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.

Change of Mindset

The first thing I want to cover is perspective. What makes a person successful? Is it a new car? Is it a lavish house? Is it spending large amounts of money every month? Is it a stable job? Is it making lots of money every month at a job? Is it having benefits? Is it the people around, such as friends and family? Is it doing the 'right' thing? Is it being in a stable relationship? Is it being single and happy? Is it being able to go to the movies or go out to eat regularly?

It's all of these things and none of them at the same time. First, being successful means something different to everyone. I can't speak for the entire population, but I can speak for myself. I have never really thought of myself as being successful and as such, I have never been successful. I always thought it would be nice to have money or a government job or a family or traveling, but I never really thought any of that would be true for me. In some aspects I still don't.

My change of mindset is not "I want to be a millionaire or have a lot of money". My change of mindset is a lot simpler than that. Here are the steps I am taking:

1) I want to look at my life and see where I am already a success.
2) I am making a positive list of my successes.
3) I am going to post that list where I will see it in the morning.

I am not setting goals. As an example, I am not saying, "I will have a lot of money now that I have decided that is my success". Whatever my belief in success may be, that is not the plan for this week. Next week I can work on goals. This week is about mindset. First I must feel good about myself and the things I have already done.

Try this sometime. You'd be surprised about how good this exercise can make you feel. Just remember, everyone has successes, sometimes you have to let go of your personal prejudices and criticisms to see it, but they are there.