Is it too late for me to be an achiever? How can goal setting help?

Is it too late for me to be an achiever? How can goal setting help?

That feeling of satisfaction over our accomplishment, that sense of pride when we finish something difficult, or even that feeling of relief after we achieve a challenging goal. These bring us happiness and a sense of purpose. 

But getting to that state of happiness over our personal achievements is sometimes hit or miss. What derails us from reaching it? We often wonder why we start motivated and goal-driven, only to end up becoming off track. 

Research has shown multiple ways effective goal setting strategies and their benefits to improving motivation and perseverance, leading to increased performance and chance of success. 

Road map to success: Goal setting 

Goal setting is for everyone. It is for students who want to increase academic performance, for high-achievers to further tackle more challenging tasks, and for the general population to reach success in any area they set goals. 

• Goal setting leads to more confidence. 

Our confidence in our ability to reach our goals is called self-efficacy. It is our belief that we have the potential to perform the tasks needed to meet our goals. When goals are both  highly specific, and challenging, our self-efficacy increases.

• Goal setting improves motivation and focus. 

Motivation is most commonly associated with success. And many of us struggle with intrinsic motivation or our personal beliefs and actions that drive our willingness to learn. Effective goal setting has been shown to have a strong link to being motivated and to high engagement in learning.

• Goal setting provides purpose and meaning. 

Having a clear picture of the future we want and taking small and big steps toward that future give meaning and purpose to our present life. We have a destination, we are aware of our current reality and we establish a route getting there. 

Let’s set goals! 

• Goals, be S.M.A.R.T. 

First off, studies show that goals that are written are 33% more likely to be achieved than those just inside our heads.

Then these written goals should be S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound.) The SMARTer the goals are, the more we can define, monitor and reach them. 

After setting a goal, asking questions like, “by doing what?” , “when?”, “how?”, “With whom?”, and  “measured by what?” makes goals more achievable. 

• Commit to your goals. 

Goals that we commit to are often goals that have personal meaning to us. How do our goals touch a chord with our hearts? If we are able to make goals personal, we increase our commitment to it. This increases our feeling of ownership, thus we are more in control of our actions. A strong commitment is especially helpful when we face hurdles. We can decide to alter our strategies to continue pursuing our goals. 

• Immerse yourself  in a supportive environment. 

Often our goals are personal, yet there may be friend, family or community-based groups that provide a favorable environment for goal-achievement. Seek for support and feedback from them. They can help us track our progress, and assess how effective our actions are. 

A study also showed that those who wrote down their goals and reported their progress to a friend week by week were 33% times more successful in reaching their goals.

Lastly, connecting our goals with our support groups gives us a chance to celebrate with them when we reach our goals!  

Increasing our confidence, growing our motivation, developing our commitment and receiving feedback can lay a foundation for successful and satisfying life experiences. 

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