Goal-setting is all about creating action. It is about taking your grandest visions and your wildest dreams (be they health, wealth, happiness or love) and taking a step in the right direction. Note that I said just a step, because goal-setting is also about not getting too far ahead of yourself.
Of course there is no point taking a step until you know where you are going. So before you start setting yourself goals, you had better have a grand vision in place, otherwise you are just going to be meandering around in circles like a sheep in a paddock. So first you need to create a mission statement and perhaps a vision board and work out what it is that you truly desire in life.
Once you have that big idea, then you are ready to start creating goals. When I think of goal-setting I always think of a rock climber. She knows she wants to get the top (the vision/mission) but until she has done it, she has no idea how she is going to get there. What she can work out, though, is what her next step needs to be: she needs to reach her hand up and grab onto that next ledge.
So when you are creating goals, try and find out what the next step is in moving you towards your mission. What can you do right now, this week or even this year that is going to get you closer to where you want to be? Ensure that whatever the goal is it is measurable and achievable. Once you work out what that goal is, write it down somewhere where you will look at it constantly - where it will always be fresh in your mind - and then start taking action! After all, there is no point having a goal if you never act on it.
Now it may be that in the course of her ascent, the rock climber needs to go sideways, or diagonally, or even at times back down a little, but she always maintains her mission: to get to the top. It is OK to change your goal or even to cast it aside altogether if you realise that it isn't getting you where you want to be. Or perhaps your have embarked on an entirely new mission. Just replace it with a newer, better goal and continue on the journey. So long as you keep setting goals and keep focussing on your mission, the only thing that can stop you from getting there is you.
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