the latter works towards what they want. Most importantly they set goals for themselves. Without goals and well laid out plans to achieve the goals, the dreams remain just that.

What are the benefits of having a goal?

Goals chart the course and give the necessary focus and direction required. To fulfill the aspirations we need less of distraction and more of commitment. A defined path towards what our goal is makes progress quicker and waiting period shorter.

Goal helps in quantifying our achievements and progress. It tells us how far we have come and how far is the destination. This gives an opportunity to review our decisions and processes and make course corrections if required
Goals prevent indecision, delays and procrastination. When there is a clear goal ahead of us, with a deadline for completion, we are less inclined to over think, delay or put off important decisions and work towards the goal more eagerly.
Goals help in keeping the motivation up. It is impossible to be consistently successful. Clearly laid out goal helps one keep the eye on the ball and not be discouraged by occasional setbacks
Goals help in achieving what we intended and even more. It is natural for a person motivated after achieving a set goal to want to strive for more. Success is always an incentive to work harder. Newer goals would be laid out and rather than resting on the laurels, we are motivated to be more action oriented.
Goals help in self discovery and help us find out what we want in life. While putting down the goals and while working towards achieving the same, one ends up introspecting a lot. The journey takes us to our deepest fears, wishes, hopes, apprehensions and lets us tap into the biggest sources of our motivation and energy and make us understand what is that makes us tick.

What are the elements to be considered when setting goals?

Goals have to be:

Clear and specific – Vague goals serve no purpose. “I have to be successful in business.” “I want to write a book.” “I want to be fitter.” These are wishes and just good intentions until we define them. It is a goal if we say “I want to be running a 10 million dollar enterprise that leases real estate by 2025” or if we say “I want to write a book on personal development targeted at university students and have a sale target of at least hundred thousand copies” or if we say “I want to be able to able to run a half marathon in less than 2 hrs by next winter.” These are specific goals that nudge us into action.
Realistic – A goal to lose 40 kgs of weight in two months is wrong at many levels. It is an unhealthy idea which is unrealistic. Unrealistic and over the top goals can give a rush at the onset but the enthusiasm will quickly dissipate when we realize that we cannot practically go ahead to achieve them.
Have a specific timeline – Numbers and dates give definition to our goals. Without deadlines we are either not pushing ourselves enough or we are pushing too hard resulting in a burn out. Realistic and defined deadlines ensure consistent progress.
Quantifiable – A goal should be able to accommodate metrics that quantify the progress achieved. The timelines we give ourselves, the quantum of results we expect to see etc are crucial in goal setting.
Written down– The goals have to be written down and reviewed periodically. Trusting memory can be quite tricky. Memory of things could change and get diluted with emotions and feelings. It can also change according to the state of mind one is in. When things are written down, we have a reference point to go with. It also ensures commitment to the goal.
Effort and performance based and less of outcome based– However much stable and sensible a goal is there is very little chance of 100 percent success. Mainly because there are so many external factors that happen which may derail us in our pursuit. To avoid the disappointment that is caused by extreme focus on outcomes, it is far more prudent to focus on effort and performance which are in our hands. These are internal factors on which we have control over.
Aligned with our values – Our goals should reflect our values. For eg: If integrity of character, truthfulness and commitment are things we dearly value, having goals that does not permit us to uphold them does not make sense. If we consider humanity and kindness to be of extreme importance, we will not be happy trying to engage in practices that warrant us to be ruthless and inconsiderate in our business practices.
Rightly prioritized within your all other life goals – All our main and sub goals should work in harmony. Our personal or professional goals should not be tangential to our spiritual goals. Our fitness goals should not be contradictory to our nutritional or lifestyle goals. Goals should work well together for our holistic growth
Owned and not copied – Our goal can’t be the same as the person we consider our competition. Capabilities, aspirations, limitations and circumstances vary hugely between people. Goals should reflect that diversity we have. Comparison and targeting same level of achievements is impractical. It has to be customized to our unique situation.
Changed or given up without shame, regret or guilt if the situation demands it – Last but not the least, it is alright for goals to be changed or discarded if they become redundant. With new experiences and insights one might feel the need to upgrade, downgrade or strike off a goal. This decision should not be filed under failures. As the saying goes, there are no failures, there are only learnings.

Write in to us at harish@harishrao.world to seek help in your goal setting exercise as well as for getting coached and mentored to lead more fulfilling professional and personal lives.