Top 10 Qualities of Your Next Winning Goal
February 15th, 2008 by Cristina Favreau
It seems with February nearing the half-way point, people all over are thinking about goals and reevaluating goals they’ve set for 2008.
It’s what inspired me (and others) to write articles about goal-setting. My colleague and friend, Mark Ford, is no exception. If you’re not subscribed to his monthly newsletter, here’s what you missed yesterday:
The Top 10 Qualities of Your Next Winning Goal
by Mark FordNo matter what you’re going for in your life, having a goal is an essential part of the process. When you have a goal, you’re more focused, you’re more motivated and you’re clearer about where you’re going.
Making decisions is easier when you have a goal, because if you’re really honest with yourself you know if one particular choice is leading you towards your goal or away from it.
When you don’t have a goal, life can be aimless, stagnant, depressing or self-destructive. Chasing the wrong goal, though, might be even worse than not having one at all.
Here are the Top 10 Qualities of Your Next Winning Goal
- Fun. When the game is fun, the goals get done. Whatever your goal, make sure it’s something you can enjoy working towards. Find a path to the finish line that makes use of your strengths and gives you opportunities for connection, fulfillment and joy.
- Realistic. Your goal needs to be realistic and not too lofty – a marathon runner aims to run one mile, 26 times. Use your track record of meeting or not meeting previous goals as your guide. Not meeting your goals has as much to teach you as meeting them – instead of giving up, break the goal down further.
- Personal. Goals need to be something you want to achieve, based on your own passion and vision. If a goal is something you or someone else thinks you “should” do, it’s not your goal.
- Concrete. Your goal needs to be tangible and definable. “I’m going to spend more time with my children,” is an admirable thought. “I’m going to spend 30-minutes reading a bedtime story to my children every night,” is a goal.
- Revered. Achieving a goal is cause for celebration. Too often people swing from berating themselves for not working hard enough or letting themselves off the hook, to shrugging off their accomplishments because they’re too busy chasing the next goal.
- Extraordinary. Eleanor Roosevelt implored, “Do one thing every day that scares you.” Your goal should be outside of your comfort zone, outside of your job description, outside of your daily routines and rituals that you’re going to do anyway. We set a goal when we want to do MORE or do better.
- Flexible. You may need to shift and adapt your goals if you find you’re consistently off track. How can you think outside of the box and still get where you want to go?
- Applied. You can only turn your passions and dreams into reality by setting and reaching your goals. Decide what you want, what you’re going to do to get it, write it down and start doing it. Don’t take it lightly, live your life “on purpose.”
- Top-of-mind. Goals need your attention, or they can be easily obliterated by daily life; other things will inevitably become more important and take over. Make your goals fit in with what you also want to do for your family, career and community, so that you’re not choosing between them.
- Shared. Goals need to be spoken out loud, committed and shared. When someone else knows what you’re trying to accomplish, you give them the opportunity to support you. And for them, you’re a living role model of inspiration, passion and purpose.
If your previous attempts to improve yourself have failed, go back to the drawing board and make sure that you’re working towards the right goal. Once you set a winning goal for yourself, the road to change becomes clear.
ABOUT MARK FORD:
For over 15 years, Mark Ford has been assisting top level executives and business leaders increase individual and organizational performance, as well as improve communication, leadership and motivation.
As a successful coach, speaker, trainer and consultant, Mark empowers his clients to be the heroes of their own life, find their true path, define their own success, live with passion, and make this life count.
To receive Mark’s monthly newsletter, Go for it! Be the Hero of Your Own Life, sign up on his website.
Fun, personal, and extraordinary.
These are the 3 aspects from Mark Ford’s list that stood out for me. It’s too easy to forget these aspects which add meaning to the goal, and give us the power to get it done.
Another aspect to goal-setting is the distinction that David Allen (Getting Things Done) makes between actions (one step) and projects (multi-step, even with simple steps).
So many people get stopped, because they get overwhelmed by the complexity of a “project” goal.
Instead they need to t make it clear to themselves that a certain goal has multiple steps, and all they need to do is focus on the next step in order to get to the end. All they need to do is find the strength to do one step at a time.
Similarly, in business, many people struggle through similar tasks, over and over again, when they could turns those tasks into a system.
Michael Gerber (E-myth) and others talk about the power of systems to make us more effective in business, and enable us to offload the tasks that we don’t like doing to other people, while focusing on what we love to do.
There are many products for people in business (such as FreedomBusinessSystem) that help people design simple systems, so the businessperson doesn’t get buried by the weight of tedious work.
Personal is always an important factor for me. I don’t think it’s really possible to separate personal and professional. To some degree, yes. But what affects one will ultimately affect the other. If you’re doing something that’s against your morals, you wouldn’t be able to concentrate on that goal very much. Unless of course, it coincides with your personal beliefs and values. I’m not saying it’s impossible. Only that one of them is going to give.
What a wonderful list! Especially the fun part. I wonder how many goals get pushed to the wayside because they’re simple not that fun. Thanks for sharing the list, going to go check out the site now.
Fun! What a great item to put on the top of the list. All too often, in the pursuit of making money, managing people, servicing customers, etc., we forget that owning and running a business is supposed to be fun. If it isn’t fun, you need to change what you’re doing or change the way your business is run.
It’s also a good idea to look at what you spend your time doing in your business and how much time you spend using your natural abilities (which are usually the items that you enjoy doing the most). If the percentage of the time you spend working in your natural abilities is small, then you should set your goals so that your organization will change in such a way that you will be doing more of what you love and less of what you don’t enjoy.
Your expanded view on goal setting is right on the mark!!!
Excellent list of qualities necessary for designing your goals. Enjoying and celebrating our achievements motivate us to remain focused. A very enjoyable out-of-the-box view on such an important subject.