Last week, we provided a primer on goals, helping you think about why goals are important and how they can help you to determine what matters most in your life. If you didn’t catch it, be sure to look it over. Today, we’ll help you set intentional goals that move you forward in life, beginning with the art of goal-writing.
HOW DO I WRITE GOALS THAT WILL MOTIVATE ME?
The best goals is a fully-defined vision of how you want things to be. The more specific, measurable, and challenging the goals are, the more motivated you may be as you work to attain them. Good goals have these five elements:
- They are expressed with action verbs.
- They are written in specific language.
- They specify measurable outcomes.
- They challenge you without being unreachable.
- They specify completion dates.
Let’s look at each of these elements and some examples of how they can be used.
Necessary element:
Using action verbs
Examples:
- Paint house.
- Reduce weight.
- Enroll in college classes.
Necessary element:
Use specific language
Examples:
- Paint all bedrooms.
- Reduce weight to 130 pounds.
- Enroll in English 201.
Necessary element:
Specifying measurable outcomes
Examples:
- Paint one bedroom each week in February, to be completed by February 28.
- Reduce weight to 130 pounds by March 15.
- Enroll in English 201 for the spring term at the community college.
Necessary element:
Challenging you without being unreachable
Examples:
- Paint one bedroom each week in February, to be completed by February 28; not paint two
rooms each week in February, with the entire house to be completed by February 15. - Reduce weight to 130 pounds by March 15; not reduce weight by 20 pounds in 1 month.
- Enroll in English 201 for the spring term at the community college; not enroll in five classes and audit two classes for the spring term at the community college.
Necessary element:
Specifying completion dates
Examples:
- Paint one bedroom each week in February, to be completed by February 28.
- Reduce weight to 130 pounds by March 15.
- Enroll in English 201 for the spring term at the community college by January 1.
HOW DO I GET STARTED?
Now, let’s make the goal a reality! Take your goal statement and create a detailed action plan. These steps will help you do just that:
- Decide how you will measure your progress towards attaining your goal. Do you need to create a spreadsheet? Do you need to find someone to help make you accountable? Be as specific as possible.
- Depending on the scale of your goal, you may need to define milestones as you progress towards your overall goal. Use a calendar that’s devoted specifically to this pursuit—and if a single calendar year doesn’t suffice, don’t stop with just one.
- Determine what new actions you need to take. To do this effectively, you must first begin by identifying what you’re already doing to reach your goal.
- Ponder the next logical steps that you need to take. Again, some steps may require sub-steps. If there are steps that seem impossible now, what do you need to do to prepare to take those steps?
- Based on your overall timeframe for your overall goal, determine the time that it will reasonably take you to complete each step, including all sub-steps?
- Plan to celebrate major milestones along the way.
- Decide how you’ll make use of support as you encounter challenges and roadblocks.
GET HELP
Keep in mind that you don’t have to tackle change alone. Therapy services can be helpful as you begin to take small steps in your life towards meaningful change. At TherapyWorks, our friendly and experienced therapists can help you implement relevant and effective solutions that you’re looking for.
And because convenience is important, our professional and responsive support team offers convenient scheduling options, evening and weekend appointments, and contemporary privacy practices.
We encourage you to take advantage of a free consultation in our Los Gatos or Santa Cruz locations. Contact us today and we’ll help you happily.