Goal Setting

Goal Setting

 

 All journeys (efforts) begin with the first step. 

·       Goal setting involves establishing specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-targeted (S.M.A.R.T ) goals. Work on the theory of goal-setting suggests that an effective tool for making progress is to ensure that participants in a group with a common goal are clearly aware of what is expected from them. On a personal level, setting goals helps people work towards their own objectives. Goal setting features as a major component of personal development literature.

·       It is considered an “open” theory, so as new discoveries are made it is modified. Studies have shown that specific and ambitious goals lead to a higher level of performance than easy or general goals. As long as the individual accepts the goal, has the ability to attain it, and does not have conflicting goals, there is a positive linear relationship between goal difficulty and task performance.

·       Goals are a form of motivation that sets the standard for self-satisfaction with performance. Achieving the goal one has set for oneself is a measure of success, and being able to meet job challenges is a way one measures success in the workplace. It has been said that "Goal setting capitalizes on the human brain's amazing powers: Our brains are problem-solving, goal-achieving machines."

Your goals are best accomplished if you can write them down so you can visualize what you have committed yourself to do.  Throughout my work history and career specifically, I was aware that I had a special ability to write business letters.  Many times, I have gone through my files and revisited communications that I wrote fifteen or twenty years ago, and I was pleasantly surprised that I generated that particular document.

Three or four years ago one of my sons convinced me that I should write a book about my, and my family’s history for the family to have.  He even gave me the gift of an Apple iPad to use for the specific purpose.  Once again I am surprised at how much joy I get out of writing and reliving my life as I write.  The book is well on its way (the working title is: East Lincoln), and should be ready for publishing in the next year or so.

Earlier this year the same son talked me into writing a Blog about life as it happened to me (totally from my perspective).  The key words are “from my perspective.” How can I possibly fear the task, when it all comes from my life’s experience?  The Blog journey began in the second week of February 2013.  My son instructed me to let him know when I got to 20 posting so he could look them over.  Here is the correlation with Goal Setting:  My first goal was to get started, my second goal was to reach 20 postings (the first 20 days I wrote 39 posts).  I use to dream of reaching 100 posts.  In a period of seven months, I went right past 200 posts without event noticing.

I enjoy audiences from USA, China, Canada, Israel, Latvia, Russia and UK,  and a few other countries but these offer the biggest following in that order.  My following will be exceeding 10,000 in the next few days or weeks.

The funny thing is that, this is new territory for me, and a year ago I had no clue that I would be doing this and enjoying it as much as I am.  Ponder a journey, set a goal and aim to achieve it, it can be done, and you can do it!  The best is yet to come….