Goal Setting that Works

Right now is a great time to set goals, helping you set your motivation. Here is a process that you can use to create goals that make a difference for you.

Your goals must have meaning for you. Your odds of failing are greater if you're trying to reach someone else's goals. Use this exercise to define your success for next year.

Sit back, relax, and imagine yourself one year into the future, looking back on today. What was it that you decided to do that made you so successful? Perhaps it was that you decided to invest a certain amount of money (money success isn't about how much you make, but how much you keep). Perhaps it was that you decided to own a certain car, home, or other luxury. Perhaps it was that you were able to take your dream vacation. What ever it was, define what created your feeling of success and satisfaction.

Wasn't that a fun exercise! Write down that success vision and attach a copy to your calendar a year into the future, so that you can go back and check on your of success at year end.

Create a step-by-step action plan. Write it down along with your success vision for the year. Break down the plan into smaller pieces that you can accomplish in 15 minutes a day.

Perhaps it means increasing your performance at work by 5 percent by going in 15 minutes earlier. Perhaps it means going to evening classes once a week to gain a new skill. Perhaps it means turning off the TV a half hour earlier so that you can review investment opportunities.

While your goals should be a bit of a stretch, make sure that you can accomplish them. There's no sense in setting a goal to win the Boston Marathon if you haven't run a mile since high school. Yet you probably can increase your fitness so that you can run a 5k race this summer.

You must be able to measure your goal. What will you use to gage how you're doing? Perhaps you'll use your savings account as your gage, getting ready for the down payment on that new car.

Create interesting ways to track how well you're doing and stay focused on achieving your goals. Will you make a little thermometer and color it in? Will you have a little grid and check off your success? Will you have a little racecar that you move around a track as you stay on track? This may seem goofy, yet you'll discover that this little trick works magic in keeping you motivated.

Build little celebrations into your plan. It could be as simple as a candy bar or as wonderful as a massage or a celebratory lunch at your favorite restaurant. Celebrations keep you motivated to see your success vision become reality. Don't reward yourself until you deserve the reward.