How to plan and set goals

Setting goals helps define your path in life. The end destination should be a place where you feel balanced and whole. But how do you figure out what your they should be? Read on and download our goal setting planner.

Why set them?

The best way to predict the future is to create it.​
– Peter Drucker

Setting goals helps you get clear on what you want to achieve. They help you plan how you’ll get where you want to be, keep you on track and celebrate your successes along the way. No matter how big or small, it’s a target to help propel you forward.

Download our goal setting planner here –

The wheel of life

Plan for the future because that is where you are going to spend the rest of your life.

– Mark Twain

Before jumping in, it’s important to think about where you’re at right now. How are you feeling across all areas of your life?

The seven wheel of life categories are all areas to consider ¹:

1. Career: Advancing your career or business objectives
2. Financial: Taking control of or improving your finances
3. Spiritual: Growing your spirituality
4. Physical: Improving your health and wellbeing
5. Intellectual: Developing your mind
6. Family: Strengthening your family
7. Social: Nurturing personal and professional relationships

Think about how satisfied you are with these categories. Rate each from 1 to 10, with 1 being ‘very unsatisfied’, and 10 ‘very satisfied’. You’ll then be able to see the areas that you’re feeling good with, as well as others that may not be fulfilling you. Armed with this knowledge, you can start thinking about what you’d like to achieve in each category. Combining them should help you feel more balanced overall.

Using the wheel of life as a guide

Setting goals in each of the seven life categories might feel a little overwhelming to start, so don’t stress. If you’re feeling it’s all a bit much, start small – setting anywhere between one to five may be more realistic and achievable. Even having one goal is better than none! And remember, they don’t all have to be big, long-term ones. They can be as small or as big as you want them to be.

Make them SMART

A goal should scare you a little and excite you a lot.

– Joe Vitale

SMART goal setting is a method that ensures your ideas are clear and your efforts focused. Each one should be:

• Specific – focus your efforts and feel truly motivated to achieve.
• Measurable – track your progress and stay motivated. Stay focused, meet your deadlines and feel the excitement of getting closer to reaching your goal.
• Achievable – keep them realistic and attainable. They should stretch your abilities but still remain possible.
• Relevant – make sure that it matters to you, and that it aligns with your other goals.
• Time-bound – include a deadline to focus on and something to work toward. Set yourself a target dates to make sure it remains a priority.

Example

After completing the wheel of life activity, you may have identified that improving your health and wellbeing (Physical) is an area you’d like to focus on. Learning to run might be something you’d like to achieve. Turning ‘learn to run’ into a SMART goal could be:

‘Run a full marathon by the end of 2021’.

It’s specific – no confusion on what you’d like to achieve. It’s measurable – a specific distance, which you can break down into smaller, focused targets. Is it achievable? Think about if you have what you need to achieve it – have you got the right running gear, a realistic training plan, people you can turn to for help? It’s relevant – you’ve identified that ‘Physical’ is an area in the wheel of life that you’d like to focus on – fitness is important to you, you’ve always wanted to learn to run. It’s also timebound – you want to achieve it by the end of the year.

Plan how you’ll achieve them

A goal properly set is halfway reached.

– Zig Ziglar

Once you’ve mapped them out, the next step is to plan how you’ll achieve them. By making them bite-size, you’ll be able to see your progress and celebrate the small wins.

Start by thinking about how you can break them down. Focus on the specific, measurable and time-bound elements. For example, if you want to run a marathon, you wouldn’t start running 42 kilometres on day one! You’d break it down. You’d start with something like running 5 kilometres by the end of next month. Then 10 kilometres in two months, and so on, until you reach your main event.

Thinking about obstacles and how you can overcome them will help you fight excuses and keep you motivated. What happens if you get sick? If it’s too rainy? If you don’t have your running gear with you? What will you do to overcome these barriers?

Finally, write them down! Include your ideal timelines, too, to help you stay on track. Then, put them in a stand-out place in your home.

Staying motivated: A good goal setter LAUGHS

The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me?

- Ayn Rand

Arming yourself with some good old-fashioned optimism and a positive attitude will do wonders to keep you motivated.

People who are optimistic tend to have a good attitude and do these things:

• Look for opportunities.
• Always look after themselves.
• Use their skills to continue developing, learning and improving.
• Go the extra mile – put in extra effort.
• Hold themselves responsible for their successes and failures.
• Set goals giving themselves a sense of direction and purpose.

Celebrating your progress!

Success is the progressive realisation of a worthy goal or ideal.

- Earl Nightingale

It’s important to acknowledge and celebrate your wins – no matter how big or small. Rewarding yourself for your efforts makes you feel good. It will make you want to keep going further towards your end goals and beyond.

Download our goal setting planner here –

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