Did you know that only 3% of people set goals for their jobs and these people are statistically 10 times more likely to complete their jobs than others
A good goal has a 50% chance of success. So why do most people often fail to set goals for themselves?
“I want to be in good health.”
“I want a nice home.”
“I want a car.”
Are those the targets?
Of course not. They are just dreams!
“It’s fine to have a goal in mind, why write it down?”
You know, your brain is very busy with around 1500 thoughts / minute.
Where are your goals in that mess of thoughts?
Do you know how many goals you have right now?
Are they related? Do they conflict with each other?
When are these goals being achieved?
It’s a vague world if you don’t write it out of your head.
“I still know it would be nice to set goals for myself but it’s hard, I don’t know how.”
Do not worried! Setting a goal is a skill that can be learned and practiced.
First, let’s find out what a good goal is, then let’s take steps to set good goals for ourselves.
Wondering what a good goal is?
Use SMART.
SMART is a widely used target standard that is effective, easy to understand, and easy to apply.
According to SMART, a good goal should meet the following criteria:
- S – Specific: Specific
- M – Measurable: Measurable
- A – Attainable: Possible
- R – Relevant: Reality
- T – Time-bound: Constraint on time
The application of SMART standards is not difficult, but you also need to be familiar with and practice with the steps in defining goals.
First, get it S, which is a specific goal.
- The first thing is to see what you want.
Example: I want to improve my English speaking. I want to improve my health. I want to work better.
- At this step, the goal is still at the fairly general idea stage.
So next we need to define a short-term or long-term goal and then add other details to concretize it.
To detail what you want, you should define clearly the words used in your goal.
Example: What is considered to improve English speaking proficiency?
Will you get higher scores on the TOEIC English exam?
Or can you watch English movies?
Or can you read books in English?
Or can you present in an English speaking seminar?
Depending on each person’s specific situation, we will choose the right details.
- Specify where you will work on your plan to achieve this goal.
For example: You will take an online course each evening at home or you will enroll in an English center.
- What do you need to do to achieve your goals and what are the challenges that hold you back?
Example: You need to spend 2 hours studying online at night. The difficulty is maybe you have to do many things at home.
- Think carefully about why you have this goal.
Knowing your reasons for this will help you determine if your goal is meeting your expectations.
For example: The reason is because you need an English certificate to apply for a job, you may set a different goal than if you need to work directly with English-speaking clients or you are going to go abroad. outside work.
A good way to make sure your goal is detailed enough is to answer a few questions like
- What do I want?
- What does that mean?
- Who is involved?
- Where?
- When?
We will find out more details about the next letters of SMART in the next article.