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“I don’t like talking about goal setting because it sounds weird,” my friend told me the last time we sat down for a chitchat about goals.

Why don’t you set goals? I asked her out of curiosity.

She replied that goal setting was challenging because of her work schedule. Goal setting was also tricky because my colleague had to take care of her daughter.

What she said was true to some extent… but it was not an excuse for not having goals.

She was right because you can adjust your goals according to your priorities.

However, she was wrong in not setting goals because of her circumstances.

I believe you shouldn’t allow circumstances to dictate setting goals.

I am passionate about goal setting because I have benefited immensely from goal setting.

Setting goals have allowed me to experience success in my business and career.

The benefits of setting goals are summarized in the following quote by Brian Tracy, bestselling author, and motivational speaker.

During one of the scariest periods of my professional career last year… Having goals helped me ride out the storm I faced

The only thing that kept me going during those dark times and my personal hell was focusing on my goals.

Thanks to goal setting, Against all odds, I prevailed in the face of adversity.

When I shared what I had gone through and survived…many of my friends, colleagues, and family members were astounded at what I could achieve in the face of adversity.

I am sharing this story because  my story  can give  you hope and empower you to overcome any adversity you are going through

Goal setting is the master skill for success.

There are many names we call setting goals: New Year resolution, goals, affirmation, and so forth…

But the bottom line about having goals is this:

Goal setting allows you to take charge of your destiny

Many people fail to set goals because they don’t understand goal setting.

The best way I can express the meaning of goal setting is with a metaphor of dining out:

I want you to think about the last time you wanted to eat out.

Remember how the conversations started with expressing a desire to dine out?

Then you thought about the kind of restaurant you wanted to go to and eat at. Am I right?

Next, you selected the restaurants that met your criteria and refined your list down to one or two restaurants.

Finally, you went out to eat and had a lovely time.

Goal setting follows the same journey as your journey to dine out.

Achieving a goal starts with a desire or a dream to accomplish something that will make you happy and feel fulfilled.

A goal is called “a dream with a deadline.”

Do you have dreams to be healthier, wiser, and wealthier this year?   The best way to achieve them is to put a deadline to achieve your dreams.

You must commit to pursuing your dreams until you achieve them.

Know your values

Most motivational gurus and many self-help programs don’t tell you that there is another essential element to setting goals:

I think this element is essential for goal setting that-if you don’t include it in your goal setting-you, you are likely to fail.

I am talking about your values. You need to identify your values.

Why? Because your values are the true reflection of what you want. So your values must be aligned with the goals you want to achieve

For example, when you set goals about becoming wealthy, you must clarify your belief about wealth. Do you believe that building wealthy financial independence is an ideal you should accomplish?

If you a confused about what your values are, then I want you to use the following metaphor to clarify them:

I want you to imagine your funeral ceremony sometime in the future. I want to imagine what people are saying about you at your lying in state at your funeral at church.

What qualities would you like your family members to remember about you?

How would your family, colleagues, and friends remember you?

The answers that are coming up as you are doing this exercise in your mind are the values you cherish

These values are what you must focus on pursuing because they reflect your inner desire: that is a true reflection of who you are

Do this exercise to clarify your values in your health, wealth, relationship, career, and other areas of your life.

When you clarify your values in the major areas you want to set goals, you’ll find that you will likely set meaningful goals.

You are more likely to achieve goals that genuinely reflect what you want.

Make a wish list

The next step after clarifying your values is to list and write down what you want to achieve.

You should categorize your goals into four significant areas: wealth, health, Personal, and business or career.

You can list all the things you want to achieve.

Or create the categories of goals you wish to set and then write them down under your categories.

Focus on achieving more with fewer goals

The fewer goals you set, the better your chances of achieving them.

Why? I have seen from experience that when you focus on a few things…you are less likely to be distracted.

When you focus on a few things, you’ll find that you”ll achieve more efficiently and productively.

Take consistent action on your goals.

The final step in goal setting for success is to commit to working on them. There are three things you must do to accomplish your goals.

The first step is to identify the most important goals. Then you organize your year, months, weeks, and days ahead to work on your most essential goals daily.

Finally, you must apply Pareto’s principle when you work on your goals.

Applying Pareto’s principle means you identify the few tasks you need to do to help you achieve more of your goals.

In summary, I believe you can have your most productive New Year ever.

That is if you dare to dream and give yourself a deadline to realize them.

The most effective way to accomplish your dreams is by goal setting.

Before you set goals for achieving your dreams this year, you must clarify your values about the goals you set.

When you have clarified your goals and written them down…then spend most of your days, weeks, and years relentlessly pursuing them until you achieve them.

That was how I achieved more of my goals last year.

I intend to do better this year with goal setting.

What about you? Are you ready to have your best year ever?  Then ready…set… Go