April 12th 1945, 32nd US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt dies.
One of the best quotes from this great man comes to mind: “It isn’t sufficient just to want – you’ve got to ask yourself what you are going to do to get the things you want.”
Without a clear idea of what your goals are, professional or personal, and knowing how you are going to reach them, they are just a wish that will remain unfulfilled. Writing your goals down makes them tangible; if you don’t and have no plan, the likelihood that you will reach them is close to none.
So, how do you go about setting up your goals?
There are many goals setting blogs and sites around, and most of them use the S.M.A.R.T model – I won’t bore you with what it means as you have all heard of it by now, even if you haven’t used it.
You can find many alternative models and variations, like a slightly improved version of S.M.A.R.T called M.A.S.T.E.R: Measurable, Achievable (yet challenging!), Specific, Time-based, Energizing, Relevant.
Another approach created by a fellow trainer, Tina Worthing, is Head for C.O.V.E.R: Challenging, Outcome, Visual, Evidence, Response. You can check the explanation of the model here C.O.V.E.R
mtd Training Group model D.A.P.P.S: Dated, Achievable, Personal, Positive, Specific.
There are also P.A.C.T: Purposeful, Actionable, Continuous, Trackable, and F.A.S.T: Frequently discussed, Ambitious, Specific, and Transparent.
S.M.A.R.T pops up everywhere every time goals setting is talked about, and it is used ad nauseam. Some of it is redundant, you can’t apply it to everything, and I think it is also quite boring and unclear. I much prefer Chris Croft’s S.P.V.E.M (not so easy to pronounce but effective)
S - Scary P - Positive V - Visual E - Exciting M - Measurable
He has also created a very comprehensive one the G.R.A.P.E.F.R.U.I.T, but you will have to read his LinkedIn article to check what it is. Here’s the link The Goals Grapefruit | LinkedIn
Whatever model you use, here are my 5 Golden Rules:
- Choose goals which are going to motivate you – they should really make a difference to your life or work, have a value to you in achieving them, not forgetting that they need to be challenging.
- Write them down – goals kept in your head are just wishes and will never be reached.
- Have a detailed action plan – include the potential obstacles and how you will overcome them, and what concrete
things you are going to do to achieve them.
- Have a deadline – and prioritise your goals. If you don’t set a deadline, reaching your goals will be a never-ending story. Breakdown large goals into smaller ones so your overall goals are easier to manage.
- See it through – reaching your goals won’t happen overnight; if not careful, your motivation might dip at times. You need to keep working at it and not be afraid to ask a friend or a colleague for help if needed.
So, sit down and get going with setting your goals. It is never too late!
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