Setting And Attaining Strong Personal Goals

At eight years old, we are full of hope, enthusiasm and promise for the future. By the time many people reach their mid to late twenties they realize that they have not fulfilled that promise and are not even close to achieving their dreams and aspirations.

This can happen to us when we fail to map out clearly what our goals are and the steps necessary to achieve them. This article will provide some useful steps to setting these goals as that is the first step to achieving them. It will also provide helpful hints to achieve these goals.

1. Find your passion(s) – Through the trial of several activities, find that area or areas whether in faith, academia, sports, arts or entertainment that you can pursue passionately. You may find that your passion is to help others and that your talents lend you to be a counsellor or social worker.

2. Develop the requisite skills and talents associated with this passion. For example to become the counsellor, you may need to undertake a course of study to become qualified or licensed to provide counselling services. Therefore, you take these courses and you take all the steps necessary to nurture your talent.

Don’t think that once you have your qualification or become that athlete that you can stop developing your craft or talent. Never stop learning or finding ways to be a better academic, athlete, entertainer, artist or whatever your passion is.

3. Keep a Journal – Set out what you hope to achieve in all the areas that interest you. Then state the steps necessary to achieve those goals. Break each step down into simple tasks so it would not look daunting. This can act as an action plan to achieving your goals. Within this journal write the investments needed to achieve your dream, e.g. financial and how you will gain this investment, whether parents, a part-time job or a loan from a financial institution.

Provide timelines for each action plan whether it be to go to university or raise this portion of money, whatever the case may be. Clearly stating these steps and the action to be taken will make it easier to stop procrastinating and take action. Also in this journal tick off or write each step you have taken to give yourself that sense of achievement and encouragement on days when you feel lost and like giving up.

4. Take action. Get up and take that first step towards achieving your goal. Stop waiting for something to happen before you act. You have all the steps to achieving the goal set out, now take the first one. It may be something as simple as getting an extra class in art or dance or an academic subject.

It may be finding someone within the field that you are interested to learn how they got where they are. Whatever the case may be, procrastination will only delay you achieving your dreams.