The Right Way to Set Goals

Setting goals is something everyone should do, as it provides you with something to 
achieve and gives you a way to start having a successful, fulfilled life. The problem is 
that people often go about it the wrong way. They are realistic, or they don’t have a 
good action plan, meaning their goals can never really be achieved. Here are some 
easy ways to set goals that will actually help you.

Evaluate First

The first step to setting any goal should be to evaluate not just what it is, but why you 
want it. Your goals will range in how long they will take, how large or small they are, and 
how they will impact your life. You can start by making a list of goals (big and small) you 
have, then go through each one and analyze it even further. Evaluate it and reflect on 
WHY you have chosen this goal. This is going to set it apart from other goals because it 
allows you to come up with a more realistic approach toward achieving it.

S.M.A.R.T. Goals

SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time bound. This is a 
great tool to use when figuring out how to set your goals in the right way. You want 
them to be specific so that you can have specific tasks for achieving them, and 
measurable goals where you are able to see how your progress is. Make sure they are 
realistic and attainable, and also relevant to where you want to be. Plus, you should 
have time limits for when to achieve these goals, which is going to help keep you 
accountable.

Set Deadlines

Deadlines are an essential part of setting goals if you want to actually achieve them, 
and are something many people look past. You might make lists of things you want to 
do or places you want to go, but do you find that it is hard to stay motivated? This is 
often because they are too general and too open for interpretation. You need to be as 
specific as possible, and set deadlines for when to achieve them. It helps to have a 
tasks list and set deadlines for each of these tasks as well.

Keep Checking in

Lastly, make sure you are being accountable for your goals by checking in regularly. 
Look at the list of items you need to check off that have been completed and compare 
the deadlines to the current date. If you are falling behind, this can be good motivation 
to get back to working on them.
