Setting and Achieving Goals

Where do you want to go today? The famous Microsoft tagline from 1996 reminds us that unless we decide where we want to go, we will be driving randomly. Only when the destination stands clear in our minds will the path to it stand out and we will be able to traverse the maze and land at the destination. The goals we set in our lives – from the mundane to the most profound – give us the destination. These goals have then got to be broken into the componental sub-goals that have to be achieved within a set time frame.

The goals have to be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely.

To make SMART goals and sub goals, think about the tasks that must be accomplished and the resources and tools needed. If you want to write a novel that is going to run into thousands of pages and you want this done in a year, you have to set a specific time frame to develop an outline and more time frames for finishing a chapter. Probably the writing involves some research and you have to plan how long this is going to take and how you want to go about it. Like a project manager, you may have to revise your plans to suit any altered circumstances, so that your target is realistic. The achievement of the sub goals along the path mark the milestones that help us to review the strategy and the progress.

You need to visualize the goals: it’s the clarity of goals that will give you the motivation to carry on despite hardships or distractions. This is exemplified by Florence Chadwick’s story. Florence was the first woman to cross the English Channel from England to France in both directions. Long distance swimming requires endurance and an iron will to maintain concentration and form for several hours despite dark and foggy nights, debilitating sea sickness, bone-chilling cold, sharks and other marine animals.

In 1952 Chadwick stepped into the Pacific Ocean from Catalina Island to swim the 25 miles from Catalina Island to the California coast. After about 15 hours of swimming, she begged her mother and other assistants following her in small boats to pull her out from the ocean. Only later did she realize that she had to swim just one mile to reach the California shoreline, her destination. She later attributed this debacle to her inability to see the coastline that hid behind a dense  fog. She failed because she couldn’t see her goal.

Two months later, Florence accomplished her dream feat despite similar foggy conditions. She kept focusing on the mental image of the shoreline in her mind and reached her goal.

Demosthenes (384 BC–322 BC), the most eloquent orator of ancient Greece, was a stutterer. To overcome his stammering, he used to place small pebbles in his mouth and recite Sophocles and Euripedes near the sea shore, throwing his voice to rise over the sea waves.

The most important point is to have undying faith in oneself and the determination to do whatever it takes to achieve our goals. There lies the secret. So, what is keeping you from setting and achieving your goals?