Personal Development Goals -- Easy!
by Wyatt Pottoe
Everyone needs a goal to achieve -- a golden carrot -- in order to truly succeed. Goals are what draw us ahead when times are tough. They are what help us overcome resistance and problems. The most important of these are personal development goals.
Here's the easy part: setting personal development goals for yourself. But the hard part is actually achieving those goals. One reason lots of people fail to reach their goals is that they made the mistake of setting blurry goals rather than crystal clear ones. Other people have a tendency to set a bunch of goals all at once. Still others choose target dates that are fuzzy or too far away.
To best set your own personal development goals, you want to sharply define what it is you want to achieve. Good for you for wanting to lose weight, but you must set a clear goal at the outset. Choose how much weight you will lose, and write down that as your goal. Pick an exact number of pounds or kilograms, and be sure it is really an achievable goal. Otherwise, you can set yourself up for failure. After you have chosen a goal of, for example, ten pounds, go ahead and create an exercise and diet plan that will aid you in accomplishing your goal.
Now, take on your challenge by setting parameters for your goal that are clear. With your diet and exercise plans laid out, and a clear number to aim for, set yourself a time limit. It could be ten pounds in the next two months, for example. Which is a little more than a pound per week: pretty achievable. You now have a sharp target, with a manageable time frame, and you will be able to sharply focus on your way to achieving your goal.
That is the first step. By establishing your personal development goals, you are well on the road to accomplishing them.
Remember not to set personal development goals that are too high at first; they can become unreachable. If you set the bar too high and fail to succeed as planned, you may find yourself tempted to give up as a failure. Your self-esteem can be negatively impacted, and your broader view of life. So make sure to set achievable, realistic goals.
Next, reward yourself once you have achieved your first goal! Rewards make the hard work and accomplishment stand out in your week. No need to spend much money on your reward, or eat a huge pizza. That might start the weight gain process immediately. Instead, go for a walk on the beach, take in a movie, or have some fine wine with a tasty, but small-portioned dinner. The point is to reward each goal you achieve, before you set another one, and look forward to the next reward day.
Once you've achieved your first personal development goal, you'll be ready to take on another. Remember to set your next goal in the same manner as the first: achievable, clear, and with a time frame. And then, there's no turning back. Who knows where your life will be in 5 or 10 years from now? After accomplishing a series of small, doable goals, you might be amazed where you will end up. All it takes is setting and accomplishing that first, small goal, and you are on your way.
Wyatt Pottoe is an author for several well-known web sites, on home improvement and family genealogy issues. You can get a unique content version of this article.
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