Setting Goals

So last week I talked about perspective.  I left a challenge to make a list of what you believe makes you successful.  It can be physical, spiritual, emotional, thoughtful, etc...  I have been working on this and continue to reevaluate and revamp my list on what I believe it means to be successful.
The dictionary defines success as being:  "the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors."  Meaning you make an attempt at something and gain a favorable result, or, the result you were hoping for.

Now that success has been defined, my next step is to make goals.  What can I be doing now to achieve success?  Am I on the right path or are there things in my life I need to change?

Goal setting is important for many reasons.  If a person is having trouble feeling useful or bored, goal setting can help alleviate that.  The best way I have found to set goals is to follow this pattern.

• First set the BIG goals.  That is pretty much the list of what is believed to be success.  So for example, having a lot of money or starting a family or anything else that may be on that list.
• Next set yearly goals.  Realisitcally where would you see yourself in a year.
• Then set monthly goals.  What can be achieved in a months time.
• Last set weekly and daily goals.  I put these together because it is important to check on your goals at least once a week to see how you are doing.  That gives you the opportunity to fine tune the goals to fit your life.

The important thing is to not get frustrated.  If I end up looking at my weekly goals and find I haven't achieved much then I look at it and see if I need to change some things around to be more realistic and doable.  If I mess up one day or one week, it's ok.  I can start again the next week and move on from there.

Goal setting can be hard to do but it is so rewarding in the end.  I may sound like a hypocrite to those who know me, but I just pick myself up and "keep moving forward" as best as I can.  You never know, one of these days I may get it right.