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How to be Goal Focused

Written by: Terry Ingham

Article Overview: There has been an awful lot talked and written about on the subject of goal setting. The concept is simple and straightforward; yet far too many people and organisations still don’t do it. If this applies to you or your organisation I want you to put that right - now.

How to be Goal Focused

Why goal setting?

Goal setting is by far one of the most focusing strategies you have at your disposal and it’s easy.

Here I set out my 'Eight Easy Steps to Goal Setting'

1. Be clear
Have a concrete and tangible goal. Simple you might say. If so, why is it so many people still don’t do it? Your goal has to be defined and described in clear, unambiguous terms and it needs to be permanent – not something you change every few weeks or months - and written down. In other words, it must stand the test of time. A really good idea is to imagine your situation in 3 or 5 years time, if everything went as well as it possibly could what would the situation be like? Describe your goal as if it is happening now in the present, not the future, as if you are already achieving it. Now you have a goal.
2. Be balanced
Now check your goal for reality. Make sure it is balanced and that you have considered all the important aspects that could influence your outcome. Make sure that all the key elements that make up your plan of action are within your control and decide how you will handle the things that are not. Don’t make assumptions. Check everything.
3. Be precise
Make sure you describe your goal in specific terms. For example, if your goal is to be MD of your company, then name the company, state the year and date and describe the duties you perform. The more vivid you make your goal the better. Imagine what it will feel like now you are MD; see yourself in the role and hear how people now talk to you.
4. Be challenging
Check your goal is challenging. By that I mean it s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s you and takes you outside of your Comfort Zone. If your goal is not challenging enough it is not a good enough goal.
5. Create desire
How much do you want this? How do you know? Scale your goal between 1 and 10, where 1 is I would like it and 10 is I must absolutely have it now.
Create passion and obsession. You have to really want your goal. You have to get obsessed by it.
Think about all the great achievers in the world; what do they have in common? They were all obsessed about achieving something and that something was clear, well defined and set out as a goal. At the end of the day, if you can’t get energised and passionate then you don’t really care about your goal.
6. Be determined
This is a key attribute which you must have within yourself, as it will lead you to your goal. How do you do this? Start with the determination, passion and obsession as described above and focus 100% on your goal. And remember, when the going gets tough the tough get tougher.
7. Take action
Goals are dreams with a deadline. To achieve your goal you must taken action and do it continuously. Action moves you forward. Many people I coach do a lot of thinking but never get around to doing anything about it. If you want to be successful you need to take action
8. Have faith
Finally, have faith in yourself. It’s my belief that if you follow the steps I advocate above and commit yourself 100% to what you have decided to do, you can achieve anything you set your mind to.

So, wherever your journey takes you and what ever your goal is, get focused, get passionate, believe in yourself and get going!

Food for thought…

Did you know that one of the most powerful pieces of research on goal setting ever carried out by Yale University in America was on a group of graduates back in the 1950s and repeated 20 years later in the ‘70s. This research identified that 3% of a control group (of graduates) were worth more in financial terms than the other 97% put together. What's more, this same 3% were healthier and happier!

When the data was analysed only one major difference between the two groups could be identified; not any of the obvious variables such as parental influence, wealth, degree taken, career opportunities, or ethnic or gender issues, as one might expect, rather the only difference between the 3% and the rest was that these 3% all had tangible written goals whilst the majority of the rest did not.

The power of being focused – the story of Cliff Young

Here's a great story...

Cliff Young was a 61 year old Australian farm worker who liked running. He was encouraged by his father to enter the Melbourne to Sydney Road Race and although he had little experience of top level athletics, he won the race by an amazing day and a half, beating some of the best athletes in the world! Why did he win? Because he believed he could! WOW! What a testimony to the power of self-belief and your ability to achieve something; talk about being focused on a goal!

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Article Tags: assumptions, comfort zone, eight easy steps, elements, goal setting, obsession, passion, tangible goal, test of time, unambiguous terms



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