By Angad Singh

Most people aim at nothing in life and hit it with amazing accuracy !!

A man was travelling and stopped at an intersection. He asked the elderly man, “Where does this road take me?” The elderly person asked, “Where do you want to go?” The man replied, “I don’t know.” The elderly person said, “Then takes any road. What difference does it make?” How true. When we don’t know where is going, any road will take us there.

Learning Objective

• To understand the importance of Goals in life and to know how to set them.

• To know the reasons why people are unable to achieve the Goals.

• Use SWOT techniques to effectively introspect and set goals.

Agenda

• Defining Goal setting.• Why don’t most people set Goals• Importance of Goals setting. • Why Goals fail.• Guidelines for setting Goals • Types of Goals• Time to set your Goal

Why don’t more people set goals?• A pessimistic attitude – Always seeing the pitfalls rather than the

possibilities

• Fear of failure – What if I don’t make it? People feel subconsciously that if they don’t set goals and if they don’t make it, then they haven’t failed. But they are failures to begin with.

• A lack of ambition – This is a result of our value system and lack of desire to live a fulfilled life. Our limited thinking prevents us from progress. There was a fisherman who, every time he caught a big fish, would throw it back into the river, keeping only the smaller ones. A man watching this unusual behavior asked the fisherman why he was doing this. The fisherman replied, “Because I have a small frying pan.” Most people never make it in life because they are carrying a small frying pan. That is limited thinking.

• A fear of rejection – If I don’t make it, what will other people says?

• Procrastination – “Someday, I will set my goals.” This tie in with a lack of ambition.

• Low self-esteem – Because a person is not internally driven and has no inspiration.

• Ignorance of the important of goals – Nobody taught them and they never learned the importance of goal-setting.

• A lack of knowledge about goal-setting – People don’t know the mechanics of setting goals. They need a step-by-step guide so that they can follow a system.

Why don’t more people set goals?

Why set Goals ?

1. You take control of your life2. You focus on the important things3. You will make good decisions4. You can finish the task efficiently5. You will be self-confident and enthusiastic6. You will make progress7. You are closer to success

Meaningless Goals • A farmer had a dog who used to sit by the roadside waiting for vehicles to come

around. As soon as one came he would run down the road, barking and trying to overtake it.

One day a neighbor asked the farmer "Do you think your dog is ever going to catch a car?"

The farmer replied, "That is not what bothers me. What bothers me is what he would do if he ever caught one."

•:: Moral of the Story ::

Many people in life behave like that dog who is pursuing meaningless goals.

First set Meaningful and Realistic goal and then work to achieve GOAL.

Why Goals Fail

• The goal was not written down.

• Rewards for achieving the goals were not given.

• The goal was unrealistic or not specific enough.

• The goal is not really believable or little commitment exists.

• Keep changing or switching goals with the weather

• The person who set the goal has not told anyone else for added

accountability, help and support.

• The goal was not incorporated into a realistic plan that includes

measurements, timelines and resources.

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Story

• Do you have a Goal ??

• “I knew I was a winner back in the late sixties. I knew I was destined for great things. People will say that kind of thinking is totally immodest. I agree. Modesty is not a word that applies to me in any way – I hope it never will.”

Story• He wanted to be the greatest bodybuilder in the world which

meant winning the title of Mr Olympia – he became the youngest ever Mr Olympia at the age of 23 (he’s won the title seven times).

• He wanted financial success. He was a millionaire by the age of 30 thanks to successful business investments and ventures (this was before Hollywood!).

• He wanted to become a successful Hollywood actor (44+ movies).

• He wanted success in politics – he’s the current governor of California and the husband of 26 years to Maria Shriver (related to the Kennedy family).

What Happens when Arnold Schwarzenegger Puts His Mind on Something?

“I’m going to be the number-one box-office star in all of Hollywood.”

The Schwarzenegger formula ??

“Create a vision of who you want to be”

Take out a clean sheet of paper, write down a description of yourself 10 years in the future. Who are you? What does your life look like? What are you doing? Where? Who is around you? Allow yourself to imagine a future in which failure is impossible, and there are no limits.

“Live into that picture”

• Let’s say that you’ve articulated a 5 or 10-year vision. Given this scenario, work backwards.

• What will have had to have happened for this to be true in 10 years?

• What will you have had to learn?• What skills will you have had to develop?• What auditions will you have had to take?• Who will you have had to meet and develop relationships with?• Are any of these stepping stones any more improbable than

what Schwarzenegger has achieved?

“As if it were already true”

• If a young boy from a small village in Austria can become a 7-time Mr. Olympia, a huge box office star, and governor of the most populous state in the country, might your dreams be more realistic than you think?

Goal Setting Guidelines• 1.Your goal must be conceivable. You must be able to imagine,

conceptualize and understand the goal or desired result. Top athletes practice visualizing step-by-step actual success in their sports competition. By visualizing your success in great detail, you are conditioning your mind and preparing yourself to achieve your desired success.

• 2.Make your goal believable. Your goal should be consistent with your personal values system, and you must believe you can reach the goal. It is critically important that you believe in yourself. You must see yourself with the goal in hand.

• 3.Your goal must be achievable. You must have the mental and physical capacity to reach the goal. It would, however, be important for your goal to cause you to stretch beyond normal self-imposed limits. You will find a goal that causes you to stretch and grow will be the goal that gives you the most satisfaction. Don't be afraid to challenge yourself to go beyond old limits!

• 4.Make your goal measurable. Deciding to do better than last year or to be happy gives you no standard by which you can measure progress. Be sure to relate your goal to quantity, percentage increases, dollar volume, time or distance. This will allow you to measure your progress.

• 5.Your goal should be controllable. This means you must be able to achieve the goal yourself, or gain the willing cooperation of others to reach the goal. This emphasizes the importance of building team spirit. If you can have no control over the outcome of an event, it's not realistic to set a goal in this area. It would be like gambling in Las Vegas. Without a proven system that beats the odds, lack of control will lead to frustration - and cost you a lot of money!

• 6.Be sure you have singleness of purpose. Make sure your goal is not in conflict with other areas of your life. For instance, if you decide to travel extensively in your business or work 80 to 90 hours per week, this will interfere with your personal or family relationships. The travel and long hours could lead to poor health or family discord. Some goals become mutually exclusive and create conflict with other goals.

Goal Setting Guidelines

Task

• Imagine your self from 10 years from now. • Write down all you can see.

Types of Goals

SMART

SMART• S – Specific. For example, “I want to lose weight.” This is wishful

thinking. It becomes a goal when I pin myself down to “I will lose 10 pounds in 90 days.”

• M – Must be measurable. If we cannot measure it, we cannot accomplish it. Measurement is a way of monitoring our progress. For example, 10 pounds/90 days are measurement.

• A – Must be achievable. Achievable means that it should be out of reach enough to be challenging but it should not be out of sight, otherwise it becomes heartening.

• R – Realistic. A person who wants to lose 50 pounds in 30 days is being unrealistic.

• T – Time-bound. There should be a starting date and a finishing date.

SWOT – Task

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