These question may have appeared to you in one form or another in various self help books, motivational videos or seminars. Some call them SMART goals. Beyond the jargon I do believe proper structured goals do help us in achieving almost any milestone.
Ask yourself these 7 questions when setting a goal:
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WHAT IS YOUR PRIMARY GOAL?
Ex: -
- Run a marathon in 2 months
- Learn a language in 6 months
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WHAT IS A SPECIFIC SUB-GOAL?
Ex: -
- Run 21 KMs without stopping (half marathon).
- Read a long newspaper article in the language without using dictionary
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WHY DO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE THAT GOAL?
Ex: -
- As a first step towards larger health goals
- To gain insight of other cultures / talk to locals in their language.
-
HOW WILL YOU MEASURE SUCCESS?
Ex: -
- Run thrice around the park, no walking
- Summarise a news article in a blog post in that particular language
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IS THIS ACHIEVABLE?
Ex:-
- Yes, if I run 10 KMs a week.
- Yes, if I study 1 hour each day on weekdays and 4 hours on weekends.
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IS THIS REALISTIC?
Ex: -
- Yes, if I wake up early on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and go running.
- Yes, if I study 1 hour each day before starting work.
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WHAT IS YOUR TIMELINE?
Ex: -
- Run 6 KMs this week, 8 KMs next week, 10 KMs after that and so on…
- Learn 200 words this week, 200 words and past tense of grammar next week and so on…
A goal properly set is halfway reached. — Zig Ziglar
Writing down your goals while asking yourself these question may help you refine what exactly is that you want to do and how to get there.
What do you think?