Last week, we looked at conducting a life audit to identify those aspects of your life that you want to improve or change. The question now is: having named these areas for improvement, how do we move forward? It's time for some clarity. It's time to think about setting some positive goals for yourself. Having a goal means having a definite destination in mind. After all, if you don't have a clear idea of where you're going, how will you know when you have arrived? Goals focus your attention on what you want. If you have clear goals, you waste less time and energy on the things that aren't important to you. Having goals means that you will work harder to achieve them. Few of us want to expend great effort for no obvious results but if those results are clear in your mind you are more likely to put in the time and effort to achieve them. We also become more persistent when there is a goal in mind - it is easier to work through or around setbacks when we know that we are working towards something that we really, really want. So, what makes a good goal? Well, first of all: think positive! How you phrase your goals makes a difference to your commitment. For example, how about the statements, "I must eat less fried food." or "I must stop overspending."? They don't sound like much fun, do they? Presumably eating greasy food or spending lots of money makes us feel good in some way (even if it is bad for us) otherwise we wouldn't do it. If your goal sounds like a punishment, you will find it difficult to see through to completion. On the other hand, "I will eat more healthily." or "I will manage my money more efficiently." show a more positive frame of mind, focusing on the improvements by visualising the future ("I will...") and using positive words ("healthily" and "efficiently".) The language of your goal is important to its success. However, "I will eat more healthily." or "I will manage my money more efficiently." still sound a little woolly. We need more detail. A common and useful acronym when goal-setting is SMART. Your goals should be: Specific - clarity is crucial. Measurable - how else will you know if you've achieved it? Attainable - otherwise you are setting yourself up to fail - why would you do that? Relevant - is it connected to what you want out of life? Timed - most of us need a deadline to focus on. So perhaps "By the end of the year, I will be eating salad every day for lunch." or "By January, I will have paid off my Visa card in full." might be more useful goals? Two final tips: 1) Write down your goals - by doing so you are effectively creating a contract with yourself. You can still change, if necessary but only after some self-'negotiation'. 2) Break it down - long-term goals, such as "By 2015, I will be living in France." may need a number of short- and medium-term goals to act as steps towards that big dream.
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