Good Goals: Dreams with Deadlines

If you want to be happy, and fulfilled, choose goals that command your thoughts, liberate your energy and inspires your hope!

by Michael Corthell

Do you like setting goals? Many people set a goals for themselves and rarely achieve them because the goals are either too unrealistic or the time-line for reaching them is too short or there are too many goals in play at one time.

Top-level athletes, successful business-people and achievers in all fields all set goals. Setting goals gives you long-term vision and short-term motivation. It focuses your acquisition of knowledge, and helps you to organize your time and your resources so that you can make the very most of your life.

''A Goal is a dream with a deadline.''

—Napoleon Hill

Trying to ignore needed goals and objectives is like ignoring a hungry cat or crying baby. It just shouldn't be done. They both have to be fed and nurtured. There is a 'smart' way to go about it.

Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART)

Decide on a goal. Make it clear what it is you want to achieve. Keep it simple.

Set only goal at a time. People tend to make this mistake all the time. They get all fired up and sit down and write two dozen goals. Don't do that. If you have multiple goals in mind, take each in series over the course of a week or so and do them each of them justice.

Set up systems for achievement. Then 'forget' about the goal. There is a difference between goal setting and systems for achieving them. Let's look at that with a few examples:

The difference between goals and systems...

• If you're a businessperson, your goal is to build a successful business. Your system is your processes for sales, marketing, fulfillment, operations, etc.
• If you're a pro-football coach, your goal is to win the Super Bowl. Your system is what your team does at practice each day.
• If you're a writer, your goal maybe to write a book. Your system is the writing schedule you follow each week.
• If you're a runner, your goal is to run a marathon. Your system is your training schedule for the month.

Having goals in life and working towards them is one of the most important parts of living a happy and successful life. The path toward reaching our goals may not always be a smooth one, but having goals, small or large, is part of a good positive life.

''Well begun, is half done.''

—Aristotle

Setting and reaching reasonable goals gives life meaning and purpose, points us in the direction we want to go. Choose your goals wisely. Paying attention to how we set them makes us more likely to achieve them. Get started and you are half-way there. Achieving our goals makes us feel good about living and lets us know that all things are indeed possible for those who have faith and take action.

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Setting Lifetime Goals and How to Achieve Them

In his invigorating talk, Martin Christianson outlines how he was able to achieve near-impossible goals such as climbing Mt. Everest and serving multiple tours in Iraq. He reveals his strategy of goal-setting and how small steps can lead to incredible accomplishments.