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How To Set Realistic Goals And Why It Is Important?

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It’s important to set goals to be successful. Let’s find out how to set realistic goals and why it is important? But just setting goals doesn’t guarantee success. Setting goals is only one part of a process that can lead you to success. Setting goals is key to planning, executing a plan, staying motivated, and ultimately evaluating your success. 

Many people feel as if they’re adrift in the world. They work hard, but they don’t seem to get anywhere worthwhile. Let’s play it well.

A key reason that they feel this way is that they haven’t spent enough time thinking about what they want from life, and haven’t set themselves formal goals. After all, would you set out on a major journey with no real idea of your destination? Probably not!

Goal Setting and Why

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In this article, we review the process for setting realistic goals and provide some example goals.

First, consider what you want to achieve, and then commit to it. Set SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound) goals that motivate you and write them down to make them feel tangible.

As we close 2022 and look at the year ahead, many of us will be thinking about how we can achieve more, reach our goals, and ultimately feel good about it. Goal setting has always been a tricky one. People often over-aim and then underachieve. 

This process gives rise to a feeling of disappointment and ultimately doesn’t help at all. After all, if you’ve set a goal that you didn’t achieve, then you’ve failed, and, well, that feeling is pretty rubbish. This is why, when setting goals, it is so important to be realistic with them.

Then plan the steps you must take to realize your goal and cross off each one as you work through them.

What Is A Realistic Goal?

How To Set Realistic Goals And Why It Is Important? Goals

A realistic goal is one that you can reach given your current mindset, motivation level, timeframe, skills, and abilities. Realistic goals help you identify not only what you want but also what you can achieve.

As you want to create a great goal, watch out for these three tips. 

First, you create your “big picture” of what you want to do with your life next year or in six months and you try to identify the large-scale goals that you want to achieve.

Then, you break these down into smaller and smaller targets that you must hit to reach your lifetime goals. Finally, once you have your plan, you start working on it to achieve these goals.

This is why we start the process of setting goals by looking at your lifetime goals. Then, we work down to the things that you can do in, say, the next five years, then next year, next month, next week, and today, to start moving towards them.

Why it’s important to set realistic goals. 

Why is it truly important? When you examine your goals carefully to make sure each goal is realistically achievable, you increase your chances for success, whether at home, at school, or in the workplace. Setting realistic goals maximizes your time and resources, and helps keep you motivated. Setting and achieving realistic goals also helps boost your self-esteem. How To Set Realistic Goals And Why It Is Important?

Don’t mistake me here! I didn’t mean to say that you shouldn’t set big goals. To reach a high level of success, you should be setting a big goal.

But, if you want to make 1 billion dollars in a month, undoubtedly, it’s unrealistic. Am I right? Also, when you set unrealistic goals, you will be highly demotivated since you won’t be able to achieve them, and negative thoughts will fill up your mind. Of course, this isn’t a good sign!

Avoid These 3 Common Mistakes When Goal-Setting.

How To Set Realistic Goals And Why It Is Important? One step at a time

First, to set achievable goals and increase your chances of success at meeting your goals, avoid these 3 common goal-setting mistakes to keep your career and your life on track:

Your goals are important. Your goal isn’t valued enough. Too often, people set goals based on their thinking alone. You’re much more likely to achieve your goals if they align with your values.

Bring your heart into the goal-setting process and examine how your goals align with your values and the underlying life principles that you believe are important. 

Learn more about how to set goals that align with your values below. Your goal isn’t specific enough. Your goal may be too broad and overwhelming. 

Recast your aspirations in the form of a SMART goal (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Limited). Learn more about SMART goals below. How To Set Realistic Goals And Why It Is Important?

After drafting your SMART goals, you can plan how to break your larger goals into smaller, specific steps that will move you in the right direction. Your goal isn’t supported enough. You’re more likely to succeed at your goals if you have someone serving as your coach, cheerleader, or mentor. 

Ask friends, family, and co-workers for their support and to hold you accountable as you work toward your goals. Revisit your goals at regular intervals to make sure you’re on track and to re-energize your efforts.

How To Set Realistic Goals And Why It Is Important?

1. Be Specific About Your Target

How To Set Realistic Goals And Why It Is Important? Be specific about your target.

When setting a goal, you have to be specific about what you want to achieve. This is a must! If you don’t specify your target, you’ll be lost, and you won’t work effectively. Usually, vague goals don’t provide the necessary motivation and direction.

Imagine you’re driving a car and you don’t know where to reach. How will the situation be? You’ll achieve nothing other than wasting resources! Am I correct?

The same applies when you proceed without specifying your goal. So, be sure that your goals are specific.

2. Think about the results you want to see.

Before you set a goal, take a closer look at what you’re trying to achieve and ask yourself the following questions: Is this goal something you truly want? Is it important enough to pour hours of time and effort into it? 

If you’re not willing to put in the time, it may not be worth pursuing.

Maybe it’s something you will start learning. If you create a long list of goals to pursue all at the same time, you may have a difficult time achieving any of them. How To Set Realistic Goals And Why It Is Important?

Instead, use the questions above to determine which goals matter the most to you right now, and then focus on those few.

3. Reflect and take stock of exactly what your values are.

There’s little motivation for success if your goals don’t connect to your values. Of course, to make this work you need to know exactly what your values are. We recommend looking at 5 areas of your life: career, self, family, community, and spirit and consider how you’re living out your values in each of those areas.

Gaining this perspective will give you some ideas about what you might like to change or improve.

The first step in setting personal goals is to consider what you want to achieve in your lifetime (or at least, by a significant and distant age in the future).

Realistic goal setting is the smartest way of making progress that is tangible and feeds the long-term vision we wish to execute. It helps to build our goals around our work schedule, know our action plan, and concentrate our efforts in the right direction. 

4. Write down your goals

The simple act of writing down a goal is the first step toward achieving it. Written goals help you analyze your expectations.

It’s possible that the goals you had in mind need further clarification once you write them down. How To Set Realistic Goals And Why It Is Important?

Amazingly, we appreciate our sense of reasoning to write. If your goals as written don’t match the goals you imagined for yourself, regroup and try again. 

5. Specify the time frame: How To Set Realistic Goals And Why It Is Important?

How To Set Realistic Goals And Why It Is Important? We are getting there. You must have a time frame for it. Similar to specifying the target, you must specify the time frame required to achieve your target. When you don’t specify the time, there’s a high chance that you won’t use your time efficiently.

The time frame you set for reaching a goal should be realistic. Here is an example of how to set a time frame for your goal. Say your target is to make $100,000 from scratch. The realistic time frame you can set for achieving this goal is 10-12 months.

Thus, when setting a goal, make sure that they are time-bound and measurable.

Check out

“Incredible Psychology Hacks and Facts You Didn’t Know About” https://preciousifeoma.com/incredible-psychology-hacks-and-facts-you-didnt-know-about/

Conclusion

I learned recently that don’t have too much all at once. If possible please don’t have more than three goals. 

You need to keep your motivation strong to complete your goal. Consider scheduling a weekly evaluation, which could include measuring your progress and checking your schedule.

Precious Ifeoma is an aspiring lawyer interested in Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and International Human Rights. She’s an advocate of SDG 1, 2 and 4. She enjoys reading about psychology, watching movies, and listening to music.

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