2016 is gone and now we face a brand new 2017. Every coming of a new year gives a person an opportunity to review their previous year and re-energise themselves for the new year ahead with a renewed energy and resolve to accomplish goals.
Reaching a goal is the one feature that distinguishes a successful person from a day dreamer. After all, each person has a goal, everyone does. The day dreamer often just spends time thinking “how great it would be if”. The successful person, though, took the initiative and the time to learn three important keys that lead to the long term goal he had set before him.
Effective Goal setting allows you to turn plans into reality so that you are able to meet objectives you have set for yourself. Having long term goals can improve your quality of life by giving you positive direction, a plan of action for your future and the control to carry it through. Knowing the significant impact that long term goals could have, you must wonder how you can start implementing them in your life. There are three key elements to reaching long term goals in life, and they are so easy to adapt that anyone can introduce them into their lives.
Tackle only one long-term goal at a time, and make it your priority.
Trying to take on too many objectives will only frustrate and generally results in failure in all of them. Having one goal upon which all of your focus is concentrated is a more manageable objective. A long-term goal may take 3 years, 5 years or 20 years to accomplish. If it is important enough for you to desire it, you owe it to yourself to give achieving that goal your full attention.
Set schedules for reaching your goal.
Long-term goals are not reached in a single bound. Sun Tzu the Chinese philosopher once said “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a step”. Steps are used to overcome each hurdle in the path leading to your goal. If saving $10,000.00 in twelve months is your long term goal, you will need to determine how you will accomplish it. Extra savings could be earned through a second job, selling one of your assets, or by eliminating certain unnecessary expenditures in your daily life. These short term goals are the necessary steps needed to arrive at your final long term goal. They also will provide motivation for you, as each small step is successful reached and completed, it will bring you that much closer to your goal.
Never stop working toward your goal.
There will be times through your journey when you may feel defeated, frustrated or overwhelmed. Perhaps an unexpected stumbling block was encountered, or a short term goal didn’t provide the outcome you had planned. Whatever the reason, there may be things that take you off course for reaching your goal. Don’t give up. Remind yourself continually of the importance of your goal, and keep working to achieve it.
Everyone has goals in life. Some just dream of them while others work diligently to reach them. Be one of the successful people who set their long term goal, and then plan steps to reach them. Your reward will be great, as your dream will become a reality.