Goal. Plan. Action
It’s still early in the year, and there’s no better time for you to take action! We all have dreams and aspirations. Setting goals is what pushes us forward to achieve those dreams. They act as oxygen to our dreams.
Goals can’t stand alone. You need to back them up with actionable plans and for easy tracking and realiSation. The level of details in your plan gives you a clear idea of how to get to your target point. It will give you the right motivation to keep you driving forward.
There’s no point in setting goals without taking the necessary steps to accomplish them. Taking action puts additional resources your way and offers you feedback to help readjust your approach. Let’s take a look at why you need to set your goals and have an action plan to achieve those goals.
You should not see goal setting as a boring exercise. On the contrary, you should view it as something that helps you trigger new behaviours. An exercise that helps you build and sustain momentum in life. Without set goals, it’s difficult to have your focus aligned.
There is something you must note and never forget. You can never manage what you don’t measure, and you can never improve on something you don’t manage properly. When you have a dream, your goals will motivate you to develop strategies to perform at the optimal level.
Five Key Goal-Setting Principles to Improve Your Success Chances
- Clarity. Setting goals in a generic manner may leave the whole process complicated. You must set clear and specific goals. This will help reduce or eliminate the occurrence of confusion.
- Challenge. What you want more than anything is to have a winning mindset. Setting challenging goals is one way of developing this. Such goals will stretch your mind to help you think bigger and accomplish more.
- Commitment. Arguably one of the most important principles in goal setting. Committing to your goals with all you have will significantly increase your chances of achieving them.
- Complexity. You need to set goals that align with the complexity of your aspirations. Don’t make them too simple that you won’t be satisfied at the end. Also, you should not make them too complex that you won’t be able to accomplish them.
- Feedback. Feedback helps when you need to adjust your approach. You need to have a journal to document your progress and achievements. That way, you’ll know if you’re doing the right thing and working on the right path.
Follow these principles, and see how easy it becomes to set your goals. Now, why should you set goals?
- Goals give you direction
- Goals build and sustain your momentum
- Goals help you to keep tabs on your progress
- Goals help you eliminate procrastination
- You tend to achieve more when you have set goals
- Goals motivate you and make your life more fulfilling
You’ve probably heard the “SMART” action plan millions of times, but you should never get tired of hearing it. As a reminder, what it means is:
S– Specific
M– Measurable
A- Achievable
R– Realistic
T– Time-Based
Setting goals with plans that encompass the above features is a great step towards taking action. The best goals or ideas are valueless until you implement them, and the first step towards implementation is developing a plan.
What are the benefits of having action plans?
- It offers an opportunity for reflection. While drawing out your plan, you’ll notice that you begin to think about things that occurred before. You will begin to reflect on actions that brought you success and those that didn’t. This helps you to filter your plans and choose only the best ones.
- It gives more clarity to the goal. An action plan will provide an opportunity to clarify your goals. Clarity will open your eyes to the changes required, additions and subtractions alike.
- It creates a sense of accountability. Plans will bring about more realistic suggestions. You’ll be accountable for the things you have to achieve and give feedback as necessary.
- It is a good measure of success. Measuring your success is like a stepping stone to achieving even bigger goals. Each step in your plans will be measurable and aim towards contributing to the bigger objective.
Action activates information! It is the foundational key to every success. You may have a positive vision and the best goals, but you have to back it up with positive action. Your actions create habits that are vital to achieving success.
Are you having trouble setting effective goals or creating action plans? Why not take the first significant action today? Learn more about Unleash your potential coaching bundle. There will be a Valentine’s special running on the 14th February. Book your FREE 15 min consultation to learn more. today.
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