Top Ten Ways to Set and Reach Your Goals

Top Ten Ways to Set and Reach Your Goals By Ruth Anderson If you made New Year's resolutions this year, you may be very aware of how difficult it is to stick with new goals. How can you keep your good intentions? Start by taking a good hard look at the goals themselves, and then take effective, focused action to achieve them -- as outlined in the following ten steps. Step 1. Don't kid yourself: Choose goals that you truly care about. To meet this criterion, they must (a) reflect something of great value to you and (b) have clear, direct benefits that you will actively appreciate. A goal that is a reluctant "should," rather than something you genuinely want and will appreciate often, is unlikely to be attractive enough to keep you going. Step 2. Express your goals in a way that points to what you value and how you will benefit. If you find yourself using general phrases preceded by "try to" or "ought to," you haven't yet zeroed in on what you want and why it is compelling. Example 1: "I ought to go on a diet." Much more inspiring: "I want to achieve a weight at which I feel healthy, comfortable, and attractive." Example 2: "I'll try to be more efficient at work." Much more inspiring: "I want to manage my time so that I can meet deadlines and avoid taking work home." Step 3. Write a detailed description of how your life will be improved, and save it to re-read at those inevitable moments when you lose momentum. In addition to a compelling statement of the goal itself (see step 2), your description should include: a list of the specific ways in which you will benefit, and a description of how you will feel when the goal is achieved. Write to inspire, so that you can remind yourself of why this goal was important to you in the first place. Step 4. Take stock of what stands in your way. If you are to devise an effective strategy for reaching your goal, you will need to understand the lay of the land