A clear action plan to achieve your goal. Correct goals: how to set a goal? How to place them correctly

They say that dreaming is not harmful, but many dreams should remain just dreams. I lived with this statement since childhood, my parents always pulled me back when they found out about my fantasies - come down to earth!

Well, okay, let’s say the idea of ​​having a unicorn and flying it to other planets really needs some work, but such simple human desires as a good home, a stable marriage, interesting work and travel can be realized. How many very simple and small desires do people have?

Get your figure in order for summer, open your own store, learn to dance flamenco... And every day I hear from someone - well, this is impossible. Absolutely anything is possible if you know how to achieve it! I will talk about my approach to goals and their implementation, and you will learn how to set goals.

How to set a goal so that you can achieve it? Some people believe that their desire is already a goal. For example, I talked with a young guy who wanted to buy an apartment and was saving money to buy it. This lasted a year, then several years (although his income was very decent), and all this time he worked a lot and hard, and seemed to be moving towards his goal... No. This is a desire, a dream and an extremely stupid way to realize it. If you don’t organize the process from the very beginning, then your life won’t be enough for your dreams.

A correctly set goal has the following characteristics:

• she is very specific. If we take the example of purchasing a home, then you need to sit down and write down in detail what options may suit you: square footage, location, layout.
• it is measured in specific terms. For example, buying a home in three years. Lose ten kilograms by summer.
• it has an implementation plan. If you know how to implement it, you will always achieve results.

Formulating goals

You need to write down any of your desires - for this you can create a separate notebook or text file, I write down all my ideas in Evernote. Not all desires really need to be realized, some are simply meaningless, others are imposed, and others are not thought out at all. But it’s better to still have them on hand. Next, you need to turn your desire into a goal.

Not long ago I pursued exactly this dream, and I can tell you what and how I did. It's not too difficult, but it can't be done in a jiffy, so you'll need to understand how to set a goal correctly and achieve it.

The next step is to formulate the goal, express it as specifically and in detail as possible. To do this, you need to confirm the reason. Answer yourself the following questions (I indicated possible answer options for the goal of learning a foreign language):

1. Why do I want to achieve this?
   Possible answers:
   • I want to feel the culture of a new country.
   • I need this language in my work; knowing it will make me a more specialized and valuable specialist.
   • I want to travel and knowing a foreign language will expand my capabilities.
   • I want to read, write, listen to music and watch videos in this language.
2. What will achieving this result give me?
   • I will be more free when traveling.
   • I will be able to watch the films of my favorite director in the original.
   • I will get a promotion.
3. How will I feel when I achieve my goal and how will I know that I have achieved the result?
   • I will feel satisfaction from the first book I read without a dictionary.
   • I will experience new sensations when watching the film in the original.
   • I will feel a little less of a “stranger” while traveling when I can talk freely with the locals.
4. How will achieving results improve me?
   • A foreign language develops thinking, I will remember information faster.
   • I will study diligently, become more disciplined and learn to work with information.
5. What can I do next?
   • It will be easier for me to learn new languages.
   • I will be able to teach or tutor.
   • I will be able to get a certificate of knowledge of a new language.
   • I will be able to go to another country to work (having an accredited diploma and confirming the spoken language with a certificate).

As you can see, even the simplest goal requires careful study. I wrote down the options that came to my mind when I was thinking about learning English. This list helped me understand exactly how to approach learning and what to pay attention to.

I determined the deadline as follows. I chose IELTS testing to test my knowledge. Then I called my English teacher and asked her how long it would take to realistically prepare for IELTS with my level of preparation. Having thrown in a couple of months for unforeseen circumstances, I started drawing up an implementation plan.

How to make your plans come true

Every goal seems too difficult unless you break it down into small subgoals. My grandmother said " If you don't know what to do, take small steps ". Therefore, our large and important goal needs to be divided into many small ones, which will be much easier to cope with. To do this, we will again need several sheets of paper and a pencil, and again we will answer questions.

How to achieve what you want?

It was easy for me - I needed to study, devote more time to the language, read in it, watch movies and attend group classes. If the goal is to buy a home, then everything is a little more complicated. To buy an apartment you need money, the apartment itself, lawyers, a real estate agency and time. To achieve an ideal figure, you will need time, consultation with several doctors, a new diet, a gym membership and a good trainer. I hope the basic principle is clear? You need to outline your goal into main stages.

By the way, did you notice that in each example I mention time? It is needed to learn English, to lose weight and buy real estate... This is not an abstract meaning. You can’t listen to a song in English once a week and pass IELTS in a year, just as you can’t do squats twice and get great muscles. Every good thing takes time, so decide right away how much time you will devote to your goal.

This requirement will need to be strictly observed - otherwise the goal will not be achieved.
The deadline is determined either by the person’s capabilities or by external circumstances (in a situation with a language, for example, when a certificate is needed by a certain deadline, they act based on the available time).

I had nowhere to rush, so I allocated 8 hours a week to learning English. Six days, one hour each for independent study, reading books, watching videos, and studying on the Internet, and two hours for classes in courses. Your deadlines may be different, it all depends on the goal and discipline.

Making a list of tasks

So, for my language “young fighter course” I needed to make a list. I recommend everyone make a list like this in relation to their goal.

1. Find out your assets
   You need to understand what you have to achieve your goal right now. I had this:
   • school level of English. Not God knows what, but still not from scratch.
   • good educational materials, classics and modern literature in the original.
   • good teacher (no need to look for a group).
   • enough money for training (if I didn’t have it, I would take out a small loan).
   • several English friends who agreed to talk with me on Skype and correct my mistakes.

   You need to determine what you have to achieve your goal and how you can work with it.

   The next question on the list to answer is

2. What needs to be done to get results?
   I had these answers:
   • take the test and find out the state of my English.
   • talk with the teacher, soberly assess your capabilities and listen to the recommendations of a professional.
   • make a lesson schedule.
   • Separately, engage in training for IELTS testing - find examples of tasks, complete them, learn to do it as correctly as possible.
   • arrange independent tasks so that they are effective.

To be honest, I was depressed at this stage - it seemed to me that the entire preparation list would consist of buying beautiful notebooks. But then I re-read that part of the list that lists the reasons for my desire to learn the language and perked up - what’s not motivation? And she began her year-long personal educational project in order to achieve her goal.

My example of achieving a goal did not require huge investments or long hours of exhausting work, I simply did something interesting and loved every day. Yes, sometimes it turned out that “today’s” tasks became “tomorrow’s”, sometimes I was too tired to learn new information - and then I did repetitions and training.

In the situation with large purchases, for example, everything is a little different. First of all, there will be a completely different list. In order to buy a home faster, you will need to not only save money, but also protect it from inflation, increase capital, monitor the situation on the housing market, and if the need for a mortgage arises, then write a new list on how to pay it off faster.

We must not forget about why all this is being done. Two months after the start of classes, I started reading - to make it not so scary, I first took up good old fairy tales in English, then read something more complex, and then I caught myself wanting to listen to audiobooks. No sooner said than done.

I recommend doing the same thing to everyone who has set a goal and is achieving it - start enjoying the process. The path to a goal is not an easy one, and those who know how to set goals correctly will always achieve their goal. But there is a significant difference between “to achieve” and “to achieve with pleasure.” The second, as you understand, is much more pleasant.

I would also like to give one very important piece of advice that I received from my teacher. It so happened that in our group there were several guys who had already tried to take IELTS and did not receive the necessary scores to confirm their level. They gave a lot of advice, talked about their experiences and shared opinions.

But our teacher gave one of the most valuable advice in my entire life - You only need to learn from those who have already achieved the result you want! Simple, right? Ask for advice from those who know what to do. This was a revelation for me.

Some people think that a year is a long time to achieve a goal. I have a different point of view on this matter. A year is a long time if you want to buy a coat or change your phone. And even then, it all depends on the situation. I lived twenty-five years without English (really good English), and another year meant nothing to me.

If there was a need to prepare for testing in three months, I would do it too; there are no unfulfilled desires if you organize your life correctly for at least a year or two.

Any achievement of a goal is not only work, but also some overcoming of oneself. You will have to overcome yourself every day, or even several times a day. I convinced myself every day that languages ​​were easy for me (this is true, because I know four languages), I also praised myself (positive emotions help me cope with a task), and all the time I organized myself.

Organizing yourself is a difficult task, and if at some point it doesn’t work out, then it’s better to turn to a coaching coach. These are special psychologists who not only develop the theory, but also help you achieve the desired result and implement in your life what makes it even more interesting.

I am sure that if a person knows how to set goals correctly and achieve them, he will be able to achieve the desired results, and at the same time he will be able to learn to live differently - more meaningfully. Ultimately, goals help you mobilize yourself, make yourself better, smarter and more interesting. I’m talking about this because I’ve gone through this stage many times in my life - I achieved results, re-read the list of goals set for the year over and over again, and looked for ways to make my desires come true.

Now I’m ready to organize the process of achieving not only personal goals, but also work ones - this helps me a lot in life. Remember, nothing is impossible. And write down your list of goals - for a year, five years, or even for your whole life today, so that you know each of your dreams and start making them come true.

Goal setting is a person’s determination of what he needs and the presentation of this understanding into a clear, precise picture or motivating formulation.

How high should your goals be?

High goals are difficult goals. People who value comfort more than achievement often choose simpler goals that are realistic without unnecessary stress. Another part of people are not afraid of tension; it is more important for them to achieve what is important to them, no matter how difficult it may be, because only such a life is worthy for them. As a choice of philosophy of life, it does not have a single correct solution; can it be stated that the choice of comfort is more often a woman’s choice, the focus on achievement attracts men to a greater extent.

For a man, a good motivation for development is a goal that goes beyond his current lifestyle. This may be a desire to create your own business, to realize big life plans. Or the image of the beloved woman whom he so dreams of meeting. And for the sake of such a goal, a man will be ready to move mountains, work day and night, actively changing himself and the life around him. Such a goal allows one to move much further than a goal lying in the zone of proximal development.

Goal setting is inextricably linked to available resources. It’s stupid to set the goal of reaching the sun if you don’t have a spaceship or even wax to glue feathers together. At the same time, the question always remains open: set goals based on available resources, or pull up resources for the goals that we decided to achieve?

Supporters of moderate tension more often choose the path “From resources to tasks”: in achieving the goal, one must proceed from the available capabilities, acting according to existing standards. First, we take inventory of resources (time, people, material resources, knowledge and skills), and then, based on the base, we decide what can be done with it and set a goal. Supporters of high achievements more often choose the strategy “If there is a goal, the resource will be found.” With a certain amount of experience and independence, a person can find additional resources that he did not have at the time of setting the goal (money - earn or borrow, people - find, meet and attract to work, skills - master himself or delegate to a specialist, etc.) . For a person without much experience, it is better to use the first path, it is more reliable. Strong, brave and experienced people often choose the second path; it requires a non-standard approach, but opens up great opportunities.

Process and result goals

Goals can be process or result. Process goal: do exercises every day, attend training 2 times a week. Resulting goal: to be cheerful, lose 2 kg. The resulting goal is more “tasty”. But! If the process is not specified accurately, there is always a danger of not achieving the result “due to other circumstances.” It is best to prescribe the goal in two ways: I want to be cheerful (result), for this I will shower myself and do exercises every morning (process), eat right, go to bed no later than 12.00, attend training 2 times a week.

SMART

SMART is the principle according to which a well-set goal must be specific, measurable, achievable, result-oriented, and time-bound. Cm.

13.04.2015 11 459 8 Reading time: 13 min.

Today we will talk about how to set a goal and what they should be the right goals any person. In order to do anything, you should start by setting goals. Therefore, what exactly you will strive for and what you will achieve as a result depends on how correctly and competently the goal is formulated. Thus, this issue must be approached very thoughtfully and responsibly. Next, I will tell you what the right goals are and describe the important rules for setting goals and objectives that should be followed.

Rules for setting goals and objectives

1.Good goals must be specific. When thinking about how to set a goal, try to formulate it as specifically as possible, so that there are no uncertainties or vague concepts in it. To do this, I recommend following three rules:

• Specific result. Setting a goal should include a specific outcome you want to achieve.
• Measurable result. The goal you want to achieve must be expressed in some specific measurable quantity - this is the only way you can really control its achievement.
• Specific deadlines. And finally, good goals must have specific deadlines for achievement.

For example, “I want” is absolutely not a specific goal: there is neither a measurable result nor specific deadlines. “I want to have a million dollars” - the goal already contains a measurable result. “I want to have a million dollars by the age of 50” is already the correct goal setting, because... contains both the measured result and the time frame for its achievement.

The more specifically the goal is formulated, the easier it is to achieve it.

2. The right goals must be realistically achievable. This means that you must set goals, the achievement of which is within your power and depends mainly on you. It is unacceptable to plan something that is completely dependent on other people or some external factors that you are not able to influence.

For example, “in 5 years I want to have a million dollars, which my American uncle will leave me as an inheritance after death” is a completely wrong and unacceptable goal. In order to sit and wait for 5 years for your uncle to die, you don’t need to set goals. And the most interesting thing will be when it turns out that he bequeathed his fortune to someone else. Well, in general, I think you understand.

“I want to earn a million dollars in a year.” The right goal? No, if you don’t have a penny to your name right now, you simply won’t achieve it.

“I want to increase my income by $100 every month.” This is a realistically achievable goal, of course, if you have calculated and understand exactly how you will increase your income.

Set realistic goals for yourself and you will be able to achieve them.

3. The right goals must come from the soul. When thinking about how to set a goal, you should choose only those goals that you are really interested in and need, that attract you, that you really want to achieve, and the achievement of which will make you truly happy. There is absolutely no point in setting goals for yourself to do something through force, without having the desire, simply because it is “necessary”. Also, you don’t need to pass off other people’s goals as your own. Even if you complete these tasks, you are unlikely to get anything really needed from it.

For example, you don’t need to set a goal to get a legal education if you want to become a pop star, but your parents are “pushing” you to become a lawyer because it is a “money and prestigious profession.”

Set goals that will inspire you, not stress you out!

4. The right goals must be positive. The same task can be formulated in different ways: with both a positive and a negative connotation. Therefore, when thinking about how to set a goal correctly, avoid negativity and use exclusively positive expressions (you write everything down!) - this will psychologically motivate you more strongly to achieve results. There are also 3 important rules here.

• Good goals should show what you want to achieve, not what you want to get rid of;
• Correct goals should not contain negations (“I don’t want”, “I wish I didn’t have”, etc.);
• Correct goals should not contain even a hint of coercion (words “should”, “must”, “necessary”, etc.).

For example, “I want to get rid of poverty,” “I don’t want to live in poverty,” “I want to be debt-free” is an incorrect goal formulation, because contains negativity. “I want to become rich” is the correct formulation of the goal, because... contains positive.

“I must become rich” is the wrong goal setting: you only owe money to banks and creditors; it is much better to formulate the goal like this: “I will become rich!”

Positive goals are much easier to achieve than getting rid of negative ones!

5. Goal setting must be written. When your goal is written down on paper or in an electronic document, it will psychologically motivate you much more to achieve it. Therefore, when thinking about how to set a goal, keep in mind that you need to record your goals in writing. And it is a mistake to believe that you will already remember well what you have planned. Even if you have a good memory, a goal that you haven’t recorded anywhere is the easiest to change or abandon it altogether.

Goals in your head are not goals, they are dreams. The right goals must be written down.

6. Break down global goals into smaller ones. If your goal seems too difficult and unattainable, then break it down into several intermediate, simpler ones. This will make achieving a common global goal much easier. I will say more, if you do not break important life goals into intermediate ones, then you are unlikely to achieve them at all.

Let’s take our first goal, “I want to have a million dollars by age 50,” as an example. If this is all you set for yourself, you will not complete this task. Because it’s not even clear how exactly you are going to earn this million. Therefore, it is necessary to break this strategic task into several smaller, tactical ones, showing exactly how you will go towards your intended goal. For example: “Save $100 a month for”, “Within a month”, “Open by age 30”, etc. Of course, these are just approximate goal trends; the correct goals should look, as you already know, more specific.

A global strategic goal will be achieved if you break it down into several intermediate, tactical ones.

7. Goals can be adjusted if there are objective reasons. If you have already set a clear and specific goal, this does not mean that it cannot be adjusted. However, and this is very important, adjustments to goals can only be carried out if there are objective reasons. Reasons like “I can’t do it” or “I’d rather waste this money” cannot be considered objective. Anything can happen in life and in the world around you that will have a significant impact on achieving your goal. And when such force majeure circumstances occur, the goal can and should be adjusted, both in the direction of weakening and in the direction of strengthening.

For example, you set a goal to save $100 a month in a bank deposit in order to collect a certain amount. At the time the goal was set, the deposit rate was 8% per annum. If bank rates drop to 5% per annum, you will need to adjust your goal: either save more, or, if this is not possible, reduce the amount you want to collect. But if rates rise to 10% per annum, you will be able to adjust the goal towards increasing the planned result.

There is nothing wrong with adjusting goals for objective reasons—circumstances may arise in life that could not be predicted.

8. Believe in achieving your goal. It is necessary not only to set the goal correctly, but also to believe in achieving it. This will psychologically help you go towards your goal and overcome all obstacles encountered along the way.

Belief in achieving your goal is the most important factor on the path to success. There is no point in setting goals for yourself that you do not believe in achieving.

I hope this article helped you understand how to set a goal correctly and what your good goals should be.

In other publications on you will find many more useful tips and recommendations that will become your assistants on the path to success, and will also teach you how to competently manage your personal finances, because achieving almost any life goal has its own financial side. See you again on the pages of the site!

Estimate:

A goal differs from a dream in that it has not only an image, but also real ways to achieve it. Without the means and concrete actions that make approaching the goal possible, one can only dream and fantasize.

A goal is an ideal, mental anticipation of the result of a person’s actions and the ways to achieve it using certain means.

In other words, a goal is a possible, imaginable future event or state of something, the implementation of which is desirable for a person (personal image of the future). At the same time, the means and possible paths necessary to achieve it are always consistent with the goal.

Otherwise, this desired future will only be a spell of the elements (lack of possible means) or fruitless dreams (lack of ways to achieve it). Thus, a goal is always something for which specific human actions are carried out. No actions, no goals. And vice versa.

How to set goals correctly

The fulfillment of our desires and the realization of our dreams largely depends on how correctly we set our goals. Rules for setting goals help turn our aspirations and desires into reality. Therefore, in this article we will consider in detail the question “How to set goals correctly?”, and we will understand how to translate your desires and dreams into the category of real and clear goals that can be achieved.

1. Rely only on your own strengths

Before you set a goal, make it clear to yourself that all responsibility for its implementation falls entirely on your shoulders. To avoid the temptation to blame someone else for your failures, set goals that you can achieve without outside help. This goal-setting rule will save you in the future (if you don’t achieve something) from making the wrong conclusions when working on mistakes.

2. Formulate your goals correctly

Firstly, goals, like ideas, must be written down on paper (notebook, diary, diary). A goal written down in detail has a much greater chance of being realized. If you believe that you can keep them in your head without formulating goals on paper, then do not flatter yourself about achieving them. Such goals can safely be classified as dreams. Dreams and desires wander chaotically in our heads, they are chaotic, disorderly and completely unclear to us.

The efficiency of such dream goals is extremely small; in reality, they are achieved very, very rarely. Even with words, we often cannot describe what we really want. Therefore, formulating a goal must necessarily take place with a pencil in hand. The saying is true: “What is written with a pen cannot be cut down with an axe.”

Setting and formulating a goal with the help of a recording involves our subconscious in active work; a formulated goal gives confidence and makes each next step meaningful.

The man caught a goldfish. And she says to him: “Let me go, I will fulfill any of your wishes.” Well, he thought and thought about how to fit everything into one desire and said: “I want me to have everything!” “Okay,” the fish answers, “you HAD everything.”

Secondly, correct goal setting and formulation imply that the goal must carry a positive charge. Therefore, it is better to formulate it using the rules of affirmations - talk about what you want, and not about what you don’t want. The correct goal is “to be rich”, “to be sober”, “to be slim”. The wrong goal is “to avoid poverty,” “not to drink,” “to get rid of excess weight.” If nothing positive comes to mind and something like “I don’t want this, I don’t want that” is constantly spinning around, try asking correctly: “This is what I don’t want. Then what do I want instead?

Also, following this rule of setting a goal, when formulating it, it is better not to use words that create resistance and reduce the effectiveness of the goal - “necessary”, “needed”, “should”, “must”. These words are the antipodes of the word “want”. How can you want, using blocking words to motivate? Therefore, replace “must” with “want”, “should” with “can”, “should” with “will do”.

The correct goal is “I want to relax and will go on vacation”, “I can and know how to earn money and will earn a lot of money.” Wrong goal - “I need to relax and go on vacation”, “In order to pay off the debt I must earn money.” It is also best to formulate a goal in terms of a result rather than a process: that is, “do this” rather than “work better.”

3. Break big goals into subgoals

Any big goal seems overwhelming until you begin to divide it into parts. For example, the desire to buy real estate abroad seems impossible at first glance. But if you move towards your goal in systematic steps, dividing it into stages, it will be easier to achieve it.

You can first set a goal to earn 3 thousand rubles a day, then 5 thousand, etc. Step by step (goal by goal) you will reach a level where you can think about buying real estate. Setting complex (global) goals and objectives, breaking them down into smaller ones, has an excellent motivational effect. Having achieved one, albeit insignificant, goal, you will feel satisfaction and the desire to move on. Reaching near goals, you gain strength and confidence to reach distant ones.

The way of thinking will gradually change. Understand, it is unrealistic to earn 20 thousand a month, and then in a few weeks increase your income to 500 thousand. Big money loves the prepared.

4. Specification of the goal

Often the reason why a set goal is not achieved is its lack of specificity, namely:

• Lack of clearly formulated specific results. What does it mean – “I want to learn Chinese” – to learn a couple of hundred words, or does it mean to learn to communicate fluently in this language, or perhaps “to learn Chinese” means to learn all 80 thousand characters and read the text without a dictionary?
• There is no way to measure this result. When setting goals and objectives, it is important to consider the further ability to measure the result. For example, if you want to lose weight, you need to know how much weight you want to lose, five, ten, or maybe thirty kilograms.
• Lack of clearly defined deadlines. Here are two examples of goal setting: the first is “I want to increase the traffic to my website to a thousand unique visitors per day,” the second is “I want to increase the traffic to my website to a thousand unique visitors per day in three months.” The first option, without clearly defined deadlines, looks more like a desire than a goal. Well, a person wants to increase traffic to his resource, so what? He can come to this only in five years. The second option is a different matter - there is a set deadline that will stimulate and encourage in every possible way. Surely the deadline was determined reasonably, and not taken out of thin air, and therefore you will have to forget about laziness and work productively.

More, more specifics!

5. Goal adjustment

Be flexible! Just because you've set a goal doesn't mean you can't make adjustments as necessary. Anything can happen, circumstances may arise that can slow down or speed up the achievement of the goal, so you need to be prepared to adjust the goal. Remember that inertia in aspirations has never made anyone either successful or happy. Life changes, and you must have time to change with it!

6. Attractiveness of the goal

The goal and the consequences that its achievement will lead to should attract you! choose goals that attract, inspire and inspire you, otherwise “the game is not worth the candle.”

7. Believe that your goal is achievable

After formulating and setting a specific goal, you need to penetrate it and consolidate it in the subconscious. It happens that while consciously trying to achieve a goal, we are subconsciously not ready to achieve it. You can desire a goal, but deep down in your soul you don’t believe in its feasibility, you don’t believe in your abilities, or you simply consider yourself unworthy.

It is not enough to correctly formulate a goal, you need to charge it with the energy of confidence - this is the most important condition for readiness to achieve your goal. All successful people, from television stars (Oprah Winfrey, Larry King...) and outstanding athletes (Michael Jordan, Fedor Emelianenko...), to politicians (Mitt Romney, Silvio Berlusconi, Arnold Schwarzenegger...) and businessmen (Richard Branson,...) have achieved what they have thanks to the ability to correctly formulate and set goals.

8. Adjustment of goals and objectives

If you have already defined your main life goals, this does not mean that you cannot partially change them over time. Adjustments to goals and objectives can take place at every stage of your life's journey. Flexibility in our time is the most important quality that allows us to adapt to changing conditions. It must be remembered that rigid views have never led anyone to success or happiness. You must change along with the world around you.

At least once a year, every person determined to succeed should devote time to such an activity as goal adjustment. For example, you can do this every birthday because it is the moment when you grow one year older and realize that you are wiser. Dedicate this day to analyzing the fruits that you managed to collect over the previous year.

Focus on your victories and don't forget to praise yourself for them. At the same time, you should not lose sight of your defeats. Draw the most correct conclusions and think about what you have to work on in the coming period. Be sure to evaluate the list of goals that was compiled a year ago. Carefully analyze each of the assigned tasks. Think about what exactly you did during the year to implement it.

Assess how far you have come in your pursuits. Ask yourself whether a specific goal has the same meaning for you as it did a year ago. Perhaps today this task will seem insignificant to you or, in some respects, even naive. In such a situation, you can safely cross it out.

Once you've gone through all your goals, start creating a new list. You can modify old tasks, focusing on the requirements of the present moment. If you have new thoughts about your goals, be sure to record them. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure that new tasks do not contradict the old ones that are still relevant. We must remember that our capabilities must be assessed adequately. Try to set achievable goals for yourself, since unrealistic tasks that are almost impossible to achieve at this stage will become the subject of your disappointment in a year.

If your life has changed significantly over the past year, adjusting your tasks is almost mandatory for you. There is no need to set too strict time limits for yourself. You don't have to wait a year to adjust your goals. By forming new life priorities, you will have the opportunity to understand and accept all the changes that have happened in your life.

Most likely, you have many goals. Try to write them down briefly and clearly on a piece of paper. Most likely, you won’t be able to do this quickly the first time, and the results of such work may surprise you. It wouldn’t hurt to compare the old and new lists in order to understand what you’ve given up and where you’re heading.

Remember that you have the opportunity to change both the goals themselves and the methods for achieving them. For example, a past strategy for achieving a certain goal may seem universally stupid to you at the moment. Make changes in your life, otherwise there is a risk that you will remain in the same place for a long time.

When you realize what you want, don't stop, dig even deeper. Is this your goal? Is this what you want? Maybe your mother wants this, the environment or other other people’s voices are imposing theirs?

Are you sure you really want this? Choosing and correctly setting a goal is half the battle and the basis for a successful outcome. Let's look at the criteria for correctness.

Specificity

It is not enough to set the goal “apartment”. It is necessary to describe the nuances in as much detail as possible, otherwise discrepancies are possible. An apartment seems to have appeared, there is a place to live, but it is not yours, you cannot dispose of it as you please. This apartment is the wrong size, in the wrong city, it’s not an apartment, but a room in a communal apartment. Has the goal been achieved? Yes. Is this what you wanted? No.

Wrong target: apartment.

Correct goal: three-room apartment without encumbrances in the center of Moscow in my ownership.

Measurability

Let's say your goal is to become a popular blogger. Thanks to social networks, there is a simple and concrete sign of popularity - a large number of subscribers. If you find it difficult to determine this figure for yourself, look at how many subscribers the person you consider popular has, and use this number as a guide.

Wrong target: I want to be popular.

Correct goal: 5,000 followers on Facebook.

Reachability

As one boss said, ask the impossible, you will get the maximum. Set yourself ambitious goals, desire in your heart to jump above your head, believe in yourself, and then land and take into account objective reality. There is no point in setting yourself the goal of growing a third arm.

Wrong target: I want people not to get cancer.

Correct goal: employment with a cancer organization.

Significance

Ask yourself the question “Why?” Repeat until you come to an answer like “This will make me happy,” “I will feel fulfilled,” “I will be fulfilled as...”. Ultimately, most human desires come down to these simple things. Therefore, it is not recommended to set a goal of a certain amount of money. Money is not a goal, it is a means to achieve something that will bring joy, benefit, and happiness.

Wrong target: I want a lot of money to buy a yacht.

Correct goal: yacht.

Deadlines

The deadline is a necessary parameter to achieve the goal. Without buoys, the sea of ​​time seems endless, but suddenly life passes. An approaching deadline stimulates acceleration and will help correlate current progress with the remaining time.

Wrong target: I want to learn to draw.

Sign of goal achievement

By what sign will we understand that the goal of “getting married” has been achieved? An official document will appear confirming this - a marriage certificate. I’ll say a seditious thought, but in achieving a goal we move rather not towards the goal itself, but towards a sign of its achievement. Without a sign of achievement, the goal ceases to be specific. It's not enough to want your own car. The car becomes mine the moment my name is entered into the vehicle passport.

Incorrect sign: Dodge brand car.

Correct sign: PTS for a Dodge car.

Tools for achieving goals

Countdown

List the key steps in order from last to first. The question “What is needed to..?” will help with this. Determine the approximate deadlines for each stage so that you can check the plan later.

Example

Goal: October 2019 - housewarming in my own house, which I will build.

• What do you need to celebrate a housewarming in the house that I will build? Interior decoration (September 2019).
• What is needed for interior decoration to appear? Bring up communications (May 2018).
• What is needed to carry out communications? Cover the roof (April 2018).
• What does it take to cover a roof? Build walls (March 2018).
• Lay the foundation (September 2017).
• Select a construction contractor (June 2017).
• Order a project (April 2017).
• Find an architect (tomorrow).

So we come to the first step: write a post on social networks tomorrow and ask to recommend an architect.

Action every day

Take at least one action every day to achieve your goal. Even if you only have enough energy for one microtask, let it be done: curtains, call the architect and discuss the date of the meeting.

Creating an Environment

Fill the air. Subscribe to thematic resources, meet and communicate with experts and experienced people, read, watch. This contributes to the accumulation of knowledge and helps not to forget about the goal.

It is ideal if loved ones support, encourage, and help. Specialists and experienced people can also provide moral support, not limited to just expertise.

Self-tuning

A method for those who do not deny that thought is material. Put yourself in the image you want. This could be a visualization of the goal: someone draws a goal, someone makes collages from their photographs and photographs of the goal. Someone practices the principle “Live as if you have achieved it”, models and cultivates the feeling that you have what you want.

What to do if the goal is achieved or not achieved

Regardless of the result, analyze it. What hindered you in achieving your goal, what helped? What inspired you, what provoked procrastination? What should you consider or improve next time?

Analysis and adjustment:

• The goal was not achieved within the desired period. Review the deadlines and adjust them in accordance with the input data.
• The goal is irrelevant. Perhaps interests, values, or life situation have changed. Adjust the goal or abandon it.
• The goal is relevant, but priorities have changed. Life has made adjustments to plans; other issues require attention. Review the goal and timeline.

Don’t regret, don’t criticize yourself, analyze, look for cause-and-effect relationships, draw conclusions. Accept a situation that cannot be changed. It will be easier if you give your all along the way and enjoy the process. Even if things didn't work out, at least you had a great time. What's next on the list?