Personal Goal Setting

Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination - Fitzhugh Dodson

Importance of Personal Goal Setting
Let us take this scenario - you have stepped out of your house and have started walking in some direction. Now, you will keep on walking and will never stop. Does this happen with you? No, right? You will definitely stop at some or the other place. This is because you know your destination and you stop, when you reach there. This is a very simple example, but a very useful and important one. Everyone dreams to become someone big and earn something in life. But is this possible without a goal?

Personal goal setting is important at all the stages of your career development as well as life. Personal goals enable you to determine a certain direction and once you know your direction you can start working hard to reach your goal. Setting personal goals is very important as it benefits you in many ways. First of all, it gives a clear direction and a purpose to your work. Secondly, your self esteem increases and you feel more confident. Also, you can make optimal use of time and take steady steps towards success. Moreover, your stress levels decrease as you now know what to work for and how much to work. Once you know your goal, you dedicate yourself completely to it and concentrate on working in a better manner, which in turn results in improved performance. Finally at the end of the day, you are contended and happy with yourself!

Types of Personal Goals
There are two types of personal goals in life. First is the short term goal and the second is the long term goal.

Short Term Goal
Determining short term goals is an important step leading towards success. Short term goals include the day to day work-related goals as well as the goals for the next 5-6 years or so. Day to day goals include work targets that you set for yourself, whereas the latter includes your desire to see yourself at a certain position after some years. Suppose, you have started working in an organization and 5 years down the line, you see yourself as a manager in that organization. This is your short term goal for a period of 5 years. You have therefore got a direction and you are going to work hard to achieve your goal!

Long Term Goal
A long term goal is your personal goal to achieve success in life. These goals are set for a lifetime or for your entire career span. Remember, long term goals are achieved only when you are able to achieve short term goals. After all, short term goals are nothing but the steps leading you to your long term goal. Therefore, you cannot afford to miss or overstep any of the steps in the long run.

How to Set Personal Goals
We have always been fascinated by the lives and career stories of the successful people we know! We have always wondered how these people could achieve success? Well the answer is simple, GOAL SETTING. These people had set their goals right and worked to achieve them.

Here are 3 simple steps to set your short term and long term goals.

Think Logically and Choose your Path
The first step is to think logically about your goal. Everyone wants to be successful in life, but in what sense and up to what extent, is something that should be given a thought. Whichever field you wish to pursue your career in, think about the opportunities available over there. Are there enough opportunities for you to excel? Find the answer, think logically and set feasible and attainable goals. Consider all your assets as well as your limitations and then come up to a sensible solution.

Identify Short Term and Long Term Goals
Now that you have set your lifetime goal and you have started working for it, split your lifetime goal into smaller short term goals and work towards attaining them. Set a fixed time frame for it and avoid procrastination. Once you start achieving your day to day goals and develop a habit, you can steadily achieve your short term goal.

Assessment
This is another important step in personal goal setting. It begins when you have come to a stage where you have achieved your short term goal and acquired a sound position in the organization. But further, the terrain becomes harder, as you have to now plan for a bigger goal and begin to see yourself at a higher position. Again, set your day to day goals properly and plan your work accordingly. You need to keep on doing this, till you achieve success.

At this stage of the discussion of personal goal setting, it is needless to say how important it is to have goals in life. Personal goal setting is also important for students for their academic success. So go ahead, set your goals and let others hear your success story!