Goal Setting – Getting Started

LESSON 1 – Let’s Get Started!!!

At the end of this Lesson, you will be able to:

• Explain the goal setting process
• Categorize your goals
• Prepare milestone and mini-goals that lead you to your Big-Picture

The Goal Setting Process – An Overview

Main Steps to Goal Setting:

• Step 1: Get the ‘Big-Picture’ first
• Step 2: Determine what you really want
• Step 3: Set your Goals
• Step 4: Prepare your Personal Action Plan
• Step 5: Review your Action Plan and Goals

The fist 2 steps are the foundation of your goal setting process, they set the direction for the rest of the steps, so it’s really important to put the time into doing them properly.

The other 3 steps are more of a technical process of turning the outputs from Steps 1 and 2 into achievable goals with clear targets and an actionable direction to get there – these three steps are the focus of this E-course.

Goal setting is of course an on-going and dynamic process. Your priorities and therefore your goals will change from time to time (for example if you start a family or are looking to retire) and when this happens, it’s important to sit down and go through the goal setting process again.

Also, as you grow older and mature, your motivators and drivers will change so on-going review is necessary to make sure your goals are still relevant to you. What you want when you’re 20 will not be the same as what you want when you are 40. But armed with these skills, it is a tool for life – no matter what stage you’re at or how old you are.

Types of Goals

Part of the reason why goal setting fails is that people don’t understand the different types of goals and how to treat them. Goals may involve:

• Developing a new skill or improving current skills.
• Beating old habits, or developing better ones.
• Producing an outcome, achieving a dream.

The way each of these goals are treated is different – some are short term, others are medium to long term, some have a clear direction to achieve them, others may have a more torturous path, and some are naturally easier than others to achieve.

Goals can also be:

• Big-picture goals – your life’s target destination! These goals are typically not achievable in one simple step – there is a journey to be taken to get there.
• Milestone Goals – these are the series of goals that will take you to your destination
• Mini Goals – milestone goals may need to be broken down into bite-size chunks to make them more manageable.

Ultimately your life’s ‘Big-Picture’ is achieved through a few long-term milestone goals, which are achieved through several medium-term goals, which are achieved through many short-term mini goals.

Like climbing a mountain, you need to start at the bottom with the mini-goals before you can get to the top. This is just recognizing that it takes time and effort to achieve your goals, but achieving the mini-goals along the way keeps you inspired to continue – they’re like stepping stones down the river of life or the traffic lights along your road to success!

You need all types of goals. Too many Big-Picture goals can be daunting and it is difficult to measure progress against. Too many mini-goals can make you lose sight of the big picture, but they keep you heading towards your big picture if done right. So you need the right mixture of each, and this will depend on your specific goal.

Once the mini-goals have been achieved you’ll get a great sense of satisfaction as you have leaped onto the first stepping stone towards your big-picture, so use this motivation to set the next set of mini-goals to put into action!