Since it’s the season and all, I figured I’d start off a series about goals. This ought to be useful for the New Years Resolution-ers out there, as well as anyone else who has problems achieving goals or is just looking for a new method to do so.
Today, I will be covering creating achievable goals, and different aspects that are important in achieving them, and tomorrow I will be writing about putting those goals into action by setting mini-goals.
Setting Achievable Goals
Before we get started, we need to figure out a definition of the word ‘achievable’. This doesn’t mean for something to be easy, necessarily. It is something that you can accomplish or carry through to the end. This means that to set an achievable goal, you need to set an end.
Which one of these sounds the most achievable to you?
- Become fluent in Spanish in 2 years.
- Know Russian.
- Be able to be understood by natives in a basic conversation.
- Read the Russian version of War and Peace and understand 90% of it by September 12, 2010.
I’d say that the last point is the best, followed by the third, the first, and then the second. But how achievable are these goals? Let’s look at them individually.
Become fluent in Spanish in 2 years. – The big problem with this one is the definition of the word fluent. What do you consider to be fluent? Write out those exact skills, because just ‘being fluent’ doesn’t mean much. The only good thing about this goal is that it mentions a time period – a time by which this goal needs to be completed by. But, it’s not completable, because you can always be more fluent. The goal is not very well set.
Know Russian. – What does knowing Russian mean? That you can say hello and goodbye? This goal really doesn’t achieve anything, and it’s uncompletable the way it is written. This is one of the most common ways that goals are written, which also explains why so many people don’t achieve their goals – they can’t.
Be able to be understood by natives in a basic conversation. – Better, but not quite perfect. You’d need to hash out what a basic conversation is to you.
Read the Russian version of War and Peace and understand 90% of it by September 12, 2010. – The best of the given examples, if you have figured out what approximately 90% means to you. It is concise, has a specific goal, and has an end date to complete the goal by.
So what makes up a good, completable, achievable goal? And how can you stay motivated to achieve these goals?
- It is very specific. It has exactly what your goal is, and what you mean if you use terms such as knowing a subject or being fluent in something.
- It is completable. It is not an open-ended goal, because you would never be able to actually achieve it. Give an end date by when you want to achieve it.
- Make your goals positive. Saying that you want to be able to do something is better than saying that you don’t want to do something.
- Write your goals down. Doing so lets you keep track of your goals. I personally have a goal wall – I print out my main goals and post them on the wall. Whenever I look at this wall, I see my goal, and feel more motivated to achieve it.
- Make sure your goal resonates with you. If you don’t feel your goal really reflects you, or if you are doing it out of pressure – DON’T DO IT! Goals should be for things you desperately want to achieve, not something that you are forced to do. If you feel like you are forced to do something, you are much more likely to not achieve your goal.
Hopefully, this will help you achieve your goals. Check back tomorrow for further information on achieving your goals by using mini-goals.
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