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ACHIEVING YOUR GOALS

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Contributed by: Debbie Campbell ,Ph.D. on 3/6/2008

It's a New Year! What will you do to achieve your goals for 2008? I believe it is important to set aside some time for goal setting. This is an exercise I do every year as a way of establishing the intention and plan for my life. We are much more likely to achieve goals through the process of writing down our goals and plans for the future. This allows the subconscious mind to carry these hopes and dreams and to work toward their completion.

If you have congruence in your values, interests, and personal mission statement, goal achievement will come easier. This is all explored in more detail in my book, DARE TO SUCCEED: How to Transcend Your Fears and Achieve Your Goals.

Identifying Your Goals
Identify the areas you wish to focus on in your goal setting. I find it helpful to identify three or four major areas, although you could identify more. Consider the areas of family and/or relationship, career, social life, finances, health, exercise, weight management, leisure time, or any other areas you feel are important to you. Which areas in your life need improvement? Write each of these area titles across the page in columns.

On the left side of the grid, write in your dates. Usually, I use One Year (in this case, '08), Five Years, and Ten Tears. This year, I'm breaking the chart down even more as I have more specific plans for this month and for the first quarter related to one of my goals (which is to get the word out about my book). Decide which approach you would prefer to work with for your own needs and goals.

So, on the left side put timelines as follows: Current Month, Three Months (or Quarter), One Year, Five Years, Ten Years.

The next step is to write your goals under each timeline and category.

This approach encompasses a strategic plan. It is relevant for today and provides an opportunity to chart both a short and long-term course. It is interesting to look back at the prior year's plans and see how you did. It likely will surprise you how much you did achieve in the goals you had set. Celebrate and take those successes in! Remain committed to yourself and to your achievements.

Utilize areas not fully achieved as areas of continued focus and work, not as failure; not everything happens on our timelines or in the way we envisioned. Be open to other opportunities and possibilities that come your way for 2008. You might also choose to re-vamp your plans and re-strategize goals and steps as you re-do each year's plan.

Additional Tips for Your Goal Setting
1. Make short term goals realistic, perhaps a stretch/leap from where you are now. Therefore, this can be a strategic plan with steps (steps can also be listed separately on 3x5 cards and posted where you can see them daily to keep yourself on track).

2. In some areas, you may want to just "maintain"; this is a valid goal, i.e. plotting to maintain your weight and health if these are not so much of an issue for you, or maintaining a happy marriage, if you are doing well and are on track in spending quality time with your partner.

AN ACTION STEP
I challenge you to chart a course and plan for your life. Utilize this chart (or any other chart you might create) to set goals. Make it happen. You will be glad you did!

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