Solutions at a Glance for Better Goal Setting

The keys to effective goals are clarifying meaningful results.

Goals are the results you want, and objectives are the checkpoints along the way.

Goals help you set the direction, and the pursuit of your goals helps you become more in the process.

Objectives help you maintain a sense of progress.

You already have goals, but the key is to put them out there where you can see whether they serve you.

It’s getting mindful about what you want to accomplish.

At a simple level, you already have goals for things like eating and sleeping for the day.

Goals Help You Get What You Want

As you move up the stack, your goals are outcomes you want for other areas of your life, such as your career or relationships.

In some cases, time is important: goals have deadlines because of windows of opportunity you want to hit.

In other cases, it’s not time that’s important, but progress.

In which case, you can use your goals like flight plans, you’re your objectives are the flight instruments to help you move towards the direction you want and adjust as necessary.

The following are solutions at a glance for goals and objectives:

How to find your purpose

Ask yourself, “What’s my purpose in life?”

Keep asking until something sticks.

Eventually something will resonate.

Try to get it down to a one-liner that’s easy to say.

It should resonate and feel compelling.

If you don’t feel an emotional connection to your purpose, then you haven’t found it yet.

How to set goals

Get to the heart of your goals by asking, “What do I want to accomplish?”

Test your goals by considering how your world would be different if you accomplished your goal?

If it’s not compelling for you, then find a more compelling goal.

Sometimes goals are about improving pleasure, and other times, they are about reducing pain.

Optimize your goals around what motivates and inspires you most.

How to set SMART goals

SMART is an acronym: specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, and timely.

By addressing these questions, you can improve the clarity of your goals.