How to set goals

Let us say that you are on your yacht somewhere in the middle of the sea. What would happen if the navigation system breaks down and you loose your track in the sea? How do you reach your destination? Do you know your port of call? Most probably you'll face tremendous difficulties in reaching the shore, after spending days in wandering through the sea. Goal is just like your port of call, when you announce your homecoming that you've reached the destination. A goal is also like a target when you reach the objective with some concrete action plan. How to set goals is a matter of personal preference based on your requirements and needs, but the methods you use to set those goals are almost same for everyone. Before we learn how to set goals, let us understand something about goals and its importance in our life. Goals are usually set by us to achieve some personal objectives and needs, and such objectives may be anything from personal to professional. Goals are essentially highly personalized and private. Whatever the goal you set, you need a solid action plan to execute on your way to success. A goal is something that you decide to do in future. It means you must have a definite purpose in your life, and using that as a beacon, you can reach the destination in the shortest possible time. There are several types of goals to achieve in your life, ranging from family goals to professional goals or even a combination of both. Before you learn how to set goals, you will need to know what exactly you want from your life and how you want them. Once you know your objectives, you'll start learning to create a goal card. You future goal may be too simple, like buying a pair of shoes on a certain day. On the other hand it may be a bit complex, involving time and money. It may be getting a degree online or buying a flat in a posh locality. Once you identify the objectives, you'll also know its magnitude and size; sit down and study how big is your goal, whether it is short term goal or a medium term or a long term goal. Once the structure of the goal is ready, break it down in to smaller manageable chunks of intermediate goals, which are easily attainable over a period of time. Let each of your intermediate goals be interlinked to each other and make sure that when all these goals are joined together, you will reach the final destination. The next important aspect of learning how to set goals is to create a comprehensive action plan to achieve your goals. This plan must include a time line, action strategy and a flexible control mechanism. Let your plan be flexible and constructed out of strategies which can be changed according to changing scenarios. But never change the tenor of your goals or their structure. Execution of the provided action plan is probably the most important step in realizing your dreams. You may need to prepare a series of measures through which you can build your work. Set up regulatory mechanism to check whether your plan is still on course or whether it has veered off its course. It is just like course correction, when you make sure that the ship is on its allotted course of voyage. The essential parameter while chasing a goal is to keep calm and work on it till you reach the destination. It is as simple as that and there are no other shortcuts.