Your Goal Definition Matters

A Goal is a Dream With a Deadline

Most people love to dream. If you are clear about your goal definition, you'll like it even better, because your good dreams come true. Napoleon Hill, the Grand Guru of leadership literature and self-improvement books is the one who said that "a goal is a dream with a deadline."

A more traditional goal definition contains words like "target, "objective," "the place to which something moves," "and something you want to accomplish." All these words and phrases signify the intention of ending up somewhere that you aren't when you start. And that is positive change.

While your "dream" can be a powerful motivator, it is often filmy and fuzzy. If you treat your dream like a goal or separate in into goals or steps to achieve the dream, it can become solid and real. It can happen ... within your deadline

AIM Smart Toward Your Dream
Create a Clear Goal Definition

When you use SMART goal setting instead of just dreaming, you can know you'll achieve the goal! SMART goal setting means Specific, and you need to be able to Measure it. It should be something that you can Achieve, something that is Realistic. And (here is the deadline part) it needs to have a Time-frame attached to it.

This makes it a SMART goal, get it? A goal is a dream that creates some concrete, observable, positive change ... and if someone asks you whether you have achieved it, you can say "yes" or "no."

I point out the "yes or no answer" thing because sometimes you feel so overwhelmed just finishing up the things on your to-do list. You get tired of multi-tasking because it just doesn't seem to be working for you.

People want to say "yes" to everything on their list, call the goals "achieved! finished! done! yes!" and that doesn't always happen. Sometimes the answer just has to be "no." But it can be even more frustrating and demoralizing when you can't even figure out what goals to strive for!

That is where your goal definition comes in (I'm not talking prioritizing here, I'm talking a clear definition of your goals). Goal definition is connected to your life purpose but it is NOT the same as your life purpose.

What about "purpose?" Lots of people confuse their goal definition with their purpose. They are important to each other, but they are not the same.

A life purpose isn't something you "achieve," it is something you live, every day of your life. Knowing your purpose in life helps you to clarify what goals are ... to consciously choose the ones you want to strive for and decide what kinds of actions you want to take to create positive change in your life. As a positive changes life coach, I love to help people with their life purpose too, but that is really another topic.

Positive Change

A Big Part of Goal Definition

Goals usually involve some kind of change that you choose to make for yourself. They can be large of small, long-term or short-term, finish it up this morning, or at the end of 5 years. The changes can be reducing the pile of laundry on your bedroom floor, increasing your stamina on the dance floor or the ski trails, finishing up the task that has been hanging over your head at work for the last month, or developing healthy eating habits.

Sometimes it can feel overwhelming just to identify the right goal to accomplish what you have in mind. How the heck can you get that sense of satisfaction from setting and achieving your goal if you can figure out what the goal is in the first place!

One thing I'm really good at is helping people figure out what their goals are. As a Positive Changes Life coach, I can help you figure out why you even have that particular dream. Help you create just the right, bite-sized mini-goals to take you on a path toward success, life satisfaction, and wellbeing instead of frustration, boredom, and feelings of being overwhelmed.

For more information, be sure to see:B

Why Is Goal Setting Important? Besides a sense of accomplishment, achievement, and increased wealth? There are lots more ...

SMART Goal Setting In a nutshell, SMART Goals are - Specific, Measurable,Achievable, Realistic, and Timely.

What Is A Life Coach? A life coach helps you connect with your outer goals and tap into your inner purpose and passion to bring about extraordinary and lasting life changes.

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