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.

You know you’ve been off your game when you log in to make a new post and you’re shocked to see that it’s been almost three months since you’ve even visited your own site! I’ve taken breaks before, but never one that’s lasted quite this long or left me feeling this disorganized.

I’m really glad that the theme for this months NaBloPoMo is “routine” because it’s painfully obvious that I need one. Whether I can find 31 days worth of ideas on the topic or not, I can say that I will definitely be creating a routine for blogging every day. And since I have more than one blog to take care of and get whipped back into shape it’s something that’s long over due.

So, it’s the first day of the second half of the year, my playtime is definitely over, and it’s time to put the butt in the chair and write if I hope to meet even half the goals I’ve set for myself this year.

How’s your year going? Are you where you want to be after the first six months?

In an effort to do a little less of the preachy stuff and a lot more of just being me this year, I thought I’d share a few of my goals for the coming year. That way you can see what direction my path to personal growth is starting in.

This year I am making massive changes in my life. The freedom I feel being divorced almost makes me giddy and the first thing I’m going to do this year is make my name change legal. It’s really exciting to be able to change directions now after being stuck for so long.

So here’s the major areas I’ll be focusing on this year:

1. Creating financial stability for myself. I really want to be able to get off disability by the end of the year. I’ll be talking more about this over at The Introverted Marketer.

2. Making a cross country move before golf season starts. I absolutely intend for this to happen by April 1st.

3. Getting fit and healthy. I fully intend to reach my goal weight by the end of this year. I’ll be blogging about my progress on this front over on The Diabetic Chick’s blog.

4. Overall my goal for this year is to live every day to the fullest and fill it with as much love, laughter, peace, and prosperity as I can. And for the most part, that’s what I”ll be writing about here along with the occasional update.

All in all, I’m looking forward to an incredible year. What about you? What direction is your path taking you this year?