How you can achieve all your goals….
If you can master the art of creating achievable goals, you can see yourself living the life of your dreams. If you have read any material on Goal Setting before, you have probably come across the SMART goal setting principles. Making your goals SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) almost guarantees you success in terms of achieving your goals, however ActionCOACH has gone a step further into helping you achieve your goals by asking 2 crucial questions: firstly, “What do I have to do” and secondly, “What do I have to be to get there”?
“What do I have to do to achieve the goal”. This question is all about Action. Once you have written down your goal, you need to write down the steps and actions you would need to take in order to achieve the goal, business coaching only works if you do, business principles only work if you do. If you have a goal of getting a driver’s licence, you need to write down “call and book an appointment with a driving instructor” as an action plan. This “doing” is what will turn your fantasy into a tangible plan. The next important question deals with “being”. You cannot have a certain level of success until you have become something, if you need an example look no further than people who win millions and end up on, I Blew It or child stars that receive global fame and end up in rehab. Success is a ladder and every rung needs a different version of you, a stronger version that can climb to the next level. One of the most distinguishing “being” characteristics is consistency. You have to be a consistent person if you want to i.e., run a marathon. Being is habitual, you are the sum of your habits, nothing more nothing less and the better your habits, the better you will be as a person and the more likely you are to achieve your goals.
We can categorise your goals in five sections: Health, Wealth, Personal, Business and Contribution:
Health: What is your BMI? If you don’t know that, we can look at something easier; how many litres of water do you have in 1 day. If you can’t answer either one of these questions, you should be concerned. What this should tell you is that you are not intentional, you have no health goals. As with all goals, your health goals need to be Specific, Measurable and Time-bound but you need to know where you are to know where you are going. Find out about your BMI, write down how many hours or minutes of exercise you have each day, how many calories you consume and litres of water you drink per day. Before you set a goal get clarity about your health first and then only, should you set SMART health goals.
Wealth: The wealth goal is largely about using the money you make to buy yourself convenience in life. Wealth gives you Financial Freedom and you can achieve this by using your money to make you more money in your sleep, in this way you don’t have to work to make it and live hand to mouth. This is what gives you peace of mind and that is what wealth is all about. Wealth is not only about having financial freedom, it’s also about having Time Freedom. Having money affords you time to do the things that really matter to you, whether it spending time with family or grooming the youth or other philanthropic endeavours. What ever you would like to do with your time, having that time available to pursue your desires and not having to worry about money; is wealth. Health is also wealth and having the time to look after your health and as equally important, the money to be able to buy what you should use to do so, is the epitome of “health is wealth”. What is the point of having money but no health to enjoy it or even time to go spend the money? The real meaning of wealth is a combination of the three: Finance, Time and Health.
Personal: Your personal goals can range from small goals like starting your day with positive affirmations or bigger like getting a new degree/qualification. Your personal goals are intrinsically connected to your personal development. When drawing up your personal goals, consider your senses, in particular your sight. What you see before your eyes, which is what you watch and what you read is very important, set goals and use your sight by using visual aids, whether it’s reminders on your phone that remind you to workout, or a vision board or what you read or the videos you watch. When setting goals, have reminders that you see that remind you of the goal and help you to track your progress in terms of achieving the goal.
Business: Every business needs to have goals. A business with SMART goals is a business that will scale and grow. It is a business that will succeed. When running a business, it is important to communicate the goals with the team as these goals will provide direction for the team, moreover, it is important for every team member to have goals as it pertains to the business. Ask your marketing manager, what do you want to achieve this month? Your social media coordinator: How are you planning on increasing our following? When the team has an investment into the goal setting process of the business, they will be committed and are likely to produce better results. What if you don’t have a team yet? There may not be an “i” in team but there’s an “i” in win and using SMART principles will ensure that you win with every goal for your business.
Contribution: As your contribution goal, look at your budget and the types of contributions you could do, for example, 10% could be your tithe. Is there an extra percentage you could afford to direct to a certain cause? Once you have answered this, you can then go on to look at the taxes around your contribution i.e. the skills development of a certain company. Tax wise, can your company contribute towards CSI? Talk to your accountant and/or tax practitioner to see how much tax saving you can make whilst contributing towards others. This goal does not need to be complicated, you can contribute old equipment from your business when you buy new equipment. Have a look at these things and be specific and look for people who you can help. This should be part of your plan, a detailed plan with SMART principles that allows you the opportunity to make other people’s lives better, leading to your own personal fulfilment.
You can achieve your goals, you can achieve your dreams but… little by little, as you can see in the template it shows 12 months. Do you know where you want to see yourself in the next 3 years? Take the dream divide into 3 years take 1 year divide it into 4 quarters. If you break down your dreams into 90 days (which make up 4 quarters) you have goals that are more attainable and easier to accomplish. Goal Setting is your tool to help you to achieve your dreams, dreams for your health, wealth, personal life, Business and Contribution/Service to others. Use this tool and see all your dreams come true.