Goal Setting – Putting Motivation Into Perspective

If you’ve ever worked in a corporate environment, especially in a management position, you’re no stranger to the concept of establishing goals and their importance to any organization that practices management by objectives.

Even if you’ve never been in a position requiring you to define specific, measurable goals, you may not realize that every single day you’ve done so. Chances are, by not knowing you were actually setting goals, you were able to achieve them with far less analysis than accomplished through formal goal setting.

The difference between achieving formal goals versus informal goals is one of motivation. Quite often with formal goals, we may make progress towards our objective, but not have a clear understanding of the process required – and we often see a decline in our motivation to continue or to continue effectively.

This is perhaps most often seen in group work environments, where one or two members of the group seem to “Get It”, while others just sort of follow along, contributing as asked and simply waiting for others to ensure the goal is achieved at some hazy future point.

Yet as individuals, we are often able to accomplish our own informal goals almost subconsciously. Each and every day of our lives, we plan, act upon and accomplish innumerable short-term goals, while simultaneously working towards longer-term goals, by establishing patterns of activity.

For example, you may get up a 6:00 AM each weekday, shower, dress, have breakfast and drive to your place of employment. Odds are you’ve done these thousands of times without giving it a second thought and yet, you are in fact achieving five goals every morning.

You’re able to do this for several reasons – first of course, you understand the primary goal of getting to work on time each day at the task level. Next, your motivation for doing so no doubt includes the desire to avoid being fired for continued tardiness. Another motivation is simply a need to demonstrate being a reliable member of the organization.

On a longer-term basis, we often plan for and follow through on everything from vacations and holidays to paying off our mortgages and other debts. Here again, we have plenty of motivation to do these things and we do them subconsciously. And yet we often meet or exceed these goals with little or no effort.

What’s most interesting about this is that in our personal lives, we rarely use any elaborate system to track and complete these tasks. No software, no systems and at best might scribble down a reminder not to ourselves and stick it on the fridge.

If you really sit down and think about it, there’s no reason why you could not apply the same approach to your business or work related goals. A task is a task, whether it’s having to meet with a teacher at 2 pm or having to ensure a critical order was placed and is being tracked.

If you can find your motivation for staying on top of things at the office as you do at home, you’ll never again have any serious difficulty meeting your business goals!

Peter Loughlin

I just watched one of the most exciting videos I’ve ever seen:

>> See The Video Now!

It’s a conversation between a guy from Australia who used
to be a factory worker packing boxes all day long,
and an extremely successful online entrepreneur named Frank Kern.

Kind of an unlikely combination, right?

************************
Here’s why it’s exciting…
************************

Ryan the Australian guy went from packing boxes for a living
to firing his boss–in just the first 90-days of doing EXACTLY
what he is going to share with you today!

And that was just the beginning…

Now he travels the entire world, following
the sun, loving life, and doing what he wants all day long.

He met Frank in California, and here’s the surprising
twist…

Frank, a good ole’ Georgia boy–who just happens to
make gazillions online–totally believes in this too!

In fact, he tells a story about how he accidentally started
using the Law of Attraction with spectacular results (that’s how he
ended up a Southern boy in California!)

I have a feeling some of his online buddies may be shocked
when they see this:

>> See The Video Now!

At any rate, he wanted to talk with Ryan, because what Ryan
has figured out makes it extremely easy to leverage the power
of the Law of Attraction for incredibly fast results.

His concept is so simple anybody can do it.

*************************************************
The main thing is, Ryan the Aussie is Giving this away forFREE!!
*************************************************

I can’t believe he isn’t charging for it, but he isn’t. That means
YOU can ramp up your manifesting to attract anything you want,
starting right now.

Bottom line: If there’s anything you want in life
that hasn’t come to you yet, you really need this:

>> See The Video Now!

Be sure you watch the whole thing, because at the end
of this video, Ryan will tell you how to get started.
It’s his gift to you.

***************************************
And it makes the Universe say YES Fast!
***************************************

I’ve already started using it, and it is AWESOME!

I think you’ll love it too.

Talk to you again soon,

Peter Loughlin

P.S. You know, if you believe things happen for a reason, you
need to act on this immediately. It’s like the Universe is tapping
you on the shoulder to get your attention.

If you’ve ever worked in a corporate environment, especially in a management position, you’re no stranger to the concept of establishing goals and their importance to any organization that practices management by objectives.

Even if you’ve never been in a position requiring you to define specific, measurable goals, you may not realize that every single day you’ve done so. Chances are, by not knowing you were actually setting goals, you were able to achieve them with far less analysis than accomplished through formal goal setting.

The difference between achieving formal goals versus informal goals is one of motivation. Quite often with formal goals, we may make progress towards our objective, but not have a clear understanding of the process required – and we often see a decline in our motivation to continue or to continue effectively.

This is perhaps most often seen in group work environments, where one or two members of the group seem to “Get It”, while others just sort of follow along, contributing as asked and simply waiting for others to ensure the goal is achieved at some hazy future point.

Yet as individuals, we are often able to accomplish our own informal goals almost subconsciously. Each and every day of our lives, we plan, act upon and accomplish innumerable short-term goals, while simultaneously working towards longer-term goals, by establishing patterns of activity.

For example, you may get up a 6:00 AM each weekday, shower, dress, have breakfast and drive to your place of employment. Odds are you’ve done these thousands of times without giving it a second thought and yet, you are in fact achieving five goals every morning.

You’re able to do this for several reasons – first of course, you understand the primary goal of getting to work on time each day at the task level. Next, your motivation for doing so no doubt includes the desire to avoid being fired for continued tardiness. Another motivation is simply a need to demonstrate being a reliable member of the organization.

On a longer-term basis, we often plan for and follow through on everything from vacations and holidays to paying off our mortgages and other debts. Here again, we have plenty of motivation to do these things and we do them subconsciously. And yet we often meet or exceed these goals with little or no effort.

What’s most interesting about this is that in our personal lives, we rarely use any elaborate system to track and complete these tasks. No software, no systems and at best might scribble down a reminder not to ourselves and stick it on the fridge.

If you really sit down and think about it, there’s no reason why you could not apply the same approach to your business or work related goals. A task is a task, whether it’s having to meet with a teacher at 2 pm or having to ensure a critical order was placed and is being tracked.

If you can find your motivation for staying on top of things at the office as you do at home, you’ll never again have any serious difficulty meeting your business goals!

Peter Loughlin

As part of the overall business planning process, establishing goals is of course fundamental in providing a clear vision of what you want to accomplish.  Setting one or more goals seems to be a straightforward process. You establish a specific goal, one that’s measurable and has a defined timeframe for completion. You implement your plan, measure your progress towards reaching your goal and then evaluate the outcome objectively to refine your process.

On the surface of things, it reads well and sounds easy enough to do. Unfortunately, it rarely works out that way for numerous reasons; primarily because we often fail to establish realistic goals. Additionally, we often casually set goals with only a hazy view towards how they’ll actually be accomplished. And while we’re typically motivated at the beginning of the process, it’s not at all unusual to lose our motivation somewhere along the way.

When preparing your own goals, it’s important to first understand that every goal you set must be realistic and readily achievable, given an appropriate amount of time and resources.  For example, setting a goal to earn $25,000 per month within three months, when your present earnings are less than $1,000, is probably unrealistic. On the other hand, setting an ongoing goal to increase your earnings by 5% or 10% per month is not only realistic, but more likely to be achievable.

Once you’ve defined a goal you believe you can accomplish, the next step is to break it down into smaller, manageable tasks and scheduling them in sequence (assuming one task depends on the completion of another). Before defining the target date the overall goal must be completed, be certain that each task is given a reasonable amount of time for completion and allow the sum of the tasks to define the completion date, rather than arbitrarily selecting one.

Depending on how far into the future your goals are planned for, it’s very helpful to schedule regular progress reviews, even if you’re the only one involved. For example, scheduling time every Friday afternoon to review your progress and make any necessary adjustments will keep your goals current. Don’t be surprised if something unexpected interferes with your scheduling from time-to-time. That’s normal and you will simply need to identify some way to compensate for it.

Another artificial barrier to actually meeting your goals is the process itself. Be careful to avoid implementing a goal management process that consumes more time than the goal itself. On a smaller scale, a simple spreadsheet will often suffice to meet all of your management needs. For larger scale management, a variety of goal management software exists, usually scalable for most organizations.

Aside from actually working the process towards eventually realizing your goal, the final step is to take some time to evaluate the overall process and your performance at the end. This should be done objectively and embraced as a learning opportunity, one that will help you to improve your performance the next time.

With proper planning, setting realistic goals can only benefit you and your business in the long run, especially if you streamline the goal management process for yourself. If you think of it as an evolving process focused on continual performance improvement, over time you will see a measurable improvement in everything you do!

Peter Loughlin

I think that you’ll agree that, not everyone takes planning their lives seriously, but that doesn’t mean that YOU shouldn’t—and you really should. Every day is a new day and a new chance to change something you don’t like or improve your life’s possibilities in some meaningful way. Today, right here and now is the best time to get started, whether you wish to set a goal and action plan to get fit and lose those excess pounds, (I recently lost over 40 pounds and added some muscle too), start a business, spend more time with your loved ones, or earn a degree.

Although I suggest getting started now, part of the process is to take some time to seriously think about and be clear as to what it is you really want. Don’t run with the first idea that comes to mind.  It is better to think and write down all the ideas you have for self improvement and jot down everything that comes to mind. Then gradually refine those ideas and action steps and narrow them down until you hav a clearer picture of what you truly want to change or improve in your life.

From a practical standpoint you want your proposed goals be more than a mere dream, but a laser focused possibility. But, you need to be reasonable and realistic.  This is particularly true if you’re new to goal setting or haven’t stretched your “vision” in a while. For example, let’s say that you’re looking to get control of your finances and to reduce your overall debt?

The more you stay focused on your objective, the more likely you will be successful.  Yes, I know I’m touching on the Law of Attraction and all that hokey stuff, but guess what, it is applicable here.  That said, if you currently earn $30,000 per year and you owe $90,000, unless your action plan is to boost your income and net worth, your goal is destined to fail.

Don’t get me wrong. I am the ultimate believer in our ability to make the impossible possible, but you do need to consider your current circumstances and the action steps needed to bring your goal and reality into alignment.

In the example I gave above, you may not be to payoff $90,000 in debt this year given your current income, circumstances—and vision. But if you expand your vision and think of the infinite possibilities available increase your income, (perhaps by starting a new business) you may achieve the debt reduction goal and perhaps much more.

But is OK to start off small too! By starting off with smaller goals, you will have started down the glorious road to success. Each goal and each small step leads you closer to success which in turn allows you to build upon it to achieve even greater things. This makes accomplishing future and grander goals even easier to achieve since you’ll have developed your own success road map to follow.

OK, the clock is ticking so what are you waiting for?  Start to change your life today!

At the start of every season, numerous people try hard to make improvements in their lives. Let’s take a look at some cases. At the start of a New Year, it is habitual for human beings to make New Year resolutions. When spring arrives, individuals desire to shed a few pounds in order to fit into summer apparel.

But in the fall, innumerable folks plan for holiday. But the trouble is that those resolutions don’t frequently last more than few weeks. Innumerable people commonly go back to their old way of life. Is there a way out? What can you do that can help you achieve all the goals you have outlined for yourself.

One of the most regularly left out hints to accomplishing your goals is the art of writing them down. Most folks commonly have the goals on their head, not on paper. But you will discover that you have never done them. When you write your goals down, you are making a commitment to work on it.

In addition, the type of individuals you go along with will resolve whether you will achieve your goals or not. It is highly recommended that you discuss your goals with important people in your life. What this does is that they will help you keep track of what you are doing to attain those goals of yours.

It is very easy to forget or disregard the small steps that you took to accomplish your goals. So, it is worthwhile to keep a journal of the steps you took. This will help you know you did the right thing or you are not doing what is right and needs to make amendment. The goals you set for yourself is meant to better your lives and increase your happiness. It is not compulsory for you to have pain before you achieve your goals.

There is need for you to enjoy the journey. You should delight in the glory of making small improvements in your life. You must understand that things will not change over night. Any goal that is written down and discussed with important individuals in your life will take quite some time to accomplish. So, you must not be unfulfilled as you go on endeavoring to attain your plans.

In addition to writing down your goals, there is need for you to attach a specific time frame for you to realize it. It is not befitting to make the time long. This will make you postpone. On the other hand, you must not make it short as you will be setting up yourself for failure. It is highly recommended that you set realistic time frame that will not only make you get pleasure from the journey but also make you attain the goals.

There are times in life when the end goal we have set for ourselves is larger than we want to see. These goals are best broken down into smaller steps along the way. Goal setting for success can help to break down the seemingly insurmountable walls surrounding these goals. At the heart of goal setting is the smaller bits and pieces of the whole and the celebrations we give ourselves along the way.

When choosing personal goal setting as the method to your end goal, there are a few tips that you can follow to increase your chance of success. Following goal setting for the duration of your journey will increase the chances that life, no matter how twisted and turned it may become, will not sabotage your goal setting achievements.

Aim big, measure small. Goal setting needs to be realistic. If you are out to lose 100 pounds, the goal of 100 pounds is too large. You need to make the goal setting task a smaller part of the while. Ten pounds steps toward the larger end goal is easier to achieve and thus easier to maintain. In addition, the celebration from reaching each of the goal setting milestones can be celebrated and used a motivation for that next small step of goal setting success.

Reward yourself often. Along the same lines as setting small personal success goals is rewarding yourself for those goals. On the same topic of weight loss, every time you lose those ten pounds, give something back to you! This is the purpose of goal setting for success. Reaching the goals means patting yourself on the back and preparing for the next goal. Try rewarding yourself with something totally unrelated to the goal. Weight loss, for instance, should not be rewarded with beauty regimes. But something more tangible, like a stone in the garden or a new picture on the wall.

Take the help you need. Pride in goal setting is often the hamper to our success. When we need help achieving our goals, there are often many people around us willing to give that help, but the prideful creatures we are, we aim at accomplishing that goal setting success all by ourselves. A goal that is reached, is a success no matter if you have help or not!

Be ready to revise. Life comes at you quick and with life comes the chance of a roller coaster ride. We need to revise our methods of goal setting at every turn in the road if that is what is needed to make the success real. Achievement and success is not measured by the goal, but by the ability to continue moving forward despite the troubles and hindrances to our goal setting life may create.

Don’t fret the missed goals. Not every goal will be met and that is just the way it should be. If goal setting always ended in success, there would be no need to do anything else in life except set goals. There will be ups and down along the path and goal setting simply allows you to stay focused on the bigger picture of overall success, even if there are stumbles.

Taking your time and setting goals that are achievable will make the difference in goal setting for personal success. It is the goals we set in our lives that make us drive for more and strive for the best. Goal setting needs to be realistic and open to change. And, when goals setting works and those success goals are reached, celebrate and reward yourself.