Having previously covered the importance of clarity of vision on the goal setting process, we now move on to the key points in making sure that you set effective goals which are aligned with your vision for your life. When assisting clients with their goal setting, I use a goal setting checklist to make sure that they set effective goals.
Checklist for setting effective goals
When setting goals, make sure that your goals meet the criteria of this goal setting checklist. You will have effective goals which will move you towards the life you desire.
1. Consistency with your values
When you develop clarity of vision you, you identify the values which are most important to you. The values you wish to live your life by. Your goals must be consistent with these values. Where inconsistency exists, achieving the goals will not bring lasting happiness or fulfilment. Instead, you will experience internal conflict; maybe even guilt or shame.
2. Serve your purpose
When you have a clear vision for your life you have a sense of purpose. A sense of how you would like to serve the world. Effective goals enable you fulfil this purpose. This alignment with your purpose serves to motivate you.
3. Challenging
Effective goals are worthwhile objectives, which bring real benefits and require a degree of personal growth in order to accomplish them. Effective goals require you to become a better person today than you were yesterday. Challenge and personal growth lie at the very heart of goal setting.
4. Support a balanced life
A happy and fulfilled life requires growth in each area of life e.g. career, finance, health etc. The areas of life can support each other or hinder each other e.g. if you neglect your health, your performance levels will drop across your whole life but if you improve your health, you will see a marked improvement across your whole life. Success breeds success, and as such, success in any area of life will automatically have a positive impact on the remainder of life. Sadly, the converse is also true.
5. Altruistic contribution
I have already mentioned how your goals must help you serve the world through your purpose. While fulfilment of your purpose has very obvious benefits for you; the benefits of altruistic contribution are not always visible. No man can succeed alone, and even if he did, the celebrations would be short lived as he realised that he had nobody to celebrate with. All human beings are connected. When we strive to make the world a better place, we always benefit, either directly or indirectly. Effective goals must include an effort to help those who are less fortunate than us, or, worthwhile causes who lack resources. You might choose to donate money, volunteer your time or even give away some resources for free. Whatever method(s) you choose, altruistic contribution allows you a level of personal growth that cannot be achieved through personal gain alone.
6. Specificity
If you want to achieve an objective, you must first be crystal clear about that objective. Specificity is one of the biggest differences between a wish and a goal. Wanting a new car is a wish. Once you determine the model, colour, age, exact details and when you want to have that car by; you have created a goal. There is a small chance that a wish may come true. For a committed person, a goal almost certainly will come true. The more specific you are; the more likely you are to achieve it.
Effective goals are not just clear to you. If you describe your goal to someone else they will know exactly what you are aiming for.
7. Measurable
How do you know if you have achieved a goal, or if you have made progress towards achieving it? You measure it. When you determine a specific goal you must determine how you are going to measure your progress. Once a goal is measurable, there is no hiding place, there are no excuses; either you are doing it or you are not. Effective goals are always measurable.
8. Realistic
Goals need to be challenging and require personal growth. To do this, the goal must currently lie outside your reach. However, it must still be realistically achievable. To use a metaphor; if you could reach it with a ladder, it is realistic; if you would need a space ship then it is not realistic. Goals which are only realistic in the long term are best broken down into smaller goals which can be used along the way.
9. Time bound
Simply put – if it doesn’t have a scheduled date for a completion, it’s not a goal; it’s a dream.
10. Flexible
There may be times when you need to make adjustments to your schedule. There may be very good reasons – illness, new opportunities, important events etc. In these circumstances your goals need to be flexible enough to allow you to adapt to the circumstances. This doesn’t mean that you can change or postpone your goals for any old reason. There must always be a very good reason and, where possible, the affected goal(s) should be rescheduled immediately.
11. Supported by others
When you have set big goals, you may want to share them with others for support, encouragement or motivation. There are 3 options for sharing your goals.
- Tell nobody
- Tell everybody
- Tell only trusted friends and advisors
While there is not right or wrong answer; I would strongly recommend against the first. If nobody knows what you are trying to achieve, then nobody can help you and it is always more difficult to achieve a major goal on your own. The second option is used by some people for motivation. They feel that if they have told everybody that they are going to do something, then they have no choice but to do it. It’s not my style but it may work for you.
Effective goals harness the talents of others to help you achieve your objectives. This means that you have to at least tell some people. My recommendation is to have a select group of friends who can support you, motivate you and will challenge you to keep to your commitments. The right friends will know when to apply a little pressure and when to ease off. By working with others like this, you create a synergy which propels you furthers along the road towards your goals.
This is just one important factor in goal setting. If you would like to learn the rest, you’ll like the Ultimate Guide to Goal Setting.
It is easy to think that goal setting is a simple matter of listing out all the things you want but this process is unlikely to produce effective goals. Effective goals are aligned with the vision you have for the life you want to create. It is this alignment that motivates you to take the necessary action, regardless of the level of difficulty or sacrifice required. If you want to live your best life; it is worth the effort to make sure that your goals meet the criteria set out in this checklist. Meeting the criteria will guarantee that your goals are effective goals and take you step closer to your vision.