What Should My Goals Be? How Do I set Goals? These are very common questions, and I am hopefully going to be able to help you out here. The New Year is approaching fast, and people are wondering what goals to set for 2013. The tips that I am going to share here should be used year round, not just for your New Year’s resolutions. First off, it is important to understand that there are 6 different areas of your life.
- Physical
- Financial
- Mental
- Family
- Social
- Spiritual
Ideally you would be setting goals for each of these areas of your life. Most people tend to focus on only 2 though, which are physical and financial. Because of this, I will focus on these 2 areas first.
Physical – Setting Goals For Your Health
When it comes to your body, many people set unrealistic goals. They spend 10, 20, 30 years not taking care of their body, and want it to be In magazine cover shape in a few weeks. Getting into shape takes time, so remember that when you are setting your goals. Unless you are seriously obese, you should not be losing more than 3-5 pounds per week. The heavier that you are, the more you can get away with losing quickly. Chances are that if you have not worked out in a while, and you have not been eating right, you will see some quick results (assuming you know what you are doing). If you are serious about getting into shape, I suggest checkout out the Beachbody Challenge Packs. They will help you get your exercise and nutrition in check, and if you follow the program, you WILL see results. Anyways, what kind of goals should you be setting. Set a long term goal for the next year. In 365 days, where do you want to be? A year is a long time, so dream big. If you lose 3 pounds per week, you can lose over 150 pounds in a year. OK, do you have your long term goal? Now set some short term goals. Maybe set a 1 month, 3 month, 6 month, and 9 month goal for your weight. Now comes the fun part. How are you going to achieve your goals? Setting goals is great, but you need to have a plan to achieve them. Set a goal for your workouts and nutrition. How many days a week are you going to workout? What changes are you going to make to your nutrition? Without answering these questions, it will be very difficult to achieve you goals.
Setting Financial Goals
This is a big one. Most people today are not where they want to be financially. This is where 2 of my favorite Einstein quotes come into play.
- You cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
- Insanity – Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
Both of these saying are conveying the same message. If you want to change your situation, you need to do something different! If your goal is to make $5,000 more this year, are you going to be able to do that doing what you are doing now? In most cases the answer is no. So, you need to find different ways to make money. Maybe you need to find a different job. Maybe you need to start a business. If your goal is to buy a new car, or do those home repairs you couldn’t afford, maybe you don’t need to make more, but you need to cut your spending elsewhere. They say that the best time to look for jobs is when you already have one. I believe this, but I also believe that the best time to start business is when you already have a job. My personal recommendation is to check out Empower Network. This is a great, affordable way for anyone looking to make extra money to do it. You can get started for as little as $25/month, and you are going to learn the core steps that it takes to build a business online. Even if you know NOTHING about making money online, and never thought you would try it, this is worth checking out. Remember, you need to change what you are thinking and doing in order to change your situation.
The big thing to remember when you are setting financial goals is to be realistic. DO NOT mistake realistic for settling. I am all for reaming big, and setting big goals. If you set ones that are unattainable though, you are setting yourself up for challenges that lead most people to giving up. Here are the steps that I suggest for setting your financial goals.
- Come up with a main goal for the year. Remember, think big, but keep it attainable.
- What monthly, maybe quarterly goals. These should be planned out to keep you on pave for achieving your yearly goal.
- Come up with a plan for how you can achieve these goals. Again, I suggest investing the $25/month to use Empower Network. You can CLICK HERE to learn more. If not, what are the steps that you are going to take? Are you going to get a new job? If you are trying to save money, is there something that you are going to give up? If you are smoking, are you going to give it up? That step will save you a fortune, both now (the cost of the cigarettes), and later (with your medical bills).
Are you thinking of your goals and action steps? WRITE THEM DOWN! If you do not write them down, you might as well have never set them. You NEED to put them on paper. Have them to refer to. Look at them every morning when you wake up, and every night before you go to bed. It may sound stupid, but it will help engrain them in your head, and motivate you more to achieve them.
The basic principal for setting goals remains constant in each of the 6 areas of your live. You need to set both long term and short term, attainable goals. Once you have them, you need to develop a plan of action steps that you can take to achieve them. You need to write all of this down, and you need to refer to them on a regular basis.
Here are a few examples of how a lot of people set goals. “I’m going to lose 30 pounds by June so that I can look good at the beach.” They have a number goal, which is great. They even have a time frame, which is important. How are they going to do it though? What action steps are they going to take? Let’s say June is 6 months away. How are you going to know if you are on track without short term goals? How many pounds do you need to lose each week to reach your goal? How about, “I’m going to make more money this year”. If you make $1 more than you did last year, did you achieve your goal? How much more do you want to make? How much more will you need to earn each week, or each month to accomplish it? What are you going to do to make that extra money? These are things that you need to think about.
Setting Social, Mental, Family and Spiritual Goals
Setting goals in these areas of your life are no different than setting financial and physical goals. Where are you now, and where do you want to be? When do you want to be there? How are you going to get there? If you are not sure what kind of goals you could be setting in these categories, let me ask you a few questions.
- Social – Are you spending enough time hanging out with other people? This doesn’t just mean your significant other. We need friends. You may be busy, but you need to make time to be social.
- Mental – Are you taking steps to improve yourself? Everyone, no matter who you are has room to grow. The best way to increase your value is to increase what you have to offer. The best way to increase what you have to offer is to improve yourself mentally. Read some positive, informational books. Take the first 15 minutes when you wake up in the morning and read study The Bible. Notice I said STUDY, not read. There is a difference. Half of the time that just read something, I forget it 10 minutes later. When I study something though, I take it in. I highlight, underline and take notes.
- Family – There are 2 big questions to ask yourself here. Are you spending enough time with your family? Does your family know how much you love them? Too many people think that working 80 hours to put food on the table makes them a good husband, wife, parent, son or daughter. I have been there before. I was working 60-70 hour weeks while I was in college. Work ethic great, but being a great father or mother is better. Whatever you need to do, make time to be with your family. Tell them how you feel. Make sure that you don’t just say it, but you show it.
- Spiritual – This one is difficult for many people. It seems that these day more and more people are either struggling with their faith, or they simply don’t have any. I will not go starting a religious debate here, but I will say this. If you are struggling with your faith, work on it! Take action steps. If you are a Christian, study The Bible daily. Pray. If you do not have any faith, focus on being a kinder person. You may not believe everything in The Bible, but you can’t deny the principals in it. Treat others the way that you want to be treated. Forgive those who have wronged you. In The Bible, God talks more about money than pretty much anything else. It would be worth reading just for that information. Personally, I am a follower of Christ, and I know without a doubt what I believe. That does not mean though that I am done growing spiritually. I am trying to get into the habit or reading The Bible daily, and praying throughout the day. I am trying to really release the control over my life, my circumstances, my struggles, and my successes to Christ. I have big goals in my life, and I cannot achieve them without Him.
Whatever your goals are, in whichever area of your life they are, here are the action steps that you should be taking in order to properly set, and achieve them.
- Take a good look at where you are, and where you want to be.
- Set both long term and short term, attainable goals. Include a timeline for when you will achieve them.
- Take DAILY ACTION STEPS for achieving those goals. Daily action is the key to achieving your goals.
Resources – Here are some links that I think may be helpful in achieving your goals.
Empower Network – This system is a great way to achieve your financial goals. It is a step by step system that ANYONE, no matter how little you know about the internet and using it to make money.
Team Beachbody – This link will bring you to a FREE membership sign up. It is a great way to schedule and track your workouts, and even meet up with other people that have similar goals.
The Little Red Book of Wisdom
– This is an incredible book. I am the guy that usually starts a book, reads a little of it, and then starts another one. I am a bit of an ADHD reader. I typically cannot stay focused on a book long enough to finish it. I read this book cover to cover, and then skimmed back through my notes. It is a great book, well worth taking the time to read.
NIV Church Bible
– A lot of people do not realize that they are many different version of The Bible. The original version is very difficult to understand. The version that I suggested is more user friendly. It breaks down the different sections and really explains the main points.
I really hope that the information that I provided here will be helpful. I planned on writing a quick post on goal setting, and it ended up turning into this. I apologize if it dragged on, but I spoke from the heart. Have a great day! – Joe
