Imagine a ship unmoored, floating aimlessly in the sea riding any wave that comes. It weathers storms and sunny days, with no direction, no port of destination, and no idea where it will arrive.
This is a good representation of your life without goals.

Life without goals can leave you feeling lost and without purpose.

A goal is a future desired result with a developed plan of action. It is an element of a lifestyle that you would like to have. Goals can be looked at as part of a larger plan of achievements and activities that you would like to experience for feelings of a greater life purpose.

I’m sure you’ve heard the term goal-setting but perhaps you haven’t put much thought to it. Maybe you have set goals, but found yourself floundering or feeling lost because you outgrew them or they didn’t work out. Sometimes, life and daily duties get between us and our dreams, and sometimes even self reflection.

The point of setting goals is to create a more satisfying and fulfilling life for ourselves, with feelings of accomplishment and personal growth.

Often one arrives at the concept of goal setting when there is a revelation of unhappiness, repression, lack, or discomfort in some area of their lives. It could be health, environment, finances, business, relationships, and what have you. Change as required to overcome these feelings of incongruency.

The first step is accepting that some change must occur in your life.

Without accepting that things must change, they will continue to stay the same and discomfort will continue to grow. This may sound logical, but you will be surprised how many choose to stay in unpleasant situations because of internal or external factors whether it be a financial incentive (golden handcuffs), fear, familial pressures, etc.

Goals are essential to create lasting change in your life.

Once the decision has been made to create new goals for your life, you will need some sort of goal setting process.

In developing your own goals these are a few questions you may ask yourself:

• What kind of the life do I want to have?
• Where am I seeing imbalances in my life and what can I do to change them?
• What type of things do I want to learn?
• What type of activities do I want to try?
• Is there something in my life that makes me unhappy and how can I change it?

Some of these are really big questions and require time and thought to develop them. There is no need to rush this step. After all, this is your life at you’re building. I’ve found that talking my ideas out with a friend helps me to see all the angles and better flesh out the process. Also, with trusted feedback, obstacles may be seen that you have overlooked.
If you do decide to share your ideas with another, make sure this is with someone who you trust and who also values you. Sometimes revealing your dreams in their infancy to someone that doesn’t believe or have faith in you, can crush them, causing them never to come to fruition. Try to avoid those that would diminish your ambitions.

Once you have some ideas for goals worked out, these are some concepts to apply to help ensure success reaching them.

Practical points to make your goals more effective and attainable:

Specific – Your objective should clearly outline what is to be accomplished. Having well chosen plans will allow you to perceive any obstacles that may prevent follow through.

Realistic and achievable – Is this something that it Is realistically attainable for you? Having realistic goals we’ll keep you connected and encouraged to follow through. It enhances the value you see in the effort you put into it.

Timeframe – There must be a logical timeline for completion. For example: expecting to be an excellent ballroom dancer two weeks before your wedding is unrealistic. But, losing an average of 1-2 pounds a week, attending the gym regularly to get fit over the course of six months, is realistic to see positive measurable results.

Clearly Measurable – Measurability is essential so progress can be monitored and feelings of accomplishment achieved. This helps with continued follow through and lifestyle change.

Efficacy – Efficacy is your self motivation to follow through. Unrealistic expectations, inappropriate time frames, and a lack of a specific plan will diminish your motivation.

Once you have your goals and your plans outlined, the next challenge is: How to keep yourself on track.

How to enforce your follow through or efficacy:
There are three elements to this that we really have to look at.

1) The task that you’ve chosen to do: whether easy or difficult. This element we ought to have thought about carefully when creating our goal, keeping in mind our own ways of thinking and ambitions.

2) The effort you’re willing to put into it. You get out of something more than what you put in. If you put in little effort you will get little results. If you put great effort you’ll get even greater results.

3) Persistence to overcome obstacles and stay to the task. If you find yourself faltering, enlisting the help of a friend or mentor is helpful to keep you accountable. Sometimes keeping a journal to track your progress and reflecting back on it is very encouraging.

Goals may be very specific or very general. But, ultimately your goals are meant to lead to a more enjoyable lifestyle.

This is just a basic program to develop goals and points to consider. Remember, it’s your life you’re creating. Have fun with the challenge of discovering your goals and making your dreams come true, one step at a time!