How To Set Goals? - The Bare Basics

How To Set Goals? - The Bare Basics

Personal goal setting is important to measure your success. "How To Set Goals?", is a question many career newbies often ask. Something seemingly easy enough but more often than not most people try to avoid it. In this article I would tackle the very basic. So, this is for newbies at goal setting.

1. Don’t Avoid It

One of the biggest stumbling blocks in people setting their goals be it personal or professional is because it seems so daunting. Maybe because they feel once written they will feel embarrass with it. Maybe they feel their goal is too small. Whatever the feeling is - don’t avoid it.

2. There Are No Small Goals

There are no small goals. There are no embarrassing goals. There are only goals that are meaningful to you! So, regardless of what you think. The goals that are relevant to you are goals worth aiming for with all your might.

3. How To Set Goals 101

In my personal experience, the best way to start a habit of goal setting is to start at the very basic. Write down your goals. That was how I started. Eventually, I read books and discovered other ways of doing it. One often-quoted example is that goals should be SMART.

4. SMART

SMART goals basically mean your goals should be:

Specific;

Measurable;

Achievable;

Results Focused; and

Time-bound.

The very first goal I set for myself did not have all of these. Hey, I was new at it. But it worked and that spurred me to set more goals according to the SMART method.

5. My First Written Goal

My first written goal was simple. I was two years into the working world and did not have a savings account. Yup, I spent every cent I made in the early days of my career! One morning, reading an article on pay yourself first I decided to start on it. I wrote it down. How much I wanted to save by when. That was it. And six months later I was so ecstatic that I have a savings account with a sum I wanted to achieve.

So, The Bare Basics of How To Set Goals?

For newbies, my method is this – How to set goals the easy way:

1. Start small;

2. Take out a piece of paper;

3. Write your goals down;

4. Give it a period you want to achieve it; and

5. Paste it somewhere visible - it acts as a reminder everyday.