Achieving a goal is usually regarded as a triumph, where you put in your best effort to make the goal a reality. Think of a goal as a cake recipe. If you leave one ingredient out, your cake will not come out right. Last year, as a college junior, I learned how significant it is to set goals for both my professional and academic careers. Furthermore, I learned that if you don’t set these goals or work toward accomplishing them, it is much more difficult to complete the vision you hold for yourself in the future. Now, as a senior, I am learning about all of the scrambling that occurs without those detailed goals in place. Setting a goal or trying to achieve a desired benefit in your life is natural, but without planning and working for what it takes to reach that destination, you will spend more of your time just dreaming about how to reach that position, rather than being in that position.
First, it is important to understand that in order to set any goal, you should visualize what position you would prefer to be in and what you will be doing in this specific position. If you are aware of this, you can then examine where you currently are and what you are doing. Consider the infamous interview question, “Where do you want to be in five years?” Five years ago, I wanted to complete my B.S. in accounting, and I am close to reaching that goal this year. Below are a few tips I wish I would have known prior to starting college:
Begin with the Immediate Result in Mind
It’s very important to know where you want to go, at least for now. Circumstances can always change your position, and you may change your perspective as you learn and grow as a person. That’s okay, because as of now you want to know where it is that you are headed so that you can begin to plan the steps you need to take. However, in order to do this, you must invest yourself in your vision as though you have already accomplished it and think backwards to what it took to achieve the goal. Be as detailed as you possibly can.
What Are Five Things You Want to Improve in Yourself?
To grow as an individual, you must accept change. Accepting change in some situations can prove to be difficult, and you have to be optimistic and have a positive mindset throughout this process. It is very simple to pick out features you don’t like about yourself, but it’s hard to change them. Still, it is essential to not be hypercritical of yourself. For example, I am a shy and timid person and don’t communicate with others very often. It’s not that I’m incapable or dislike speaking to others, I just prefer not to. That is something I want to change, so I make it a goal to try and converse with my peers on campus and in my workplace. In public accounting, you have to network by speaking to many different people from various backgrounds. I have to speak to co-workers, clients and everyone else in between.
Your Goals Have to Match and They Can’t Contradict Each Other
Any goals you set have to match with your own beliefs (moral or ethical), and they cannot contradict each other. This would cause conflict which results in nothing being accomplished. When you are deciding what steps or actions you need to take to accomplish goals, you will subconsciously begin to create the conditions to achieve.
It Can’t Just Sound Good, It Has to Be Realistic
It’s great if you can maintain a 3.8 grade point average while working 35 hours a week, taking 19 credits and living on your own. And it is doable. However, if you spend all of your time at work, barely study for exams and sleep through classes, this may be a roadblock to your goal. Again, you have to make sure a goal is realistic for you and not what sounds good to others. Setting smaller, more attainable goals will allow you to reach the bigger goal.
Develop Goals in Different Areas
All areas of your life should grow together: professionally, emotionally, mentally and academically. While I previously mentioned my challenge at speaking, I am working on all areas of my life. Being a well-rounded person is a wonderful attribute to have that will translate to all of the personal and professional relationships you have.
Match Desires and Goals; Challenge Yourself
To be motivated, it is best to match your desire with a goal. This can help you to work harder and allow you to accomplish your goal. People have a tendency to make what they desire happen in their lives, but sometimes the steps to a goal cause people to procrastinate or even abandon goals altogether. When a goal is linked to a desire, a person may become more willing to complete the smaller details to achieve a goal. “Many people fail in life, not for lack of ability or brains or even courage but simply because they have never organized their energies around a goal,” noted Elbert Hubbard, the American writer and philosopher.
There are several counterproductive actions that we all do which you should try to avoid or minimize to achieve goal success. Avoid procrastination; you can say anything you want, but if you don’t act, you won’t get anywhere. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is how Albert Einstein defined insanity. It’s okay to be intimidated, but it’s not okay to run away because you are intimidated. Do not give up; success tastes that much sweeter due to the hard work that goes into it! Don’t lose sight of your goals, and don’t settle for less! To make due with what you have and not strive for more does not allow you to be the person you are meant to be.
A quick way to remember these steps when reaching your dreams is to think S.M.A.R.T.: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. Aristotle said it best, “Man is a goal seeking animal. His life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his goals.”