Setting and working toward goals is an essential part of advancing your career and finding fulfilment in your life. When you set goals, you can build the basis to achieve bigger and better milestones. Each time you set a goal and reach that goal, you are getting closer and closer to your target. There is always the right time to set personal and professional goals to a path of success. Therefore you should start thinking about setting realistic and achievable goals now.
Here is the guide for setting goals:
1. Take Initiative
Take time to think about what you want to achieve or what you can bring to the table. Your goals should be independent of what others ask you to do. Instead, ask yourself, what you really want to do.
First, take the time to assess where you are. Have you set goals in the past, and have you achieved those goals? Do the goals you made in the past still align with where you want to head?
Then find someone you can discuss your goals with. Think about who you trust and who will be able to assess your strengths and weaknesses. If this is also a person whose career you admire, ask them how they got to be where they are. What goals did they set for themselves? How did they achieve them?
2. Know Your Value
Taking stock of your personal value is key to making career goals. What is it that you do well? What do you bring to the table? What sets you apart from others? Once you determine what you do well, you can figure out how to focus on capitalizing on those skills. On the other hand, you can figure out how to grow skills in areas you feel you are missing certain expertise. If you are attempting to move up at your current job, your goals should serve not just you but your company as well. The more you bring to your job, the more likely you are to receive that raise or promotion.
Your goals should be:
Actionable
What steps can you take to achieve your goal?
Specific
When setting actionable goals, you also need to be specific.
Measurable
Define your own metric of success. It is also important to set beginning and end dates for your goals as well. Setting a timetable to achieve your goal can both help keep you motivated and on-schedule. Just make sure it’s realistic.
Realistic
Your goals need to be achievable. Setting goals you can accomplish within a reasonable timeframe will help keep you motivated and focused. Short term goals are also key to being realistic.
Take Risks
Goals should challenge you and not be too easy to achieve. You have to be willing to set goals that you may not accomplish. Failure is indeed a part of life and it is in our failing that we often learn the most important lessons. In the times we fail we better learn how to succeed.
It is never too early, or too late, to start setting goals, trying to learn new skills, and looking at where you can be making changes.
Sven Franssen