6 Easy to understand Principles of Goal Setting

“If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you; if you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build end up building us” Jim Rohn once said, and then

Charles M. Marcus wrote “Remember that the smallest of actions is always better than the noblest of intentions”

Let us go on to set some goals for ourselves right now, shall we? The following 6 easy-to-understand Principles of goal setting will put you on a path of greatness if you really want to crack the code of understanding why you were born to be here on Mother Earth, as the late Dr. Myles Munroe refers to in “The Tragedy of Life”.

In his book “In Pursuit of a Purpose”, he laments that life without a purpose, meaning living without understanding why you are here on Earth, is the cause of all the confusion, losing oneself, and losing hope in some people’s lives.

Failure as I call it “set up” is predictable as Life is designed for success how you ever look at it, we in fact do not see it (blindsided by failures) that way because we focus on what does not work instead of what is currently working.

The Source or the Creator’s plan for your Life is that He wants you to succeed built-in you. However, there are 5 questions that bother people all their lives from all walks of Life, i.e:

1. Who am I? (Identity)
2. Where do I come from? (Source)
3. Why am I here? (Purpose/Existence)
4. What can I do? (Ability/Potential)
5. Where am I going? (Assignment/Destination)

We are not here to answer those questions for you. However, we will help guide you on looking at the 6 easy-to-understand principles that will enable you to sit down and spend some quality time by yourself in a quiet room, figuring out the previous questions and taking into account your true net worth.

1. Purpose creates a vision for your Life

Please do not take this very lightly, respect it and give it the seriousness it deserves as it will become your roadmap or blueprint to your success in anything you undertake in your life.

The late Dr. Myles Munroe in his book “In Pursuit of a Purpose” he defines a Purpose as “it provides a vision which motivates a plan of action to meet specific goals” and another way ” Purpose is a destination – the end towards which something exists; apart from the purpose, the direction is lacking and nothing of importance happens.

It, therefore, means that “Purpose provides vision which sets the goals in motion which motivate a Plan of Action, so Purpose protects you from “being busy but not effective“.

The ability to see or perceive something not actually visible (a picture of the unseen) through the mind or keen foresight that convinces you that it will come to pass is referred to as vision. It is obvious that without a Purpose, nothing exists (void) or nothing is possible (period).

The question is: you exist here on Earth, so what is your vision for your existence (life) and what are you planning to do with it while you are still breathing? It is clear you are still here, so there has to be a reason why you came and are still here.

2. Goals are steps toward the desired end

Brian Tracy “Goals in writing are dreams with deadlines”, so you must write your goals down and place them where you can see them(create a vision board) every day and keep reminding yourself what things of importance and significance you need changing in your life that must still be achieved. Have fun while doing it.

Break your goals down into life areas categories, and make your list by defining and showing what is critical and the highest values you attach to those goals for your future, such as:

• Health goals,
• Financial(wealth) goals,
• Business(career) goals,
• Spiritual goals,
• Relationships goals,
• Family goals,
• Social goals,

Be very serious about your goals because they will never happen by themselves. You must drive them to achieve them. So, effectively, goals are not random ideas (empty wishes) but precise, detailed steps towards the achievement of a larger Purpose and also encourage the development of an actionable plan. Give yourself a target to work towards.

Treat your goals with respect and give them your full attention, time, and energy. They will bring you so much joy, fulfillment, and the rewards you desire.

3. Goals create a priority

Once these goals have been stated clearly, then it is your duty to determine which comes first, there are no rules to follow, you make your own as you go along, it is your journey you create it as you move along, so do not allow yourself to be overwhelmed, identify one or two or three most important, essential, rewarding, practical goals that can be achieved now.

Start anytime anywhere where you are with what you have. It is a fallacy to think that you have to start at the beginning of a year, what if you have to change your plan do not beat up on yourself, just do it when it suits you, life is not a straight line, so the universe hardly ever moves according to your timetable so allow for flexibility to accommodate disappointments or alternatives.

Let us just say, as a student of life called “classroom in action” you wanted to master a task or topic and be proud that you have done it, you would not start, and by hook or crook boom the task is completed and achieved and we celebrate, that rarely happens by itself!

The first step would be to determine what topic or subject(personal development goal) you would like to focus on that task, once that is defined and understood then you would have to establish how will you go about preparing to get the relevant help needed be it why, what, where, when and how resources, mentor, least resistance path to follow.

The time you will spend on this topic will determine which areas to focus on, so break it down into bite-sized chunks that can be handled to avoid being overwhelmed, and create timelines on when you would have achieved certain steps in your journey. Once all has been set, then prioritize which steps you will follow until you reach your end destination, meaning your achievement, whatever that looks like for you. By the end of this journey, what is it that you want to have achieved (learned)?

4. Goals help predict choices

Purpose serves as a guide to determine the best path (roadmap) to reach not only your final destination but also the best possible least resistible route on any given options that are available to you. Dr. Myles Munroe uses the example of a pilot with a flight plan who not will only get you there quickly and safely but also knows the best path (route) to get you there. How marvelous it is and you do not have to concern yourself about all of that.

As I usually say to colleagues and peers, life is a series of choices you made in your life to reach the point at which you find yourself, Today. You participated or made those choices willingly or unwillingly, unconsciously or not, so we can never blame anyone else or external factors for the choices you made in the past the only change you can make is to break the habit and start afresh on a new path Today!

5. Goals inform decisions

Once the overall agenda has been set, you are then charged with the responsibility of making decisions to discharge the plan; if for any reason you derail the plan, your final destination will not be reached, for example, delaying the preparation at the time that you said you will start a project will not give you enough time to achieve your goal, so sticking to your plan is the best decision ever.

To avoid disappointment and allow flexibility, conduct regular progress checks, and if your goal is not on track, adjust your target and perhaps tweak your goal. Avoid procrastination at all costs. We all know that it is human nature to put off what can be done today for tomorrow, as it may never come as procrastination is a thief of time.

Charles M. Marcus puts it so well: “I was a master procrastinator, I was dreaming of yesterday, worrying about tomorrow, and trying to get through the day by going through the emotions, rather than assuming the more worthwhile challenges of accomplishing what had to be done.” Does that pattern sound familiar? Has it ever happened to you?

So, to move ahead in life, you do NOT need to put things off. You must be decisive, determined, sold and solid on your dreams, value your time, as it is limited, and try with all your might to use every ounce of joy, love, passion, peace, and energy that is left in you to make each day productive, fulfilling, and finish what you have started.

If you do not achieve your goal for whatever reason, do not berate yourself; instead, get up, dust yourself off, and begin again. We are not perfect machines that work perfectly all the time; we also have our own downtimes as well. Just be careful that the downtimes are not stretched out too far and for too long to the point of becoming lazy and losing your mojo!

Finally, if all else fails, then enlist the help of a book, coach, mentor, or specialist in the area that you are struggling with, to either create a plan for you or design a system that will automate your tasks or clear up the clutter, and/or help you refocus. It is a worthwhile investment!

6. Goals provide a measurement of progress

A plan without specific measurable objectives is vague and haphazard, so with each target date on the planner passes you are then able to determine whether you are progressing towards or away from your goal. It is critical to check your progress as you continue moving along on this journey, so as to make sure that you make the correction before it is too late to go back and fix blunders.

Always look yonder but act short. Have regular daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, and yearly check-ups depending on the length of the goal to see how you are doing.

Celebrate both small and large achievements and reward yourself for completing such a task. Do not berate yourself if things do not go as planned; instead, take stock, learn from the experience, and adjust as needed. You will soon realize that you are growing on your journey. If you miss your target, so what? It is not the end – It was not a death sentence, it was only a lesson. Just start again or re-adjust and move on.

“Our past gives us memories and experiences, our present gives us opportunity and challenges, and our future gives us vision and hope” – William Arthur Ward

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