In order to get started on your road to personal growth and self-improvement. You need a clear picture of what exactly you are trying to accomplish. Everyone has a vague picture of something they want to improve or accomplish. However, they don’t follow through with their plans and intentions to make changes in their lives because they haven’t thought about how to set goals for self-improvement. We will go through goal-setting tips and techniques below.
What are Goals?
What to consider before setting goals
Understand your values
In order to successfully follow through with your goals. You need to consider what exactly your values are.
For example, think of your values
- Is your family important to you?
- If so, what is a goal that you could set that involves your family?
- Is your job important to you? What goals can you set for improving your work ethic and skills on the job?
- Just understand your top 3-5 values. Setting goals on things that are not of importance to you don’t help you out in any way shape.
Think of the universe as abundant.
The universe is abundant and not scarce. Therefore when setting goals and deciding what exactly you are looking to achieve. Think of all possible opportunities that come up and make a list.
Categorize and organize your goals.
It is important to have goals broken down into different categories or else you will become confused.
For Example :
- Health
- Family/Personal Goals
- Financial
- Personal Development
- Spiritual goals
- Environment
- Career
- Community
Once you have broken down the goals your goals organize them into each of these categories
Remember the most important step is to make Goals SMART
Goals need to be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-based) in order for you to improve yourself successfully.
Specific
Make sure that your goals are stated in a way that is clear and unambiguous. For example, instead of “I want to get healthier” you should say “I want to lose 10 pounds by going to the gym three times a week”.
Measurable
You need some sort of measure of progress so that you can track if you’re making progress towards your goal. This can be done by having set milestones along the way.
Achievable
Make sure that whatever you are trying to accomplish can actually be accomplished. You don’t want to get yourself discouraged because things become too difficult or uncomfortable for you so make sure you choose something which is within your grasp. For example, you want to lose 10 pounds in four months that is something reasonable. Decide what you think is achievable for you, everyone has a different bar and can meet different expectations.
Relevant
When setting goals make sure that what you are trying to achieve is actually relevant to your goal. For example, you want to lose weight for your sister’s wedding is relevant to you.
Time-based
You should have a certain time frame in which you should be able to work towards your goal. If a specific date isn’t written down, how will you know when you should reach that milestone? Knowing this can help keep you from getting discouraged or distracted from other things which pop up along the way.
Now that we’ve covered the basics of setting SMART goals, I will give you examples of SMART and NON-SMART goals.
Non-SMART:
I’m going to start eating healthier – This goal is not specific nor measurable nor realistic or time-based. It does not indicate how you plan on starting this change in your life and it also lacks a deadline as to when you should finish this goal.
SMART:
I want to lose 10 pounds by eating healthier and working out for at least 2 hours a day, 5 days a week. I want to lose this weight in the next 3 months.
This statement is very specific because it states exactly what the goal is. It’s also measurable so you will be able to track your progress. You should set time-based deadlines that are realistic
Why Goal Setting is an important part of Self Improvement
In order to have a successful journey towards improving yourself, you should have an idea of what your destination should be.
Setting goals is important because it helps you stay focused and not get distracted from other things that compete for your attention.
It can also help keep you motivated when times get tough on the road to self-improvement by reminding yourself of the ultimate goal.
How to keep yourself motivated with your goals
When it comes to setting out on a journey towards self-improvement, motivation is key. You need to have constant reminders about what you’re trying for and why you’re doing it.
It’s always best to have someone who can be there for you when times get tough or if you get discouraged, so go out and find someone to be your cheerleader.
You should also have rewards in place for when you reach certain milestones or goals so that you can look forward to something good waiting for you at the end. Keep your goals realistic, but slightly challenging so that it doesn’t get boring or difficult to achieve them.
Final words
Learning how to set effective goals is a large part of self-improvement. Without proper goal setting, you could squander away your time and energy without actually accomplishing anything that will improve yourself. In order for your goals to be effective, they should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-based.
Keep your goals realistic but slightly challenging so that you’re always working towards something good.
Let us know how goal setting has helped you improve yourself in the comments below!
