Instructions for setting goals: how to correctly set goals that ignite and really motivate you to do something

Author of the material:

Igor Lyadsky

Geneticist, writer, business coach, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

From childhood, a person hears about the need to choose the right goal. Parents, teachers, mentors, all as one, assure that a person’s success and performance depends on this. The more significant the goal, the richer and more interesting life is, the more meaning it is endowed with. But how to find the right direction? How to understand where to move? How to determine a goal that will truly motivate? And in general, is it as important as they say it is? Is its importance overestimated? Is it possible to become successful without goal setting skills? What obstacles face a person who has no goal?

What goal is considered correct and how does it differ from a dream?

Everyone knows how to dream, and many people love to do it. However, few people seriously strive to realize their dreams. But a dream is essentially an unformed goal. And for it to finally come true and find material embodiment, efforts must be made:

• form a specific goal;
• make a plan to achieve it;
• start taking action.

But not everyone succeeds. Some people are just too lazy to do anything. It is much more pleasant for them to immerse themselves in daydreams without leaving the sofa. And some people don’t know how to set goals and formulate tasks correctly.

First you need to define your goal. Often goals are imposed on us by others. If you have already come to the realization of what you really want, then ask yourself: “Am I really what I want?” Maybe this is what your parents, bosses and other people want?

When you have chosen your goal and set it correctly, consider it already half achieved. A great desire to achieve it will force you to concentrate as much as possible on achieving the result and not pay attention to mistakes and failures.

So, a goal is a strong desire, supported by a conscious decision to act.

An innate desire for meaning

According to the views of the Austrian psychologist, neurologist and psychiatrist V. Frankl, a person’s desire to find and realize the meaning and goals of his life is an innate motivational tendency. It is inherent in all people without exception and is the main driving force that determines behavior and personal development.

A sense of the meaning of one’s own existence and the identification of vital goals are extremely important for maintaining the mental and psychological health of any person, regardless of age. Guided by his life observations, the results of clinical practice and various empirical data, V. Frankl came to the following conclusion: in order for a person to live and act actively, he must believe that his actions have meaning.

Setting a goal using the SMART system

This is the most popular approach to goal setting. From English “smart” is translated as “smart”. However, in this case it is an abbreviation. Each letter of this word means a specific characteristic of the goal. Try to evaluate your goal using the following criteria.

Specific - Specific

This criterion means clarity of purpose. The more specific and clear you formulate your goal, the higher the likelihood of its implementation.

For example, you are determined to buy a car. But you don’t need a well-worn and tired representative of the auto industry, no matter what country. Therefore, determine for yourself all the essential criteria. In this case, the correct goal might look like this:

• Nissan Leaf car;
• no older than 2015;
• brought from Japan;
• silver body color;
• no more than 1.1 million rubles.

There may be even more specifics.

Measurable - Measurable

Here we are talking about measurable goal indicators. In the example of a car, such a criterion, in addition to price, is the source of income through which the car will be purchased. For example, you will save 70% of the cost of your “swallow” yourself, and take 30% on credit.

Or for example, you want to become a popular blogger. On social networks, popularity is measured by the number of subscribers. Therefore, the correct goal will sound something like this - 1 million subscribers on Instagram.

Attainable - Achievable

This sign means that the goal is realistic and can be achieved. It is unlikely that you will be able to move to live on Mars. However, it is quite possible to change your place of residence, limiting yourself to your native planet, for example, moving to another city or country.

Relevant

The goal should be yours, and not imposed. And you need to clearly understand why you passionately desire this. To do this, ask yourself the question: “Why do I need this?” And answer it honestly. Will you become happier? Will you find harmony with yourself? If not, then perhaps you should reconsider your goal.

Let's say you want to move to another city because your town is too small and your life is too slow. Or you can't find a decently paid job. Therefore, it seems to you that the only right way out is to move. But moving alone won't make you happy. Moreover, you may encounter unforeseen circumstances.

Therefore, think over everything carefully, weigh all the pros and cons in order to make the right decision - read how to do this on our website. Perhaps it’s enough to work on yourself a little, retrain for another, more in-demand profession. And no relocation is required. But you, having become happier and more successful in your hometown, will be able to travel more and visit other cities and countries.

Time-bound - Limited in time

Set a deadline - a date or period by which you must achieve your goal. This will help you correctly distribute your efforts towards achieving it. The goal itself must be written in the present tense and begin with the word “I”.

Using the example of buying a car, a correctly set goal according to the SMART system will sound something like this: “I am buying a silver Nissan Leaf, imported from Japan, no older than 2015, no more than 1.1 million rubles. by January 1, 2022, with money 70% of which I earned in my business selling help systems, and 30% from a bank loan.”

Why is it important to be the center of your life?

The main moral problem of our time, according to E. Fromm, is man’s indifference to himself. When discussing moral issues, he emphasizes the differences between a person’s authoritarian conscience and a humanistic one, which very often have contradictions.

Authoritarian conscience is the result of the internalization of external authorities of parents, society, and the state. On the one hand, it performs a regulating social function, on the other hand, it makes a person dependent on other people’s opinions.

Humanistic conscience does not depend on external rewards and sanctions. It represents a person’s own inner voice, expressing his integrity, personal interests, and demanding to become who he potentially is.

E. Fromm saw contradictions and intrapersonal conflicts of a moral nature as the basis of most neuroses. He viewed them as a symptom, as a consequence of an unsuccessful attempt to resolve the contradictions between an insurmountable internal dependence on some guidelines or rules and the desire for freedom. This shows how important it is to be at peace and in harmony with yourself.

Step-by-step instructions for setting goals and achieving them

I want to offer you instructions that will help you set goals correctly and achieve results. It was developed by a world-class expert in the field of personal growth and success - Brian Tracy. He has written a large number of books on the topic of business and success, many of which have become bestsellers.

Clearly define your goal

I have already written about this. The goal should be as specific as possible. And it is very important to write it down in the present tense, as if everything has already happened:

• I drive a Nissan Leaf;
• I live in my own house in Sochi;
• I earn 200 thousand rubles. per month, etc.

You can set goals for the year ahead. But in any case, one of them will be dominant. It is to achieve it that you will devote all your strength.

Write your goal down on paper

It is very important to write down your chosen goal by hand on a piece of paper. A goal written down in this way will be better recorded not only in the conscious mind, but also in the subconscious. And from now on, it will work around the clock to achieve the goal.

It is even recommended to make important decisions with the help of the subconscious. To do this, before going to bed, you need to write down an exciting question on paper. Usually in the morning, immediately after waking up, a simple, understandable and fairly obvious answer appears in your head.

You can use the following tools to capture your goals.

1. Diary. This is a very convenient tool. A person who uses a diary works much more efficiently than those who neglect it. He doesn’t have a question about how to put things in order (we will soon have an article on this topic on our website). In the diary you can write down goals for a week, month, year, 5 years. It's always at hand.
2. Vision board. This is a small board on which you can draw, glue pictures, and write. It is hung in a visible place at home. It is better to use it to achieve global long-term goals, such as a car, apartment, travel, etc.

I personally combine both methods.

Set a deadline

Having set for yourself a deadline for achieving the desired result, subconsciously you will begin to plan your actions so that the goal is achieved by the deadline.

You can define a specific date or time period for yourself, for example:

• I will buy a car by January 2022;
• On January 1, 2022, I drive a new car.

Make a list of tasks

Write down on a piece of paper all the actions that will help you achieve your goal. In the car example, these could be the following tasks:

• find a company for transporting cars from Japan;
• win an auction for the selected car;
• study bank loan offers;
• save 20,000 rubles monthly. and others.

The list can contain more than 100 items. If there are not enough ideas for the list, then it needs to be supplemented as new tasks appear.

Form a plan from the completed tasks

A goal is a great desire. Its implementation leads to an improvement in the qualitative and quantitative indicators of your life (lost 15 kg, bought a new large apartment, etc.).

The path to the desired goal consists of small steps - tasks. If you have distributed the tasks in the correct sequence and completed them, then the goal has been achieved.

When setting financial goals, decomposition is used. The essence of decomposition is that, using simple mathematical calculations, the goal is divided into small component parts, the sequential implementation of which ensures the achievement of the desired result.

Let's look at decomposition using an example. You have firmly decided to save 1 million rubles in 3 years. This is 36 months. To find out how much you need to save monthly, simply divide 1 million rubles. for 36 months. It will turn out to be approximately 28,000 rubles.

If your monthly income is currently 30,000 rubles, then the following options are possible for achieving your goal:

• increase the period;
• reduce the amount;
• find an additional source of income to safely save the required amount.

This will be your plan for achieving your financial goals. It should always be based on decomposition.

To achieve goals not related to money, you need to apply the priority method. Once you have written a list of necessary actions, rank it. Carefully consider each item and put one of the letters from A to G in front of it. Label the most important tasks with the letter A, and the most insignificant tasks with the letter G.

Now that you have divided the entire list into 4 categories depending on the importance of tasks, identify priorities in each of them. That is, which of the most important tasks should be completed first. It will be designated as A1. Less important – A2, etc.

As a result, you will have a list of tasks with a clear sequence of execution, following which you will achieve the desired goal.

Take action

The most difficult thing in any business is taking the first step. So, tackle the first item on your list without hesitation. However, do not take on tasks from category B until you complete all tasks A.

Successful people act with urgency. This is how they differ from losers who constantly put off important things, finding excuses and various excuses for themselves.

Types of goals.

Since goal is a broad concept, there is a detailed classification that helps determine what kind of tasks are set for a person in order to better understand how to complete them.

Upon completion of the process:

• Intermediate – imply the implementation of one of the stages of the overall process;
• Final – close the logical sequence of events.

By priority:

• Necessary – priority goals that should be achieved first;
• Desirable – recommended for implementation, but not required;
• Possible – have no specific meaning at the moment.

By difficulty:

• Simple - provide one necessary action;
• Complex – involve going through several stages.

According to the form of expression:

• Qualitative – cannot be measured;
• Quantitative – can be counted.

By scale:

• Strategic – determine long-term global objectives;
• Tactical - responsible for the mechanism for achieving strategic goals;
• Operational – current subtasks, the implementation of which determines the success of the entire campaign.

By deadlines:

• Long-term – a period from three to five years;
• Medium term – period from one to three years;
• Short-term – their terms are measured in weeks or months.

By relationship:

• Indifferent – ​​not connected in any way;
• Competing - one goal slows down the achievement of another;
• Complementary – complementary to each other;
• Antagonistic – mutually exclusive;
• Identical – coinciding goals.

In addition to these classifications, we can also talk about goals in life and the main goal of life. These concepts are not identical. We'll talk about them now.

Take a temperament test

Tools to achieve your goal

It is not always enough to simply complete the tasks on the list. To achieve your goal within the given time frame, I advise you to use the following tools.

Regular actions

Every day, make little progress towards your goal, even if the tasks themselves are small. This way you will achieve results faster and preserve your nervous system. For example, if you decide to learn a foreign language, then it is better to study daily for at least 40 minutes than 2 times a week, but for 4 hours. Your psyche will not withstand this, and you will not even master half of the material.

Countdown

So, you have a specific deadline by which you plan to achieve what you want, and a list of tasks. Now each task needs to have a due date.

For example, there is a goal - to buy a Nissan Leaf by January 1, 2020.

To drive a new car in January 2022, you must:

1. January 1, 2022 – pick up the car in Vladivostok and drive it under your own power to Khabarovsk.
2. December 2022 – pay customs duties, buy ERA-GLONASS, receive a PTS.
3. October-November 2022 – select a lot, win an auction, pay the necessary expenses for purchasing a car and pay the intermediary.
4. September 2022 – study bank loan offers and apply for a loan.
5. August 2022 – select an intermediary company, conclude an agreement for the supply of a vehicle, pay an advance.

As you can see, it’s time to start looking for a suitable intermediary for the supply of vehicles.

Proper time management is one of the most important tools in achieving goals. Otherwise, it may take much more time and effort to get what you want. Therefore, it is very important to master the skill of time management, which is described in detail in the article “How to manage everything.”

Formation of the environment

Subscribe to useful public pages, study information on the Internet, communicate with people who have already achieved a goal similar to yours. This way you will gain the necessary knowledge. Also, the support of family and close friends is very important in achieving the goal.

Working with consciousness

This point is suitable for those who believe in the materiality of thoughts and the power of visualization. You can make a vision board and place on it a collage of photographs or pictures cut out from a magazine depicting your desired goal. Or you can say affirmations every day that create confidence in your mind that the goal has been achieved. These methods even more strongly trigger the power of the subconscious, which persistently strives to achieve the goal.

Self-actualization of a person

Self-actualization according to A. Maslow is a person’s desire for self-fulfillment, to demonstrate one’s potential and make full use of one’s talents, abilities and capabilities.

According to his concept, people are intelligent, conscious creatures. They are naturally good and capable of self-improvement. The essence itself constantly moves them in the direction of personal growth, creativity and self-sufficiency.

A self-actualized person is not an ordinary person to whom something has been added, but an ordinary person from whom nothing has been taken away. He viewed the average individual as a complete human being, with suppressed and unconscious abilities and gifts.

A. Maslow considered the tendency towards self-actualization as the core of personality. A person strives to constantly embody, objectify himself, his abilities and talents. But he can realize himself only in activity. Thus, the need for self-realization and the need for activity are indivisible for the individual.

What to do if you fail to achieve your goal

You seem to have correctly set the goal using SMART technology, and strictly followed the implementation plan, but you still did not achieve the desired result. First of all, you need to analyze the situation.

1. The goal could not be achieved within the specified time frame. In this case, adjust the deadline to take into account the new data.
2. The goal has lost its relevance. Perhaps your life has changed dramatically, and achieving the goal you once set no longer makes sense. Then give it up.
3. The goal is still relevant, but the priorities have changed. Now more attention is spent on other issues and goals. Determine for yourself how important the goal is and change the deadline for achieving it. Perhaps you have set yourself too many tasks for the coming period. Then reduce their number to 5-6 and choose the key one to focus on.

Be sure to analyze your actions. Probably, at some stage you began to be lazy, “burned out”, lost motivation, and faced force majeure circumstances. Look for the reason and draw conclusions. But under no circumstances start feeling sorry for yourself or criticizing yourself. This definitely won't help.

But a video from Itzhak Pintosevich will help you understand a lot. I advise you to look.

Goal functions

The basic function of the goal is the transfer of information between participants in the management process. With the help of goals, we transform ideas into a complete, self-sufficient and understandable form.

In the interaction between a manager and a subordinate, the goal is the “consolidation” of management intention, which is transmitted to the employee. Therefore, it is very important here that the formulation of the goal is as correct as possible and corresponds to the existing context.

Goal in the control system

• brings clarity and transparency to the management process (both for managers and subordinates);
• ensures the necessary coordination of actions between elements of the organization;
• serves as a yardstick for measuring performance and progress;
• minimizes redundancy in activities and resources.

Goal in Project Management

• describes the parameters of the achieved result;
• determines the list of necessary works;
• cuts off unnecessary actions;
• outlines the circle of interested parties.

Purpose as a criterion of correctness

Goals can become a criterion for the correctness of actions and actions. For example, if the goals of the system (for example, of a company) are determined only by enrichment and improvement of commercial indicators, then actions in this direction will be considered “correct”. Highly moral actions without potential profit here will rightly be considered secondary or even “wrong.”

Useful materials on goal setting

I have collected for you several paid and free courses that will help you set goals more correctly, develop plans to achieve them, and implement these plans. All courses are taken from trusted platforms, so there are no advertisements or “water” in any of them, everything is to the point.

Goal setting from Vikium

Description. At first glance, the course seems very small - only 6 lessons. But this is not so, because in any course from Vikium there is a huge amount of practice - students perform exercises, pass tests and study on specially designed online simulators.

The course was created to help people understand themselves, determine short-term and long-term goals in their lives. Goal setting is the first skill you will learn here. The second is planning. You will learn how to plan to achieve a goal, how to calculate the time that will be spent on implementing the plan, and how to support yourself as you move towards your goals.

The material is relevant for men and women of absolutely any age, so do not neglect it, even if you think that your “train has left.”

Authors: psychologists from the Vikium project.

Cost: 990 rub.

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Self-knowledge from 4Brain

Description. There are a lot of tests here that help students better understand themselves. You will be able to figure out which area of ​​professional activity gives you the greatest joy, what kind of relationships you need, and how to generally live in such a way as to enjoy every day.

In total, you will learn about 50 personality traits that you previously thought were unimportant.

The training lasts exactly four weeks, the number of lessons is 16. After studying the material, each student can set a clear goal and begin to work towards it.

You can get your money back for the course within a week if you don’t like the content of the material or its presentation. Please note that you must complete no more than 2 lessons to be eligible to receive the full amount back.

Authors: Evgeny Buyanov, Dmitry Geraskin, Kirill Nogales, Sergey Krutko.

Cost: 3,490 rub.

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Goal setting according to Smart from Advance

Description. You will learn to correctly set goals and develop plans to achieve them, to do this in such a way that the goals are actually achieved within the required time frame. If you hold a leadership position in business, you will be able to correctly set goals for your team and monitor their achievement.

During the course of your studies, you will pass 8 psychological tests, complete 200 diverse exercises on self-determination and the principles of goal setting, and write 3 practical papers that will help you evaluate personal and professional goals. All these developments will remain with you after completing the program, you will be able to return to them.

Here Smart technology is revealed in the most complete way, and several simple examples of its use in life are given.

75,000 people have already completed this course. If you doubt the level of quality, look at the reviews, they are publicly available on the Internet.

Author: Alexander Zgoda.

Cost: 9,900 rub.

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Goal setting by Radislav Gandapas

Description. Every person who is interested in issues of self-development and personal growth is familiar with the name of Radislav Gandapas. This goal setting course consists of six stages:

1. Analysis of the current life situation . You will understand where you are now in terms of your work, relationships, income level, and where you need to go after some time.
2. Setting goals according to the method of Elena Malillo . Elena is a student and business partner of Radislav Gandapas.
3. Checking your goals against your priorities . You have to make sure you're climbing the mountain you really want to climb.
4. Developing a “goal tree” - you will divide long-term goals into short-term ones, determine for yourself what you need to do every day in order to achieve all your goals on time.
5. Comparison of family goals and desires . If you have a wife and children, you need to set goals so as not to destroy your family. A career should not mean more to you than happiness with your loved ones.
6. Overcoming blocking emotions and fears . The most difficult stage, without passing which, most people give up and abandon their goals.

The total number of lessons is 10, you get access to them immediately after paying for the course.

Authors: Radislav Gandapas, Elena Malillo.

Cost: 1,900 rub.

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Prioritization algorithm

Description. You will understand how to find yourself in this world and correctly set your priorities, rationally determine medium- and long-term life goals.

There are four lessons in video format. Despite the fact that the course is free, there are chats on social networks where you can chat with the author and other students and ask questions.

You get access to the material immediately after you follow the link and register.

Author: Igor Naumenko.

Cost: free.

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How to set goals correctly - video course from Boris Litvak

Description. This video course is only 25 minutes long and is completely free. The main advantage, in my opinion, is that the author teaches you to distinguish your own goals from those goals that are imposed on you by your parents, friends or environment.

You will be able to correctly build a picture of your future, understand the role of motivation and learn how to support yourself on the path to your goal and never give up.

Watch the introductory video of the course:

Author: Boris Litvak.

Cost: free.

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Basics

The basis of goal setting is the motives and needs of the individual. Let's look at both elements in a little more detail.

A need is a strong attraction to something and a desire to possess it, a feeling of internal psychological or physical discomfort due to a lack of something. Needs are basic (physiological) and spiritual. A transition to a new, higher level is possible only after satisfying the needs of the previous level.

In total, it is customary to distinguish 6 levels of needs (according to A. Maslow’s pyramid):

• physiological (food, water, sleep, sex);
• need for security (security, confidence, stability, comfort);
• social needs (communication, attention, care, support);
• the need for respect and recognition (need, significance);
• creative needs (creation, cognition, discovery);
• aesthetic needs (love, joy, harmony, beauty);
• spiritual needs (self-realization, self-actualization, self-development and other “self”).

All the goals we choose relate to these needs.

Motive is an internal impulse that encourages action. As goals, we choose what is not only significant and relevant for us right now, but also what motivates us to be active.

There are different types of motives:

• internal (self-satisfaction) and external (praise from other people);
• sustainable (related to the individual’s worldview, values, needs) and unstable (related to the environment);
• positive (based on positive feelings and emotions) and negative (based on negative feelings and emotions).

Sometimes motives conflict with each other. This complicates goal setting, but at the same time it helps resolve the conflict of motives. In the process of developing a plan and setting priorities, the individual understands that what is more important for him is which motive is worth keeping.

Separately, it is worth specifying the requirements for goals in goal setting:

• concreteness;
• measurability;
• reality;
• reachability;
• flexibility;
• verifiability;
• transparency;
• unambiguity.

This also applies to the basics of the goal-setting system.

Pyramid of logical levels

Within the framework of neurolinguistic programming, R. Dilts developed a model of neurological levels. It is based on a hierarchy of semantic levels of personality, each of which has its own specific questions. The author presented it in the form of a pyramid and identified the following levels:

• Mission - For what? For who else?
• Identity - Who am I?
• Values ​​and beliefs - What is important? What do I believe?
• Abilities - What can I do? How?
• Behavior - What to do?
• Environment - Where? With whom? When?

R. Dilts' pyramid of neurological levels allows you to deeply explore a specific goal. By answering seemingly very simple questions, moving from one floor of the pyramid to the next, a person gains the opportunity to ascend from the lower level of familiar surrounding reality to the level of awareness of his mission.

Filled with new meanings, a larger and more holistic vision, it is necessary to go through the issues of the pyramid again, only now in the opposite direction. This will allow you to see untapped opportunities, inhibitory factors and understand what adjustments need to be made at each level of the pyramid. Using this model of R. Dilts to determine the main life goals of a person will also make it possible to authentically harmonize his private goals with them.