subject: 5 Rules To Set Yourself Up For Success [print this page] One way in which we plan for the future is by setting goals. The dictionary defines a goal as the end toward which effort is directed. Your career takes up a large part of your life and it can be easy to lose sight of your career path as the years go by. Todays blog will address goal setting as it specifically relates to career planning.
With better awareness you can make better choices and when you make better choices, you will see better results.
Most of us set goals regularly when we plan what we want to accomplish that day, that week, or even that month. Those are usually fairly simple goals, i.e., clean the house, pick up dry cleaning, mow the lawn. You decide what you want to do and then figure out what you need to do to achieve your goal. Then you get into more complicated goals your plans for the future of your career. Of course the actions you take to try to accomplish your goals will play a huge part in whether you reach them. But, the way you formulate your goals is extremely important too.
Take control of your career planning. Long term goals usually refer to looking ahead five years from now. Theres no guarantee you will bring to fruition every goal you set for yourself, however, continuously evaluating where you want your career to go and what you need to do to get there will put you upon the right track. You can increase your odds though. If you use the following criteria when setting your goals, you have a much better chance of success.
Your goals must be specific. Set precise goals, putting in dates, times and amounts so that you can measure achievement. If you do this, youll know exactly when you have achieved the goal, and can take complete satisfaction from having achieved it.
Dont be negative! Make sure your goal is something you want rather than something you want to avoid. Try to set goals over which you have as much control as possible. It can be quite discouraging to fail to achieve a goal for reasons beyond your control!
Keep goals realistic. Its easy to set goals that are too difficult because you might not appreciate either the obstacles in the way, or understand quite how much skill you need to develop to achieve a particular level of performance. Make sure you have the ability and skills necessary to reach your goal. Dont set yourself up to fail
