I should have started discussed how to make goals before for the year or in general before taking about habits. That’s okay. We live and we learn from our mistakes.
What are goals?
Goals are defined as an idea of the future or desired result of a person. For groups, goals are defined as am envision, plan and commit to achieve. I will be taking about goals for individual people.
Setting goals are important for many different reasons:
- Keeps you focused and provides direction
- Gives you a sense of self-mastery or satisfaction
- Helps maintain motivation
- Helps you prioritize change
- Can set off new behaviors
Types of Goals
The types of goals will be broken into two groups :
- Time-Based
- Short-term goals: goals you want to accomplish immediate or the near future. That could a couple weeks, a month, six months or even a year. For example, a weekly goal of mine is to cook one meal.
- Long-term goals: Requires more planning, effort, and time to achieve than a short-term goal. For example, one of my long term-goals is to obtain my doctorate in Clinical child/family psychology.
- Lifetime goals: Any idea, dream, vision or purpose you have for yourself to achieve in your lifetime. For example, I want to travel to see some of the wonders of the world such as the pyramids, Great Wall of China, Taj Mahal, Petra, etc.
- Life-Based: These can also be considered as stepping stones.
- Career goals: professional ideas or visions that you want to achieve in your chosen career. For example, you want to get a promotion to a higher job or start your own business.
- Personal/Personal development goals: Ways to improve yourself and become the best person you can be. A couple of personal goals are to write a book and to read more books.
- Financial goals: Plan to help you manage your finances and control how you spend. You could create a monthly spending plan, save for retirement, pay off loans, etc.
- Spiritual goals: An intention to aim on how to become closer to God. My goal: I want to work on daily devotionals, prayer, reading the Word.
- Health goals: Maintaining health and being fit (physically and mentally) Examples of adding more fruits and vegetables to lunch and dinner. Drink more water a day. Exercise three times a week.
- Relationship goals: A few examples could be spending more time with family, self-care, get married, have children and etc.
- Time-Based
A lot of the types of goals can overlap with each other.
What Can You Do to Maintain Goals?
- You can achieve your goals using the acronym SMART. SMART stand for specific, measureable, attainable, relevant, and time-based.
S: Specific. Be clear on the goal when you write it. Here are some questions you can ask yourself?
- What do I want to accomplish?
- Why is this goal important?
- Who is involved?
- What resources or lack of resources are involved?
M: Measureable. Tracking your progress and knowing what you accomplished.
- How much?
- How many?
A: Attainable. Making your goal realistic and achievable. Something that is not over the top but still challenging. You have what you need to reach the goal.
R: Relevant. To make sure that the goal matters to you, worth the time, your effort, and aligns with other goals you have.
T: Time-based. What is your ideal date for you to accomplish the goal. What is the deadline you want to focus toward?
Encouragement
Remember that your goals aren’t going to perfect and you can always mend your goals as you along. Just go with the process, take your time, and you will be able to accomplish what you set out to do. Hopefully, I helped you set some goals and some insight on how to make goals.
References
7 Types of Goals: The Ultimate Guide to Goal Categories. Develop Good Habits. (2020, October 28). https://www.developgoodhabits.com/types-of-goals/.
Healthie. (2020, February 13). 9 Benefits to Goal Setting for Client Success: Healthie Blog. Health Resources and Tips for Wellness Professionals | Healthie Blog. https://blog.gethealthie.com/2019/07/11/9-benefits-to-goal-setting-for-client-success/.
Ho, L. (2020, November 26). 9 Types of Goals to Get Your Life Moving in the Right Direction. Lifehack. https://www.lifehack.org/864425/types-of-goals.
Ho, L. (2021, January 17). What are Goals? Achieve More By Changing Your Perspectives. Lifehack. https://www.lifehack.org/863723/what-are-goals.
Mind Tools Content Team . SMART Goals: – How to Make Your Goals Achievable. Time Management Training From MindTools.com. https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/smart-goals.htm.
Personal Success. (2019, December 3). Importance of Goal Setting: 6 Reasons to Take Setting Goals Seriously. Brian Tracy’s Self Improvement & Professional Development Blog. https://www.briantracy.com/blog/personal-success/importance-of-goal-setting/.
Pullein, C. (2020, November 27). What Are SMART Goals (and How to Use Them to Be Successful). Lifehack. https://www.lifehack.org/759949/how-to-use-smart-goal.
Riopel, L. (2020, November 12). The Importance, Benefits, and Value of Goal Setting. PositivePsychology.com. https://positivepsychology.com/benefits-goal-setting/#:~:text=Setting%20goals%20helps%20trigger%20new,you%20don’t%20properly%20manage.
And, now let’s take a big sigh of relief.