“No wind favors him who has no destined port” – Michel de Montaigne
A person without clear-cut goals in life is forever doomed to sail in circles, always frustrated, always rudderless, never getting anywhere
Setting goals helps to provide direction in whatever one wants to do. It helps to harness one’s energies to achieve one’s objective(s).
Becoming a true goal setter is not easy. Like any other skill it has to be studied and practised before it can be mastered. It comes by developing a positive attitude and imposing certain disciplines on yourself. Here are five points to make you prevent negativism and attain the status of a true goal setter:
1) Sharpen your thinking about goal setting
Goals must be SMART
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time bound
2) Make a commitment to excellence
Sometimes people say “Well, I really don’t know yet what I want to do with my life”. Okay, perhaps not. But while you’re waiting for that goal to come in view, or into focus, there is nothing stopping you from choosing one supremely important goal: the determination to do everything as well as you can, to make the most of whatever the Lord put into you in the way of talent or ability.
3) Learn to distinguish between a goal and a wish
Goal setting involves having a definite plan, a timetable, going for it until one gets it and not just sitting down and vaguely wishing. Planning and Action are two key words here.
4) Prepare for ultimate goals by achieving interim goals
If you achieve interim goals consistently, you won’t have to overtax yourself for your ultimate goals; they will come to you in due course.
5) Choose goals that will benefit others as well as yourself
If your goals are aimed at helping and adding value to others, great forces will come to your aid, hence liberating the Plus factor.
I’ll be continuing with the Plus factor series in subsequent articles. Hope you’ve set your goals for this week. Have a great day!}
