Three Tips on Goal Setting

 

“You have to learn the rules of the game.  And then you have to play better than anyone else.” – Albert Einstein

How bad do you want it?

How would you feel if you never got it – never reached it?

Why do you even want to achieve it in the first place?

These are just a few of the questions you should ask yourself once you have decided that there is something specific you would like to accomplish.  You need to make sure this thought or feeling that you have about doing something is serious.  It isn’t wanton or narcissistic to do this.  In fact, it’s the ONLY way to start on the path towards making an idea into reality.  This is because asking yourself these questions and then establishing solid, concrete answers is the only way that you can determine whether or not the thought or feeling you have is just a passing craze or a very desirable – and very real – goal.

If the answers to the above questions are:

“Very bad.”

“Horrible. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”

“I want it because….(fill in the blank)”

….then you probably have a pretty strong desire to achieve that goal.  (Keep in mind the answer to the last question is totally subjective.  People want to reach goals for different reasons.  The only thing that matters is that you want to reach a goal – not the reason behind it)

If, on the other hand, your answers fall into an entirely different ballpark, you may want to take a step back.  If you aren’t at least a little bit consumed by a desire to reach this target, then it may not be something you should set out to achieve.  After all, if you aren’t very serious about an objective already, there is little chance you will become more resolute later on.  The going only gets tougher as you make your way up the path towards goal completion so if you aren’t determined from the get go then there is no sense in even starting.  So pick another goal.  Take another path.  You’ll find your way.

Let’s assume though that you do have your eye on a specific target.  You are serious.  You want it.  You are determined.  And you WILL reach it…

Here are a few tips that you can use on the journey towards making that dream a reality:

1. Set Goals Based on Behaviors not Outcomes

How many times have you decided you were going to do something only to find later on that you didn’t even come close to doing it? Be honest.  It happens a lot. And it’s not a big deal.  It’s just how most people wander through life.  You don’t want to be like most people, do you?

People aren’t really the problem though.  The issue is more in the approach. (or lack thereof) The trouble is that people often just imagine the end goal.  Most of the time they don’t stop and take into consideration the component parts.  What has to be done to get there?  What has to be done to get the gears moving? What, if any, moving parts do you have to be aware of?

This is why it is wiser to base you goals on behaviors.  So, for instance, if you want to run a marathon one year from now, you need to think about what has to be done to get there.  What has to be done monthly, weekly, daily, etc.  If you have to run three miles a day to start and then increase your mileage from there, then do that.  Ultimately instead of constantly saying to yourself “i’m going to run a marathon in one year” tell yourself you are going to run everyday for the next year in order to train for the event.  The key is to not just focus on the end goal.  While it is important to visualize the end result as already achieved, you can’t get so caught up in day dreaming that you forget about reality.

Not only does this strategy help because it allows you to lay out what actually NEEDS to be done to get you closer to your goal, but it also is good for another reason: if you lay out beforehand what you have to do to reach a goal, and you are disciplined and do everything that must be done towards that end, you can’t feel very badly about yourself if you end up missing your mark.

If you give it your best shot and fall short you can’t beat yourself up for trying.  Tomorrow is another day.

2. Use the Pareto Principle

How many times have you told yourself to do something and then found that you lost focus?  It could be something as simple as household chores, fitting in a workout, or even calling someone back.  Either you lost track of time, forgot about it or got worn out. Maybe it was even a combination of the three.  The point is that often times we operate at relatively fixed pace regardless of what we’re doing and we lump everything together.  The truth is that a lot of the things we spend our time on are insignificant.  Sure, they probably need to be done, but are they as important as some of the other things we NEED to be doing?

If you haven’t heard of the Pareto Principle (also known as the 80/20 rule) then listen up.  This principle may be one of the most important things to learn and apply when it comes to goal achievement.  Essentially, what this rule says is that 80% of the result comes from 20% of the effort.  In other words most (80%) of what you are trying to accomplish will be derived from a small fraction (20%) of your efforts.  By the same token 20% (a small portion) of what you are trying to accomplish will come out of 80% ( a big chunk) of your efforts.  These two facts are true for a couple of reasons.  Number one, not everything you do or create is uniform.  In other words, if you are writing a book, not all of it will be as significant or profound as the best parts.  Every part matters, but some parts are more complex and take more time to create than others and some less.  Again, every part is important but wouldn’t you want to get 80% out of the way?  The other reason that the 80/20 rule tends to be true is that people’s efforts are not uniform.  When you set out to complete a task do you really exert the same amount of energy the entire time?  No.  Some parts require more or less energy. Your effort, enthusiasm and drive also wax and wane.

When it comes to goal achievement it is hard to pinpoint which portion of our efforts will be the most fruitful.  What is more important is to to simply realize that getting the 80% done is most important.  Once you do that, the last 20% will be easy.  For example, if you are training for a marathon like in the example above, and you have, say, a five mile run that needs to get done in the evening, just focus on getting 80% of it finished.  You might not be in the mood to go out and train, but if you tell yourself that you are going to focus all of your mental energy on getting four miles (80%) done, you’ll probably be surprised to find that last mile isn’t as hard to finish.

80/20 also works for the big picture too.  So, if you have to train for one year for that marathon, just view it as 9 or 10 months of training instead.   Tell yourself that you are just going to focus on getting 80% of the way towards your goal and then just use your momentum to carry you through to the end.

3. Divide and Conquer

“It is not enough to take steps which may some day lead to a  goal; each step must be itself a goal and a step likewise.”

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Bigger isn’t always better.  The problem sometimes is that we tend to think of things in grand terms.  This habit actually helps us to simplify an idea in our minds.  It is naturally easier to think about the sum as the sum rather than what it is comprised of.  The truth though is that sometimes this can be overwhelming.  While this approach allows us to interpret the idea in our mind as one individual concept, it also makes it seem like it’s bigger than it really is.

 

This is an important consideration when it comes to tackling goals – no matter what the size. Breaking up the goal into smaller sub goals is crucial when it comes to staying motivated.  The goal doesn’t have to be considered “big” outright but as long as it is considered to be “big” to you and can be broken up into more manageable parts then this strategy will be effective.

For instance, if you have an entire days worth of tasks, from hitting the gym to doing laundry and everything in between,  don’t view all of these smaller tasks as one giant task.  Look at them as what they are: a bunch of different little jobs.  Of course, sometimes this isn’t particularly hard because, after all, they basically ARE different jobs from the start.  What is a little more difficult is to apply this mindset to something that seems more homogeneous.  One example would be just the gym itself.  Your workout to be exact.  Instead of going into the place with the thought process that you have one huge monstrous workout ahead of you, try thinking about the workout in terms of it’s component parts.  What is it after all if not a bunch of exercises done together?  Once you adopt this view then you can tackle each exercise and each set with a ton of energy and motivation without worrying what else lies ahead.  You’ll get more out of each set and the entire workout will seem less daunting.

Give these tips a shot and see how they work for you! Be sure to comment if this post was useful or if you have any questions.