I know what you’re going to say! You’ve seen this before. It’s nothing new. You can read hundreds of articles on just as many websites about how important it is to set goals. So why don’t you? (Set goals, that is.) Or maybe you set goals and then forget about them. Why is that? What if you could set a goal and actually accomplish it!?
I don’t know anyone who hasn’t, at some point in time, created a goal. But I know plenty of people (yours truly included) that have not reached their goals. I became very curious as to why that is. My research has led me, of course, to the acronym S.M.A.R.T. when describing an achievable goal.
I am certain you heard of this, but I will summarize it quickly so you don’t have to look it up:
S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Attainable
R = Relevant
T = Timely
I agree with this whole heartily, but does it ensure that you will attain the goal? Certainly not! Then what is it? After thinking about it for some time, I believe it is because we set goals that are too big or too far into the future. They feel overwhelming because they will take weeks, months, or years to accomplish.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I think we need to set big goals. And they need to align with our vision and mission. I just believe we have to break them down into smaller, manageable goals. We need to plan smaller steps, and take one step at a time.
For example, you could set a goal that you want to obtain six new customers over the next six months that generate $60,000 in additional revenue in total. In order to break this down, you could set a smaller goal of obtaining one new customer each month with average revenue of $10,000. Then you could determine what it would take to obtain that one new customer.
If, for example, your best source for obtaining new customers was telemarketing, you could then set a goal of making a specific number of phone calls each week or each day. When you have your long term goal broken down into smaller manageable goals you are more likely to be successful.
You can measure your progress more frequently and see how you are doing compared to your longer term goal. This allows you to make changes immediately when you get off course.
It’s just like a pilot does when he is flying a plane. He doesn’t wait until he is off course by hundreds of miles before he decides to change direction and get back on course. He is constantly measuring where he is compared to where he wants to be and makes many course corrections to make sure that he arrives at his intended location at the scheduled time.
So if you want to attain that big goal, break it down into smaller steps and then manage those steps daily or weekly. You may be surprised at how successful you have actually become!
Question: How successful are you at achieving your goals? What keeps you on track? You can share your answer on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
Image Courtesy of Pixabay.com