2. Why set personal goals?
Higher levels of :
Achievement
Self confidence
Performance
Personal motivation
Personal satisfaction
Happiness throughout life
Creates a can do attitude
More fulfilling life
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3. Types of Goals Examples
Short Term: Up to 3-6
months to achieve.
Intermediate: 6-9
months to achieve.
Long-Term: 1-3 years!
• Save $150.
• Get a job and save
$1000.
• Save at least $5000 by
high school graduation
for college.
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4. Goal Setting
• Think about the goals you want to achieve. Do
you have more long term, intermediate, or short
term type goals?
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5. Five Principles of Goal Setting
1. Clear
▫ Measurable,
▫ Specific
▫ Call for Action
1. Challenging
▫ Motivation to achieve
▫ Increasing rewards
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6. Five Principles of Goal Setting
3. Commitment.
▫ Buy In
3. Feedback.
▫ Specify expectations
▫ Adjust goal difficulty
▫ Benchmark targets
3. Task complexity
▫ Provide enough time for practice
▫ Sufficient time to meet the goal
▫ Don’t set yourself up to fail NEXT
There are many benefits of goal setting. It has been found that the ability to effectively set goals throughout life is one of the most important skills that any of us can have. Based on recent studies conducting by professionals in mental health and behavioral science, it has been estimated that over 90% of the total population in the United States alone fails to effectively set goals and act upon them. How sad considering goals affects every part of who we are as individuals. The areas of our lives that are most affected by goals include our professional work, our finances, our relationships, our health, our time management, and more.
We have all, at one time or another sat back and paid careful consideration to our lives. We all have aspirations, and intentions. We know that we can improve ourselves and the quality of our lives in one way or another. While many of us know that something has to be done, most of us do not know where to start. The very first step in optimizing who you are as a person and improving your life is to make a commitment to set goals. Naturally, the second step is to stay committed to the goals that you elect to set for yourself and your life in general. The New Year is now upon us. The parties and celebrations are now over, and we are left to the list of resolutions that we have made. When we make resolutions each year, we are doing nothing more than setting goals for ourselves. While this is a step in the right direction, most individuals are not successful in experiencing the success that they would like to achieve because they are unable to follow through on the plans that they have set. Despite our knowing that there are many benefits to goal setting, most of us still have a tremendous issue in making sure that we do what is necessary to be successful in accomplishing our goals. The individual that is successful in setting goals experiences many different benefits. The following indicates the many advantages that may be experienced if you become successful in creating goals, and sticking to them:
1. It has been found that individuals who learn the secrets of goal setting and committing to those goals throughout completion will typically achieve more of the things that they want to, and perhaps some unexpected things in their lives making life more “full” in general. 2. People who successfully implement goals and work strategically to ensure that they meet their goals often experience more success in their performances throughout life. 3. Goals can be beneficial in creating a great deal of motivation in a person. 4. Those who set goals and are successful in meeting those goals are often the ones that are more satisfied with their work, and have higher levels of self-confidence.5. Effective goal setting is beneficial in many ways because it creates a general “can do” attitude and results in higher levels of happiness throughout life
If you know that you can do more with your life, but struggle with the means of acquisition, consider your goal setting skills. By learning to effectively set goals, you are taking the first step to a happy, more productive life that is fulfilling. Once you learn how to set goals, moving into the ability to commit to those goals and seeing them through to completion will enable you to experience the many benefits of goal setting, and the general success that you want!
Goal setting is a powerful way of motivating people. In fact, goal setting theory is generally accepted as among the most valid and useful motivation theories in industrial and organizational psychology, human resource management, and organizational behavior. Locke's research showed that there was a relationship between how difficult and specific a goal was and people's performance of a task. He found that specific and difficult goals led to better task performance than vague or easy goals.
Telling someone to "Try hard" or "Do your best" is less effective than "Try to get more than 80% correct" or "Concentrate on beating your best time." Likewise, having a goal that's too easy is not a motivating force. Hard goals are more motivating than easy goals, because it's much more of an accomplishment to achieve something that you have to work for. A few years after Locke published his article, another researcher, Dr Gary Latham, studied the effect of goal setting in the workplace. His results supported exactly what Locke had found, and the inseparable link between goal setting and workplace performance was formed.
In 1990, Locke and Latham published their seminal work, "A Theory of Goal Setting and Task Performance." In this book, they reinforced the need to set specific and difficult goals, and they outlined three other characteristics of successful goal setting.
To motivate, goals must take into consideration the degree to which each of the following exists: Let's look at each of these in detail.
ClarityClear goals are measurable, unambiguous, and behavioral. When a goal is clear and specific, with a definite time set for completion, there is less misunderstanding about what behaviors will be rewarded. You know what's expected, and you can use the specific result as a source of motivation. When a goal is vague – or when it's expressed as a general instruction, like "Take initiative" – it has limited motivational value. ChallengeOne of the most important characteristics of goals is the level of challenge. People are often motivated by achievement, and they'll judge a goal based on the significance of the anticipated accomplishment. When you know that what you do will be well received, there's a natural motivation to do a good job. Rewards typically increase for more difficult goals. If you believe you'll be well compensated or otherwise rewarded for achieving a challenging goal, that will boost your enthusiasm and your drive to get it done.
CommitmentGoals must be understood and agreed upon if they are to be effective. Employees are more likely to "buy into" a goal if they feel they were part of creating that goal.
FeedbackIn addition to selecting the right type of goal, an effective goal program must also include feedback. Feedback provides opportunities to clarify expectations, adjust goal difficulty, and gain recognition. It's important to provide benchmark opportunities or targets, so individuals can determine for themselves how they're doing.These regular progress reports, which measure specific success along the way, are particularly important where it's going to take a long time to reach a goal. In these cases, break down the goals into smaller chunks, and link feedback to these intermediate milestones. Task ComplexityFor goals or assignments that are highly complex, take special care to ensure that the work doesn't become too overwhelming. People often push themselves too hard if measures aren't built into the goal expectations to account for the complexity of the task. It's therefore important to do the following:
Give the person sufficient time to meet the goal or improve performance.
Provide enough time for the person to practice or learn what is expected and required for success. Make sure that the conditions surrounding the goals don't frustrate or inhibit people from accomplishing their objectives.
Pick one of the goals you have identified you want to accomplish
Smart goals are specific.
Specific goals are much more likely to be accomplished than vague ones! A specific goal can be determined by asking the following questions:
WHO is involved? Smart goals don’t depend on the involvement of too many people - remember, the only person you can control is yourself, so the achievement of your goal should depend on you.
WHAT do you want to accomplish? Define your aim, so you will have a clear idea of what you are aiming for. A vague ‘I want to be a better person’ is not specific enough!
WHERE will you work on your goal? Identify a location or locations where most of the work towards your goal will be carried out. If your home is the main base, you may need to revamp a few things.
WHEN do you hope to accomplish your goal? Set a time frame and specific deadline for completion. Having a specific end date will keep you from procrastinating.
WHICH factors will affect the success of your goal? What requirements do you have, and what limitations will you have to deal with? Being prepared for obstacles makes them easier to surmount.
WHY do you want to reach this goal? The reasons behind your choice of a goal are just as important as the goal itself. Looking at those reasons can often tell you quite a bit about yourself!
