The Goal Guide
January always sparks a lot of buzz about setting resolutions or personal goals for the New Year. While it’s great to have an idea of what the big picture looks like if you reach those goals, it can be difficult to dissect the milestones that it takes to reach said big picture and to celebrate the small things along the way.
This blog will help you on your way towards crafting a goal that makes sense for your place of business, plan the goal out in smaller steps, and set incentives for reaching the end goal.
Step One – Passionate and Realistic
The first step to achieving a successful goal is to set one that you are passionate about. It also needs to be a realistic goal for where you are currently at in life.
For example, setting a goal of having a million dollars in savings would certainly be something that most people are interested in. But if you only make $11/hour in your current job, then saving that amount of money would be both hard and frustrating. That situation may lead you to give up on the goal altogether. However, if you were to set a goal that is more realistic for your current situation, such as saving a thousand dollars, then you would be more likely to keep the goal and actually achieve it.
With this in mind, set a professional goal that you can achieve in 2019 that is within your grasp and relevant to your position. The important thing to remember is that your end goal is going to be very fluid and may look different as you make progress through the year.
Step Two – Milestones
The next step to fulfilling your goal is to break it down into smaller pieces or milestones that can be reached in shorter time frames.
Take your goal and cut it into four items that can be completed one after the other, and then break those items into even smaller parts if need be. This creates a road map that will help you figure out how to get to your final destination. This ideally is the “big picture” goal.
Step Three – Motivation
Once you’ve broken down the steps to reaching your objective, you’ll need to find a way to stay motivated.
The best way that I’ve personally found to stay motivated is to reward yourself along the way! Knowing that you’ll receive an “incentive prize” at the end of a task makes it more enjoyable to complete. However, the incentives should match the amount of effort that went into each project. For example, you probably shouldn’t have a pizza party for putting a letter in the mail.
It’s important to balance each task with an equally weighted award. Whether it be rewarding yourself with something as simple as a sweet treat or more lavish treatments, be sure to always take a moment to relish in the fact that you have are more step closer to reaching your end objective.
Should you choose to use these three tips on goals in their entirety or customize them to meet your specific needs, they are sure to help you along the way in your new year resolutions!
