Setting Goals, Part III: The Nuts and Bolts

There are different approaches to setting goals but all approaches share the same purpose: facilitating self-reflection to guide action toward an outcome/experience that you deem important.

A helpful entryway into goal setting is backwards planning. We look into the future, decide where we want to go, and then write down each step to get from today to that future goal.

Depending on your personality, you might define “where you want to go” as a specific outcome or a more general experience. Nevertheless, the process – self-reflection guiding action – is the same.

Start with your dreams, the big picture outcomes or experiences. What do you need to do in the next five years to get to those dreams? And then what do you need to do in the next year to make progress toward your five year goals? And then what do you need to do in the next month to accomplish your one year goals? And so on until you get to the beginning, this moment: What do you need to do right now?

After giving some thought to your dreams, there comes a very important part: WRITE DOWN your dream, your five-year goals, your one-year goals, and your month goals. Again, WRITE THESE DOWN.

By writing down your goals, you are creating a system of self-accountability; that is, time passes, you review your goals, and you decide whether you did or did not accomplish them (the planners out there love this).

When you write down your goals, you are creating a living document. Circumstances change, opportunities arise, new interests are learned, and accomplishments take more/less time than planned – no worries. As a living document, you periodically review your written goals and make adjustments, edits, or new additions. Change is fine: it is all about the process of developing and growing your goals throughout your life (the free spirits out there love this).

Lastly, when writing your goals, utilize the DAPPS principle. That is, goals should be:

Dated – give yourself a deadline;

Achievable – set your sights high but be sure to have a viable path to reach your goals;

Personal – something that is important to you;

Positive – goals indicate actions you will complete, not actions you will avoid;

Specific – goals define a desired outcome or experience in clear terms so that you know whether you have achieved it or not.