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What is my goal?
The first question you must answer in developing your goal achievement plan is: What is my goal? Admittedly, there is a “duh” quality to this suggestion. However, there is a complexity to answering this question. Your goal should be stated in terms that are both specific and general. The more specific the answer is, the clearer the steps towards achieving your goal will be. The more general the answer, the greater the flexibility you will have. Remember flexibility is important, as your circumstances change, so should your goal. Striking a balance between being specific, yet general will be the challenge here.
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Why is my goal important to achieve?
The ancient Greek aphorism, “Know thyself”, comes into play in a major way here. The answer to the question, “Why do I want to achieve this goal?” varies greatly from person to person. When answering this question, it will be important to be honest with yourself. Identifying the truth behind your motivations will only increase the likelihood of you achieving your goal. Furthermore, it will make it easier to find inspiration to stay on course when you need it most.
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By what day will I have met this goal?
Setting a day and time for when you will meet your goal is a critical process. It is important to be reasonable when deciding this. If you set your goal date too soon, you could feel pressure to hurry through steps along the way. Also, if you fall behind, you are more likely to quit out of fear of not being able to get back on track in enough time. Overshooting your goal date is the way to go here. Just make sure you set milestones along the way. This yields two positives. First, you can better monitor your progress. Second, instead of waiting for the big payoff in the end, you can celebrate minor accomplishments along the way.
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What obstacles could get in my way?
There will be adversity along the way to achieving a goal. There are no exceptions to this. The trick is to identify and anticipate problems before they ever occur. Most people would agree, a problem that you see coming is way easier to deal with than one you did not expect. Get out ahead of these problems, be waiting on them with a plan of action, and embrace the challenge they present when they do come.
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