Why Not Set Yourself 

A SMART Goal Right Now 

 and begin to change your life for the better? 

Let’s get one thing clear from the start. Personal coaching is the best way to provide the focus you need to accomplish want you want from your life and your career path. But if you are not ready to commit to coaching sessions at particular this time in your life, you can still use my system for effective ‘goal setting’. In this way, you can make a start on clearing out some of the ‘life clutter’ that might be holding you back. The real bonus is that if you continue to set SMART goals on a regular basis, this simple process will ultimately point the way towards a brighter future for you.

Just in case you haven’t heard the SMART acronym for effective goal setting, here’s a recap: your goal needs to be Specific – Measurable – Achievable – Realistic - Time-bound. 

My version differs slightly from the above format, because it takes the emphasis off the need to “achieve” at any cost. If the goal you set yourself doesn’t work out, then maybe you just need to make a tiny adjustment - or go in a different direction altogether - in order to get what you want. The last thing I want is for you to be deterred from making the necessary changes to improve your life just because the goal you set yourself is too hard to complete, or just plain wrong for you at this stage in your life.

The whole process should be FUN for you – and if you can manage to ‘chunk’ your way towards achieving some positive changes in your life in the short term, that will be a welcome bonus. Just as long you enjoy the exercise and it gives your confidence a timely boost, then you can ask no more of yourself. You might even get hooked on ‘goal setting’ as a positive way of getting out of whatever rut you find yourself in!

Anyway, here’s my version. To begin with, make sure YOUR Goal is:

SPECIFIC             Don’t be vague when setting yourself a goal. Just saying “I want to lose weight” is a wish, not a goal. Include more details and amounts. For example “I am going to lose 15lbs in weight within the next three months, starting from today”.    

MEASURABLE     Can you take measurable steps along the road towards your goal? In the above example for instance, you could weigh yourself every, day, week, or month, and record the weight as a way of  assessing your progress.

ACTION DRIVENSet goals that are “action” driven. You must assess what steps you need to take in order to realise your goal. Using the example I gave, you may decide to cut out sweets, fatty foods, take-away meals, limit your alcohol intake, take some form of regular exercise, and so on. These ‘action’ steps are a crucial part of the whole process.

REALITY BASED There is no point setting yourself a goal that is too difficult, or will take a very long time to achieve - otherwise your self-confidence will gradually wane and you will give up trying to improve your life because you aren’t seeing any tangible results in the short term.

TIME-BOUND    Setting a timeframe or deadline for achieving “milestones” (those little steps along the way to your main goal) will help to keep you focused. Likewise, setting your goal over a shorter term (say 2 or 3 months, or 3 to 6 months) allows you to see the benefit of all your hard effort and will spur you on to set longer term goals.   

How To Create Your SMART Goal

To make the process easier for you, why not look at the seven most important areas of your life in a little more detail:

·        Career Path

·        Personal Relationships

·        Family

·        Health

·        Having Fun

·        Achievements

·        Money & Possessions

Just grab 7 pieces of blank paper for the 7 areas named above. Under each heading just try 'brainstorming' for 10-15 minutes. Write down all of the things you would like to have, achieve, and do, in each area. Don’t worry about how big the goals seem, just get them down on paper and don’t think too much about them – just keep writing!

Afterwards, you should have 7 pieces of paper full of everything that you would like to achieve in each area of your life.

Next, for the 7 areas above, write down the ONE small thing you could do RIGHT NOW in EACH area that you know would IMPROVE your current situation and help you to work towards your short term and long term goals? Do make them the sort of intentions or 'actions' that you can confidently expect to complete very quickly, e.g. making that phone call, researching the Internet, booking a course, arranging a meeting,  planning a get together with someone you've neglected lately, carrying out a 'random act of kindness' for another person (just because you can), saying 'NO' instead of letting others treat you like a doormat or take advantage of your good nature...and so on.

By carrying out this simple exercise,

you’ve now got 7 'doable' goals that you

just KNOW are well within your reach

if you commit to taking action

RIGHT NOW to see them through!

Don't put it off any longer - JUST DO IT!

Imagine what achieving even a few of your short term goals will do for your self-esteem - as well as the timely boost it will give your confidence levels!

Oh, there's one more thing. To get absolutely clear about your aims, you will need to write a 'mini action plan' of how you intend to make the short and long term goals on your 7 sheets of paper a reality for you. In other words, you need to have an idea of how you are going to make it as easy as possible for you to succeed. What small action steps will you commit to taking in order to "chunk" your way towards achieving a particular goal?

Before you draft your 'mini action plan', I need you write down the compelling reasons why achieving these particular goals is an absolute MUST for you.

Unless you have compelling reasons why you MUST make these goals happen then you will not have the motivation to achieve them.

Having goals that are “SHOULDS” won't get you out of bed each day and keep you up late! You’ve got to turn your “I SHOULD DO THIS” to “I MUST DO THIS”.  

So, write out what each goal is (in as much detail as possible) and state why you MUST achieve it.

What pleasure will it give you?

What will you be able to do when you achieve it?

What will you miss out on if you don’t complete it?

Why is it so important to you?

Now take your goals list and re-read the reasons WHY you want to achieve them. Do they make you feel energised and motivated to 'go for them'?

If they don’t, you either need to write down better reasons - or scrap the goal altogether and find another one!

You will only achieve a goal if it becomes

an absolute MUST for you to do so.

Why not try out my goal setting system today? Change IS possible as long as you persist with “chunking” your way towards some short term goals in the first instance. Remember, you want it to be a FUN experience, so do set yourself a goal that is definitely within your reach. The bottom line: you have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

Your future wellbeing is far too important to leave

 to chance! Do you truly want to be the person you

 were meant to be and start living the life you deserve?

Incidentally, if you feel that you don't have enough confidence right now to use the goal-setting process to help you face crucial situations such as that all important job interview, then just click on the link below to get the practical help and advice you will need to shine at any interview!

           Click here to look at my new Interview Skills E-Course

Remember,

It's YOUR life.  It's YOUR choice.