Setting goals is critical to success, just as a map is critical to reaching a location.
A life without objectives is like a football match devoid of goalposts. How fascinating would that be?
Whatever you want to do in life or business, you must master goal setting to reach the top more quickly and easily.
Regrettably, many Africans are unaware of goal planning.
If you don't know where you're going, you're going to get lost.
I'd like you to consider two persons who have never visited Nigeria and travel from Nairobi to Abuja, Nigeria. If he has a map of Abuja and the other has not, which man is more likely to arrive sooner and easier?
You are aware of the solution.
Goals are not enchanted (just as there is nothing magical about maps). Goals do not automatically deposit funds in your bank account or deliver achievements to your doorstep. Goals provide direction.
If you can maintain a consistent direction, you will walk faster than the majority of individuals. You will learn to manage your time more efficiently and eliminate the majority of distractions from your life.
There are also some spiritual aspects to goal setting that I am unsure how to describe here. In my experience, when I establish objectives to accomplish particular tasks, the opportunities to accomplish those tasks frequently show themselves earlier than I anticipated.
Some have attempted to explain this by stating that your subconscious mind becomes preoccupied with locating the people and resources necessary to complete the task when you establish objectives to do specific tasks.
Setting goals brings your thoughts together, provides you with a clear focus, and enables you to do more in life. Indeed, Brain Tracy stated, "Success is accomplishing goals," implying that there is no success without a goal.
I was hoping you'd be willing to let me share five goal-setting ideas with you.
I initially learned about these techniques from Brain Tracy's book, Maximum Achievement, some years ago. I'll describe the SMART formula in this section... Specific, quantifiable, attainable, attainable, realistic, and timely.
1. Keep your objective specific and straightforward.
The truth about human nature is that we need complexity and desire it in everything, but in reality, complexity makes us bored and exhausted, so we abandon it.
When I initially began writing goals, I would write between twenty and thirty objectives spanning ten or more years.
You may be delighted when you write such a goal, but I offer you three weeks. You will become dissatisfied with those objectives and take no more action to pursue them.
It is vital to keep things simple to have an intellectual purpose. What method is used to do this? Create three or four-month objectives and concentrate on the top seven to ten items you want to accomplish.
Indeed, I am pursuing only three (significant) objectives for the next three months. It has the advantage of ensuring that you are continually focused on your objectives.
Additionally, make it specific. Make it a point not to make a goal of becoming wealthy. Rather than that, set a monthly income target for a certain amount. It will assist you when you reach the planning stage of pursuing your objective.
2. Make your objectives quantifiable.
If you cannot quantify it, you will have no idea how to improve. According to Rich Schefren, "what cannot be quantified cannot be improved."
If you are unable to quantify your progress, you will be unable to improve.
Assume you want to become a successful company owner and have set objectives for the amount of money you would like to earn in the next five years (this is a long-term objective, and it doesn't matter).
Now you will consider what is truly important, which is what you will begin doing today. You may have a straightforward objective of reading ten business books over the next three months.
It is quantifiable. If you haven't read more than one book in a month, you'll notice you're falling behind and will need to maintain a higher level of attention.
3. Make your objectives attainable.
If you're beginning a business now and intend to earn one million shillings a month from it next month, I'm guessing you've set an impossible aim.
The issue with such a goal is that it serves as a demotivator.
When your idea is too glorious, it will tire you, and you will be unable to follow it with zeal, as you will no longer believe in it.
What is feasible varies in degree. What is feasible for me may not be achievable for another guy, so you are the best judge of what is feasible.
4. Maintain a realistic perspective on your objectives.
While the attainability of your objective is contingent on who you are, this section of goal setting is mainly concerned with what is and is not achievable.
Consider the case where you have never run before and immediately after finishing this article decide to set a goal of completing a marathon in the following three months. That is not practical and may result in bone fractures.
5. Assign a period to your objectives.
If you desire to create your firm, for example, it is only a wish. Your mind will dismiss you and refuse to work on such a request. However, consider this goal: "By June of this year, I will establish my own business."
Because this objective has a set deadline, your mind becomes severe and preoccupied with what has to be done, who will assist you, and how and how you can do it.
Setting goals without regard for time will not instill a sense of urgency. It is critical for doing anything useful in life.
That is your SMART formula. Your objectives must be as follows:
S- Succinct and precise
M- Measurable
A- Attainable
R- Realist
T- Time framing
My last remarks.
To begin, as you will use the technique above to make some objectives for today, keep in mind that a goal is similar to a map.
Maps do not direct you to your desired location. It only facilitates and expedites your journey.
For each of us, life is difficult, demanding, and stressful. We are compelled to be tough. Your objectives will necessitate a sacrifice. Some sacrifices may be needed to fulfill your aspirations.
Making a strategy and establishing some goals is a relatively simple process. The challenging part is deciding what to give up to accomplish your objective.
Decide what you want your life to be about is not difficult. What is difficult is determining what you are prepared to give up to pursue your true passions.
Second, you decide whether to complete your tasks ahead of or after the deadline. Each of us is a human being. We are not planning for the best-case scenario. We are planning just for the sake of a more hopeful future.
If I may say so, the purpose of setting goals is not perfection.
Occasionally, you will accomplish your goals ahead of schedule, and occasionally, you will accomplish them later. That is simply life. Avoid becoming disheartened by any delay.
Thirdly, and most importantly, whatever your aim, make learning a priority.
My passion for Africa is to promote reading among Africans.
My experience has taught me that you will fail regardless of what you want to do in life if you cannot read, study, and ask questions.
Africans must reawaken and foster a reading culture.
Suppose you want to be a successful business person or woman, for example. In that case, you will need to study several (but fascinating) books on Marketing, Leadership, Negotiation, Management, Sales, and even Psychology and some other business subjects.
You cannot do anything in life unless you are a reader.