Setting goals is one of the keys to achieving more in life. People who are motivated to succeed in one or more areas of personal development can use goal setting to help them achieve the things they want. Goal-setting research has shown that the mere act of establishing goals leads to higher achievement. Specific, challenging goals direct attention, marshal energy and effort, lead to the development of effective strategies and action plans, and motivate persistence to do what is required to succeed. People can set their own goals, or coach others by helping them set personal development goals, by using the guidelines below.
SMART Goal Setting
Consultants and practitioners of goal-setting theory have identified a number of characteristics that help ensure that any goals established will have a high likelihood of improving performance. Some of these attributes of effective goals are summarized in the acronym SMART:
- S for Specific – specific goals are required for high achievement; vague goals often don’t work
- M for Measurable – so that one knows when progress is being made and when a goal is achieved
- A for Attainable – unrealistic goals are demoralizing rather than energizing
- R for Relevant – must be relevant to a person’s needs or wants to be motivating
- T for Time-bound – pursuit of a given goal needs to have a reasonable endpoint or deadline
Following the SMART guidelines helps ensure that personal goals are both motivating and realistic.
Life offers people many opportunities for personal development and setting goals can be a huge help. Some of these personal development areas are:
- Education – Educational attainment is a key predictor of success in life. For those who are beyond the normal years of schooling, life-long learning can help.
- Career – Choosing an industry or profession is a first step but specific goals can help direct a career path and lead to the kind of performance that results in promotions and career success.
- Financial – Setting feasible personal financial goals can help people stay out of financial trouble and reduce the stress produced by living beyond one’s means.
- Health – Nothing is more important than a person’s health, which is a key component of a happy life. Setting goals can help maintain or improve health, or help manage existing medical conditions.
- Physical Fitness – Because physical fitness is critical in supporting good health and lowering the risk of contracting numerous diseases and conditions, everyone should set goals in this area.
- Weight Control – Many people struggle with weight issues. Setting goals for weight loss can help lead to successful strategies and action plans.
- Relationships – Good personal relationships – with family, friends, loved ones, co-workers – are extremely important and merit setting goals for improvement or maintenance. Relationships are too often taken for granted.
- Enrichment – Each person has or can develop unique interests to make his or her life more meaningful. Setting personal enrichment goals can help fulfill those interests more effectively and efficiently.
People can set goals in one or many of these areas to help them become more accomplished or happier. But the goals that are set
must really be important and motivating to the person setting them, or they may not have much effect. They should be framed in a positive manner -- something to achieve rather than something to avoid. Goals should also be written down to show commitment.
You should write your goal down in the pretext of having already achieved it-and read it 5 times every day.
- For each goal an individual sets he or she should write down three to five milestones or “sub-goals” that will be accomplished on the way to the end goal. These milestones will help guide the way as well as monitor progress.
- For each goal one should consider what obstacles might prevent it from being accomplished. Three to five obstacles should be written down for each goal, and then actions capable of overcoming those obstacles should also be developed and written down.
Often a goal may require a detailed action plan covering what actions will have to be undertaken or new knowledge or habits acquired to successfully accomplish the goal.
Some goals may be so short term and simple that just listing them on a daily or weekly to-do list may be all that is required. An example is to buy a diet book. But there can be a long chain of means-end goals, sub-goals and strategies for longer term goals like getting an online degree while working.
Setting Goals Can Accelerate Self-Improvement and Personal Growth
On the way to personal development life events can easily knock people off track if they don’t use goals. People who do set personal goals for themselves tend to accomplish
more than people who don’t. There are well-researched and proven guidelines for setting goals that work, including the SMART method, making sure that the goals set are personally important ones, and can indeed be accomplished by the person setting them. Specific and challenging goals supply direction and energy leading to greater effort and persistence in their pursuit, and motivate the search for strategies and the development of action plans capable of achieving them.
Both individuals and organizations can accomplish more using goal-setting theory. Setting goals is a
proven way to achieve higher performance and success.Conducted by industrial/organizational psychologists. Its purpose is to explain and predict the effects that setting conscious performance goals have on task performance or achievement levels. A major aim has been to understand what types of goals are effective in motivating high performance and what other factors affect goal setting, motivation and performance. The evidence supports the proposition that setting specific and challenging goals is an effective way to deliver high performance for both individuals and organizations.
Key Findings of Goal-Setting Theory
The main findings so far of goal-setting theory are:
- The mere act of setting goals leads to higher performance compared to having no explicit goals.
- Setting specific, difficult but attainable goals leads to higher performance.
- Setting goals affects performance by directing attention and behavior toward goal-relevant activities.
- Challenging goals energize people to put forth greater effort than they otherwise would.
- Hard goals also enhance persistence when people can control how they allocate their time.
- Difficult goals lead to the marshaling of existing knowledge and skills as well as, when necessary, motivate the search for new learning and strategies to accomplish the required tasks.
Other important findings relate to “moderator” variables that affect the goal-performance relationship. The key moderators in goal setting include:
- Goal Commitment – the stronger the commitment to a goal the more likely that performance will be high. Goal commitment in turn can be affected by perceived importance of the goal and by an individual’s “self-efficacy”, or the belief that he or she can achieve the task(s) required.
- Feedback – reliable, objective verbal and visual feedback on one’s progress toward a goal supports the motivation and effort to achieve it.
- Task Complexity – if highly complex tasks are involved in achieving a goal, then difficult goals may not influence performance positively, or as much, unless learning goals are first employed to acquire any new knowledge or new skills required.
Some of the main applications of goal-setting theory in organizations include:
- Enhancing employee productivity
- Controlling or reducing costs
- Performance appraisals
- Self-regulation at work (e.g., decreased absenteeism)
- Identifying situations where significant learning or training is required
- Generating intrinsic (internal) motivation in people to achieve higher performance
- Supporting extrinsic (external) motivation by making rewards variable depending upon level of performance rather than all or nothing based on attaining the goal or not, which can decrease performance.
Limitations of Goal-Setting Theory
In general, setting specific, difficult goals raises performance levels. But there are some situations whereby this relationship fails, including:
- Goal Conflict – When there is conflict between the goals of an individual (manager) and the goals of the organization, the goal-performance relationship can fail. A manager may seek to maximize his personal bonus at the expense of pursuing more important organizational goals.
- Wrong Framing – This occurs when difficult goals are framed in a way that is perceived as threatening and performance decreases as a result.
- Riskier Strategies – Difficult goals can lead some to employ riskier strategies to achieve them. Sometimes risky strategies can fail causing performance results to be lower rather than higher.
- Unethical Behavior – When difficult goals have penalties or punishments for not meeting them, or very large rewards, cheating and dishonesty can be encouraged.
Creating action plans for personal development can help achieve personal success goals. Personal development is important and action plans work.
Creating action plans for personal development is a crucial step in a person’s growth and success in life. Some people achieve success by luck but most have to plan and work hard. Having an action plan is important because it forces the setting of goals and the selection of strategies and tasks to make those goals happen.
Working hard is good, but working hard with a plan is even better. Market economies thrive on efficiency and don’t normally provide much consideration for the fate of specific individuals. People have to make things happen for themselves and need personal development action plans to efficiently achieve the education, training, and skills necessary for success in life.
You Become what you think -your Goal becomes your DTP (Dominant thought pattern)
This statement, which almost all philosophers agree on, is at the heart of understanding how our thoughts affect who we are, and it points out the connection between what we think and what we become.
When you examine the logic of this connection, it is apparent if you become what you think about, then performance and behavior changes can be affected by altering the way you think. Your thought process, therefore, is the point where changes need to happen. It is your thought process that affects how you express yourself and who you become. Thinking, in and of itself, is an autonomous process…it happens constantly whether we like it or not, or are aware of it or not. Our brain is constantly processing 'thoughts', and they are reflected in our face, our speech, our body and our overall attitude. A clear distinction has to be made, however, between the influence of positive and negative thinking. Thoughts of a negative and critical nature will prevent us from accessing our better judgment and deeper intelligence while positive natured thoughts will have the opposite effect. They will enable us to be more connected to our natural genius and moreover will dramatically improve our future success.
Another aspect of thinking that needs to be taken into account here is the volume of thoughts we all process every minute of every hour of every day of our lives. We are inundated by scores of thoughts, seemingly coming from all directions, at great speed.
This is known as your
(RAS) Reticular Activating System First, you can deliberately
program the reticular activating system by choosing the exact messages you send from your conscious mind. For example, you can
set goals, or say
affirmations, or
visualize your goals.
Napoleon Hill -‘think and grow rich'said that we can achieve any realistic goal if we keep on thinking of that goal, and stop thinking any negative thoughts about it. Of course, if we keep thinking that we can't achieve a goal; our subconscious will help us NOT achieve it.
Second, your reticular activating system cannot distinguish between 'real events' and 'synthetic' reality. In other words it tends to believe whatever message you give it. Imagine that you're going to be giving a speech. You can practice giving that speech by visualizing it in your mind. This 'pretend' practice should improve your ability to give the speech.
It becomes a constant battle of control where the question is: Will your brain run away with whatever thoughts it wishes to have or will you get some measure of control that will allow you to determine what you will become?
A high degree of self- awareness is necessary, followed by a thinking strategy that will require your persistence to see it through. You truly DO become what you think about, and this is not some new age utopian idea…it is very real! The 'self fulfilling prophecy' concept takes a different meaning here, and it is one that is not so far fetched. If you plant negative seeds in your brain, pretty soon your entire thought process will be negative and critical, and you become a person who sees only the negative side of everything - the proverbial 'glass is half empty' person.
Additionally, (and this is important) your productivity in all areas of your life will become only a fraction of what it could be. On the other hand, if you plant positive seeds in your brain, your thought process becomes one of always seeing the proverbial 'silver lining' in every situation, spotting new opportunities and your productivity in all areas of your life is uplifted. You become the 'glass is half full' person and you constantly improve.
Interested in learning more? For YOU or your children or employees?
Email for more information. t.christodoulou@hotmail.co.uk
