SUCCESS (part 4)

1.Goal setting is absolutely essential for success of any kind.

2.The most common reasons why most of the people do not set goals are because they:

>Are afraid they will not achieve them.

>Do not know how to set goals.

>Do not feel they need to.

>Are either too lazy or fail to appreciate the importance of goal setting.

3.Setting goals involves starting with happy ending and going back to the beginning to make it happen.

4.A goal is something to aim for.

5.Achieving the goal will bring certain benefits that you should able to clearly identify and visualise.Where do you want to be in five years time? What is the motivating force that gets
you out of bed each morning?

6.Goals should be:

(1) Realistic and attainable.

(2) Written down.

(3) Based on a strong desire to achieve something worthwhile.

(4) Followed by a detailed plan on how the goal is to be achieve.

(5) Reinforced by positive affirmations.

7.Once you have identified your goal and have precisely identified the benefits that will flow from achieving it.The next step is to develops plans to achieve that goal.Recognising the benefits will create the desire to lay plans and take the necessary action.

8.Once you have set yourself goals,you must now plan a course of action which will enable you to achieve it.In essence it is a strategy or blue print for the achievement of the goal.

9.Planning involves plotting a path which will weave around all obstacles in order to reach a desired destination.You must be clear about what has to be done so that your target will be reach.

10.Just as the goal must be specific and able to be measured,so too must the plans.Each plan will consists of many activities that need to be achieved and which will themselves become sub-goals.

11.There are a number of steps in the planning process:

(1)Research the different strategies that could be taken.

(2)Concentrate on the most attractive strategies,focussing most of your energy on two or three.

(3)Identify the obstacles and road blocks that may prevent you from achieving your goal.

(4)Develops solutions for overcoming these obstacles.

(5)List down the various steps that will be required to enable you to reach the goal.These steps should be as specific as day to day activities with target dates for their completion.These dates are important because they create a sense of urgency and encourage decisiveness.Procrastination is enemy #1 as far as achievement of goals is concerned.