Reaching Your Goals

Lots of times I kind of guffaw at all this goal setting stuff. People ask, "What are your goals?" and it seems like whoever can list the most goals wins. All they are doing is telling all the things they want but they may never get there. What people really need to ask is, "What will you do to make sure you reach your goals?" Having these goals will help motivate you to do something.
Anyway, let me tell you what this goal business is all about. It's actually pretty neat. There are three main steps to getting to where you want to go.

First, there's the dreams.

We do this all the time. However, sit down and write it out. By writing it you will get a better idea of where you really want to go. Think about how you would like to be. Imagine yourself at the end of the quarter or the end of the year or maybe in five years. What do you see? How do people see you? What are you doing? Are you successful? How do you know?

I'll give you an example. This is my first year away at college and away from home. I hope my first year is a good one. I really want to have as good an experience at college as possible. I'd like to do pretty well with grades and I really hope my parents are proud of me. I'm going to really miss my little sister. I hope a year from now she and I have as good a relationship as we do now. In fact, I hope I still have a good relationship with all my high school friends. I also hope to go on a Spring break someplace.

Well, that's kind of my dream. A dream is just that, it's a vision of the future, of how you see yourself in the future. Once you know the direction you want to go than you can begin working on some goals.

Second come the goals.

Goals are "wants". So are dreams, but goals are more specific. Look back at your dreams. Start a list of specific things you want. Be really clear what you mean. If you want to be rich, tell how much money you need to be rich. If you want good grades, tell what you mean by "good" grades. In fact, the more specific the goal is, the easier it will be to get it. Now there are some rules for setting goals, and here they are.