Introduction
It is important to know how to set goals. A goal is both simple and complex. A goal is the object of a persons interest, aim, or desired result. It can be as simple as getting dressed. It can be as complex as earning a PHD. Read on to know how to set goals
Importance of setting goals
There are two pithy statements the partially tells us why goals are important.
If you don’t know where you’re going, you will probably end up somewhere else .
If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail .
Perhaps a more important reason to have a goal is shared by Dr. Jordan Peterson. He explains that it is in pursuing an aim, that is a goal, is where we find a meaning in life. Certainly we want our lives to be meaningful. The larger the goal, the greater the meaning.
Jim Colin developed or perhaps we should say, discovered the BHAG short for big hairy audacious goal. He uses the example of President Kennedy, challenging the country to land on the moon. Such a BHAG transformed the country, gave us meeting and purpose.
Benefits of having a goal
Goals give us focus and motivation. They help keep us on track. I somehow managed to have this without being taught. One day when I was in first grade, my class was standing in line, waiting to go into the cafeteria. Some members of the junior class from the high school showed up to sell pencils. I imagine to this day it remains a favorite fundraiser for the junior class. The pencils have the schedule for the basketball season printed on them. At the time I had no money on me. However, I had a very valuable thought. “When I’m a junior I’m coming back here to sell pencils.” When I was a junior I did.
Much later in my freshman year at seminary, I took a class called Awareness, Relatedness, Wholeness. The professor, Dr. James Ashbrook, had us relax, close our eyes, and see ourselves after graduation. I pictured myself walking down the main hallway, dressed as an ordained priest. Four years later, I did just that.
Types of goals
As suggested above, there are a wide variety of goals. There are those seemingly simple goals of every day life. We plan to get up in the morning. We brush our teeth and have breakfast. As it turns out those aren’t so simple or unimportant. They are related to bigger goals like keeping a job or going to school and graduating. Perhaps as a young person, our goals are to have good grades or make friends. As a young person, I joined the Boy Scouts program. From the lowest beginner Cub Scout, my goal was to make it to Eagle. At the time that was a BHAG. A more recent goal was to write a novel. You can find it on this website, shop,The Duress Circle.
Some goals are not quite as easily defined. For example, one of my goals has always been to be the best husband that I can be. Some goals take a lifetime one day at a time. I am to be a person of integrity and truth.
Goals it is said need to be SMART. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound)
Specific: Land on the moon. Graduate with honors. Get married.
Measurable: Perhaps have sub-goals. How do I know I am making progress. Meet possible spouse. Pass an exam. Build a rocket.
Achievable: you are not going to be in the NBA if you are only 4’5”.
Relevant: for example, I am building this website in hopes that people will read and like it. However, if I don’t create it in such a way that it makes sense to you it will not be relevant. You must “relate to it.”
Time Bound: when Kennedy challenged the country to land on the moon, he timed it to the end of the decade. We might perhaps need to extend the deadline, but it needs to be there to keep us focused
Goal setting process
The process begins with self reflection. We need time to think about who we are, what we have accomplished so far, what are our needs and wants what are strengths and weaknesses, etc.
Again, I refer you to Jordan Peterson’s Self Authoring Program. I found it most helpful.
Setting Priorities: We might make up another pithy saying. If you don’t know what you want, you’ll probably get something else.
You might think this is self evident. However, it could be one of the more difficult parts of the process. For example, as a young person, I wanted to go to college. But I didn’t have a clue as to what I wanted to study. With some subtle help from my mother, I found a course in recreation education. While at university, I discovered an interest in sociology and philosophy. Through a semester of field education I spent time at an outdoor education center.
Later, after a religious conversion experience, I felt the call to ordained ministry. For sometime, it seems that I had changed directions in a big way. However, I recall a course in the philosophy of leisure. There I was introduced to the idea that the pursuit of spirituality was the highest form of recreation. So in the end through a couple of detours, I did pursue my goals.
Breaking down goals into smaller parts
Let’s say the goal is to visit the Grand Canyon. There are going to be various parts of that task. You need to save a certain amount of money. You need to plan when including how to take off from work. You need to research the park to know when it’s open. You might want to investigate weather trends. You need to decide on a route. You may have to decide between flying and driving. That decision will lead to many other sub goals.
Overcoming challenges
Often finding time and financial resources can be a major challenge. Sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know. This can lead to mistakes along the way. Sometimes you do know what you don’t know, and so the challenge is a detour into learning. All these things can lead you to “take your eye off the prize.“
Sometimes it can be helpful to place a symbol of your goal where you will see it regularly. In the current example, you might find a picture of the Grand Canyon and put it on your refrigerator.
Stay motivated
Another way to stay focused is to have a wall calendar and mark the date for your trip to the Grand Canyon. Then you can mark off the days. This will help you keep focused on the goal.
You could have a sub goal of talking with people who have made the trip already. Say for example you could set up at least one conversation a week with someone who has been there. Be creative, make the planning fun. It will add meaning to the process.
Adjust goals when necessary
Think of my example of wanting to go to college. That turned out to be a sub goal, When Jordan Peterson talks about progress towards the goal he always points out that it’s not usually a straight line. However, we need not see those changes as failures, but rather just adjustments. With more information we clarify the goal .
Goal, tracking and evaluation
It is important to track our progress towards our goal. This is especially important with a BHAG.
Take Elon Musk as an example. His BHAG seems to be to colonize Mars. He evaluates every success, and more importantly, every failure along the way. Often if not always, we learn more from our failures than our successes.
Celebrate along the way.
This, too, is especially important with a BHAG . However, also important with smaller goals.
We reward our stepson with $20 for each A and $10 for each B on his report cards. It helps motivate him and moves us towards our goal of seeing him graduate.
Learning from setbacks
Is important to evaluate whatever happened to set you back. Then it is possible to move forward with greater success. It is important to keep that positive attitude. So do your best to determine what happened and how you can avoid it or what to do differently in the future.
Have different goals for different parts of your life
We have already looked at several different areas. A good place to start is with career, personal, and health. Most of us want to live long and strong. That doesn’t happen overnight. It helps to have sub goals and evaluation along the way. Again, we might look to Jordan Peterson’s advice that some people find it humorous, but his first place to start is clean your room. The truth is if you do that things will get better all around. I recommend his book 12 rules for life.
Conclusion
Goals make life better. Better goals make it even better. Evaluation moves you forward. Your life will have more meaning. Hopefully you will end up where you want to be and not somewhere else!
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