Set Actionable Goals

Are you starting 2008 by setting goals for yourself? Lots of people are more than happy to set goals. Unfortunately, not many of them end up following through with their goals and seeing them through to completion. This article shows you how to set goals that are achievable.

Perhaps one of the greatest reasons for failure where goals are concerned is that most people set goals that are not realistic. They set lofty goals and when they can’t reach them right away, they become disillusioned and walk away from their set of goals altogether.

Inspiring goals must be achievable. By “achievable” I mean, they must be believable (by you), capable of happening, functional, realistic, and true to life. Let’s take a look at each of these points:

* Believable – If you aren’t able to set a goal and firmly believe that it is possible for you to reach it, you may as well throw that goal right back out of the window. You must be able to believe in your goal enough that you believe in yourself to accomplish it.

* Capable of happening – If you don’t believe in your goal or yourself, you’ll most likely never think it is capable of happening. You must be able to envision yourself as having already accomplished your goal.

* Functional – Is your goals something that you are able to work on right this very second? If not, scratch it. Your goal must be functional. It must be something that you are qualified and able to start working on right now.

* Realistic – Your goal must be real. It must be concrete. It must be something that you know you are able to do. If you don’t know how to play the piano but want to learn, your first goal should be to begin taking piano lessons, not playing the piano with an orchestra in three weeks. Be realistic.

* True to life – Does your goal represent the reality of your life? Have you whittled it down to very basic, core, actionable steps you can take towards reaching it?