The Path to Personal Growth

Setting Goals: Knowing What You Want

In my post on defining goals the other day I mentioned five steps that are important for setting clear goals. This is the first post in a series that will expand on those steps.

It seems almost too simple to make a big deal out of, but the first step in learning how to set goals is determining exactly what it is you want to achieve.

You have to know where you want to end up in order to figure out how you’re going to get there. Makes sense, doesn’t it? But you’d be amazed at the number of people who try and achieve goals that are really nothing more than a vague idea. Consider these and think about how often you’ve heard someone say them, or maybe have even said them yourself:

I want to be rich.
I want to fall in love.
I want to lose weight.

Sound familiar? They’re a good place to start, but until you put some defining characteristics to them, they’re not really goals are they? You have to define what the concepts “rich,” “in love” and “lose weight” actually mean to you before you can create clear goals around them.

So if we were defining a goal for wanting to be rich, you might ask yourself the following questions:

How rich do I want to be?
Do I want to be a millionaire? A billionaire?
Or would I be rich if I just had enough of a cushion to make sure the bills get paid and there’s a steady flow of cash coming in?
There’s no right answer. Only an answer that’s right for you. And once you know what that answer is, then you can set a clear goal around achieving the amount of money that will meet your definition of “rich”.

Once you know exactly what you want to achieve, then you can go on to the second step in defining clear goals: setting a timeline. We’ll talk about that tomorrow.

Tags: clear vision, setting goals

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Defining Clear Goals for Success

Since one of the things on my to do list today is to review my goals and see where I’m at and what, if anything needs changing, I thought I’d write a bit today on what it takes to define clear goals.

It’s one thing to set goals for yourself, but it’s another thing entirely to define clear goals to make sure you accomplish what you set out to achieve. A lack of clarity about your goals can leave you feeling confused about the end result, and put you on a one-way track to being stuck in the mud. Having a clear goal, on the other hand, can give you a sense of purpose and a huge boost in momentum.

Here are five things to think about when you’re defining your goals:

1. Know exactly what it is you want to achieve.
2. Decide on a time frame for achieving it.
3. Make sure your goal is realistic. (So says the queen of unrealistic goals!)
4. See the details. A vague idea is not gonna get you where you want to go.
5. Did you leave room for change? (If you said no, you might wanna think that.)

Over the course of the next few days we’ll talk about each of these five areas in more detail. In the meantime, think about where you are at this midpoint of the year.

Are you where you want to be so far this year? Would redefining your goals help you achieve them more easily?

Tags: defining goals, goals

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Five Reasons Meditation Should Be a Part of Your Daily Routine

One of the things I’d like to add into my daily routine is meditation. For me, it’s pretty much a hit or miss thing right now even though I know that it would do me so much good. And somehow I don’t think staring at the blank screen and wondering what to write qualifies.

Meditation has always been associated with feelings of peacefulness and well-being, and I don’t know about you but I can always use more of those feelings in my life. Experts say that taking even just ten or fifteen minutes a day to slow down and meditate can have great benefits. Here are a few ways that taking time to meditate can affect our lives:

1. Mediation makes a great stress reliever. If you can manage to relax and be peaceful for just fifteen minutes a day, the effects will be noticeable.

2. Meditation also can improve your physical health. Several studies have shown that meditation can improve overall health because lowering stress also helps to lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease.

3. Meditation helps you control your thoughts. A lot of stress comes from being unable to control our thoughts. Taking time to meditate helps to stop negative thoughts in their tracks.

4. Meditation also helps bring feeling of happiness and gratitude. By taking the time to reflect on all the good things in your life, you draw even more good things to you, which results in even more feelings of happiness and gratitude.

5. Meditation helps improve your concentration. When you can achieve peace of mind during meditation it will have an effect on how you live because when your mind is less stressed out, it is better able to concentrate on the important things in life.

These are just a few of the ways that meditating can help to reduce stress and improve your life. It may take some practice to develop the habit but allowing yourself fifteen minutes peace and relaxation is worth adding it to your daily routine.

Tags: concentration, gratitude, happiness, meditation, peacefulness, relaxation, Stress Relief, well-being

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