While many would love the luxury of a personal coach to guide them through life’s twists and turns, not everyone can afford one. A coach is a great asset and investment, but personal-development does not have to cost an arm or a leg.
Self-help and professional development tips mean that many of you can start the process of achieving your dreams from the comfort of your own home. Self-coaching allows you to achieve your goals, even if that means setting them from your very own couch. “Nothing happens unless first a dream”, said Carl Sandberg, and he is right. Dreaming up a life worth living starts within your mind; it is your mindset that carries you through to developing your visions and goals. It is your imagination that sets the scene.
There are many useful tools to help you achieve your goals. The most commonly used is the SMART model, which stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. In essence, the SMART model allows you to set specific goals that are realistic. You must also set a time limit to achieve them, making them objective and transparent.
Tips for Setting SMART Goals:
1) Be specific. It is important that you are not vague when setting goals.
2) You must be able to measure your success. What does it look like to achieve this goal? When will you know you will have achieved it?
3) You must be able to achieve the goal within the set time-frame. Set goals that you know pose a challenge, but with some effort, you will achieve them.
4) Be realistic. Start small to begin with. This will boost your confidence and will help you stay motivated to achieve bigger goals. Motivation is like a muscle; work it and it will grow.
5) Set a time-frame to achieve your goal. Set smaller goals with earlier time-frames to begin with.
6) Finally, stay positive. Use positive, affirming language. Say “In X months’ time, I will achieve my goal.”
Set smaller goals to begin with. This helps to build your motivation muscle, making it easier to set and achieve more goals in the future.
What Are Your Objectives?
Every New Year, I make it my mission to set new aims and objectives for the coming year. It is almost like my life success strategy. I enjoy having a plan. While it is important to acknowledge that things may not go exactly according to the plan, having some form of wish list helps keep us on track. It saves us from going round in circles, while also acknowledging that we should still be open to new and possible opportunities.
The aims and objectives are the why to the what. Therefore, it is important to ask the all-important questions about your choices. Are your goals in line with your passions? Do they fit within a bigger vision for your life? And, most importantly, are they your goals? The last question allows us to take inventory over our lives and screen out any goals that do not inherently belong to us; they are society’s expectations, or perhaps our parents or peers have pressured us. Whatever the reason is, choose to set goals that align solely with your values and beliefs.
A Mission Statement is also helpful to planning your vision. It enables us to think futuristically, and retrospectively, from that of your 80 year old self. It allows you to focus on how you would like to be remembered; the legacy you would like to leave behind.
Being Committed
It is also important to be committed to achieving your goals. Keep in mind the bigger picture, and why you have decided to achieve this goal. This will encourage you to stay motivated, even in the face of obstacles.
Traits like commitment are socially desirable; they reinforce others’ belief in ourselves. Choosing goals that are altruistic and form something bigger than ourselves, are much more likely to be achieved in the long-run. Remember, it is important to understand the why to the what. Happy goal setting!