The Pathway to Success is Paved with Attainable Goals

Metaphors about pathways are all over the place, and it makes sense because trails, roadways, and routes are how we move from place to place, and people do a lot of that. While some of these figures of speech work more effectively than others, one thing remains clear, there is more to the journey than the part of the path you are currently on. Being prepared for the future parts of the adventure is important in keeping the progress going and having a strategy to face the roads ahead is the best way to keep on trucking!

Goalsetting

Setting goals has always been an avenue to success, but recently there has been a lot of hype around the art of setting and achieving personal and business goals. Setting goals is the easiest thing in the world: “In the future, I want to be an astronaut.” The only difficulty is setting good goals that have not just the end in sight. Goals should be less of an “I wish” and more of a game plan to get from point A to point B.

There are three things to remember when setting goals, the CPR method (clear, plannable, reachable). When you set out with a goal, you need to establish exactly what you want to achieve and why you want to achieve this. Without a clear goal, people tend to lose direction and stop aspiring towards the final achievement. Plannable goals are constrained by time, because the need to get things done in a set amount of time will push you to success. Make sure the plan is detailed and set on a reasonable but challenging schedule. It wouldn’t make sense to have an unattainable goal, so the real beauty of setting goals is the fact that you will one day achieve them, that sums up the reachable portion of setting goals.

Building a Strategy

Goals are not simply an end you want to reach; they are also how you want to reach it. Approaching goalsetting by saying “I want to make money,” won’t get you very far because there is no timeframe, plan, or specificity. With the goal of ‘making money,’ you could make $20 and be done with it, but saying something like, “I will increase my profits by $50,000 in the next year by building a website for my business, creating social media ads, and sending emails to potential customers.” This goal has a time frame, a plan, and a specific end point in mind, so it constitutes a good goal!

Staying Current

Goals can be set for any period, either long or short term. However, goals that are set in the long term do require periodic updating. Even if it is just a look at how far you have come in reaching your goal, staying current as to where you are and where you are going will make it possible for you to attain goals more easily. Staying current will help you make sure your goal is on track and does not require more attention or supplies than was planned originally, allowing you to update your plan whenever necessary!

Final Thoughts

Goals really do make the world go around; nothing would get done without them. Setting a good goal is not hard, but it does take some time to plan effectively. By setting good goals in the short and long term that are attainable, well-planned, and specific, and by being determined to put in the effort required, you will achieve everything you set out to do.