Reminder: How To Set Your New Year’s Goals

The Golden rules for setting achievable fulfilling goals.

In this article, I will focus on discussing two things:

First, is why you choose your goals; why did you choose this specific goal, and If that is the best goal you can aim at. And second, what characteristics your goals should have for them to be achievable and satisfying when you accomplish them. What you are about to read, is basically a layout to set and plan your goals and life ahead.

So, why did you choose that specific goal?

Why do you do the things you do?

If you cannot answer this question, you are just going through the motions, drifting. ‘I guess I’m doing what I’m supposed to’ becomes the theme of your life. This lack of total commitment may keep you from regressing, but it does not encourage peak performance.

Successful individuals always have a purpose in mind for their actions. The quality of your life is directly related to your willingness to put your plans into action. Purpose creates motivation. If you want the power of purpose, you need to identify your mission and always act in a way that will further your efforts to reach it.

Create a priority purpose — a mission for yourself. Ask yourself:

1. Why do I do the things I do?
2. What is most important to me?
3. What am I willing to invest in?
4. How much am I willing to endure?
5. What am I willing to give up?
6. How much responsibility am I willing to take?
7. Am I willing to begin where I am?
8. Am I willing to settle for anything less than my full potential?

Answering these questions will aid you in determining your mission. Focus on that mission in your thoughts and actions.

To further your efforts to fulfill your mission, ask yourself:

1. Do I understand the aims and requirements of the path I chose?
2. Do I have the determination? Do I give top priority to my goal at the expense of time with family and friends?
3. Does my employment provide an adequate experience? Do I use my employment to gain experience?
4. Have I discussed my plans with a supervisor or someone who is already near to where I want to be?
5. Can I accept constructive criticism from those who want to help me?

You must understand that in any endeavor, obstacles and conflict are inevitable. In your efforts to overcome these factors, at some stage, you will experience the pain of the present limitation. The only way to overcome the limitation is to push through the limitation towards your objective.

How Do You Set Your Goal

Here are some guidelines for setting goals:

1. Set specific goals: Specific goals are much more productive than general goals that merely stress ‘doing your best’. 2. State goals positively: For example, set aside 2 hours every evening to finish your side project Effective goals need a positive mental image of yourself achieving what you want or being what you want to become. You cannot picture a negative goal.

3. Set challenging goals: Psychologist Edwin Locke found that ‘the higher the level of intended achievement [that is, the higher the goal], the higher the level of performance’.

4. Set measurable goals: Goals need to be measurable in terms of what is achieved and when it is achieved. A goal of ‘increasing performance in the long case’ is not measurable. Rather, a goal of ‘completing 20 essays within 3 months’ is measurable.

5. Set realistic and achievable goals: A goal must not be too difficult, otherwise, you will not want to try. But it must not be too easy — there is no challenge. State what results can be realistically achieved, given your resources. Coming from a medical background, for a medical student to say ‘My goal is to be a professor of medicine within 12 months’ is unrealistic. ‘My goal is to be a professor of medicine in 20 years’ is a more realistic goal, especially if the student sets down the intermediate goals.

6. Set tangible goals: Some of your goals will be intangible. You can accomplish these intangible goals by achieving related tangible ones. The goals you set should always be tangible. For example, if you lack self-confidence, the intangible goal of ‘achieving greater confidence’ is not measurable. How will you know when you have enough confidence? Setting specific, tangible goals fostering the development of confidence will be effective (e.g. ‘I speak up at grand rounds’).

7. Make sure goals include behavioral changes: You must set goals of becoming, of developing whatever characteristic you lack before you achieve your tangible goal. You cannot expect to become proficient in short cases if you continue to avoid doing them. You need to alter your behavior.

8. Write out your goals in the present tense: Written goals ensure that you clearly describe what you want and that you commit yourself to its accomplishment. Written goals need to be in the positive present tense so that your mind accepts them. Written goals force you to establish priorities, for often two very desirable goals will come into conflict. Prioritize your values to determine which is the most important.

9. Vividly imagine your goals: Develop the habit of several times a day vividly imagining yourself achieving your goal.

10. Write down the benefits of reaching your goals: Writing down the benefits of reaching your goals improves motivation and desire.

1. Write out a plan to reach your goal.
2. Write out a list of obstacles that hinder you in reaching your goals.

Listing the obstacles that hinder goal achievement allows you to focus on what needs to be done: ‘A problem stated is a problem half-solved’.

11. Set short-term and long-term goals: Set time-priority goals: a 5-year plan, a 1-year plan, a daily ‘to do’ list. Every day, write down the six most important things that need to be done. Rank the six items with the hardest first down to the easiest last. Start on number 1. If interrupted, take care of the interruption and return to finishing number 1. Check off each item as it is completed and carry over into the following day those that were not accomplished. Every night, make out a new list for the next day.

12. Set goals to maintain a balanced life: True happiness can be reached only by living a balanced life. To ensure a balanced life, set goals in the following areas: physical, mental/career, spiritual, financial, family, and social.

The secret of success lies in establishing a clearly defined goal, writing it down, and then hammering it into your subconscious mind with unrelenting practice — daily rehearsal with words, images, and emotions as if you had already accomplished it.