Gooooooaaaaallllllll!

There are a countless number of articles on goal-setting - Edwin Locke and Gary Latham have written many of these articles and are considered the experts in this field (the following link is an excellent overview of over 35 years of research in goal setting theory: Building a Practically Useful Theory of Goal Setting and Task Motivation: A 35-year Odyssey).  Locke and Latham emphasize that setting goals increases an individual's motivation to achieve that goal, which translates to future success in attaining that same goal.  Could it really be that simple?  I briefly discussed creating a personal vision, mission, and core values on the previous post.  Just as an organization's goals and strategic objectives come directly from the organization's mission, vision, and values, your own goals should directly support your personal mission, vision, and values.  If one of your goals doesn't fit with your mission, vision, and values, then you probably should not waste a lot of time trying to achieve that goal. 

I like to follow a few simple steps when setting my personal goals.  It is easier to develop long-term goals first - again, these should be consistent with your personal vision.  Think of your personal vision as defining what you wish to achieve in your lifetime and then build 5-year goals that will position you for success in achieving that lifelong goal.  After you list your 5-year goals (and you should definitely write them down), you can then develop more short-term goals (for example, your annual goals).  In keeping with the concept of a vision (long-term) and mission (shorter term), your annual goals should be consistent with your personal mission.   Your annual goals should be written in the form of a SMART goal.  SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant, and Time-bound.  In other words, your goal should be as specific as possible (nothing should be vague here).  A goal should be defined in such a way that it is easily measured - if you can't measure it, how will you know whether you have achieved your goal?  The goal should be actionable (in other words, it should be a goal that you can personally achieve).  The goal should be relevant to you and your personal mission, vision, and values.  Finally, the goal should be time-bound (most annual goals, for example, should be achieved by the end of the year).  For example, here is an example of a SMART goal:  "I will run my first marathon and finish in under 4 hours and 30 minutes by December 31, 2016."  Note here that the goal is specific, measurable, actionable (assuming that the individual has been running, of course), relevant (perhaps - I didn't state what the individual's mission, vision, and values were), and time-bound (there is a definite deadline to achieving the goal).  Finally, personal goals should be written down - post them where you can see them every day.  Some experts even suggest that you should share your personal goals with someone, which will further motivate you to work hard towards achieving the goal. 

Some experts recommend setting a so-called "stretch goal", i.e. a goal that may be slightly out of reach.  There have been a number of studies addressing this question, which I will review on my next blog post.  Until then, thank you for sharing and learning with me!