Achieve Career Success Through Goal Setting

You CAN find the career success you're craving through the simple exercise of goal setting.

Goals help to keep us motivated. But sometimes, you may have found it too hard to achieve your goals. Maybe because you set long-term goals before setting short-term ones, or you did not plan your goals carefully.

Goal-setting strategies are important especially for those who want to achieve long-term goals. Here are five goal-setting techniques to help you get started on the road to career success...

  1. Start with short-term goals that will lead you to long-term ones. Sometimes, people start with short-term goals unconsciously. Why unconsciously? Some of them may have considered the goals to be long-term at the time they planned them; and after achieving a goal, they realize that they are in fact, looking forward to a longer one. Some are contented with their short-term goals, but after a while will realize that they also need to attain long-term ones. Short-term goal setting seems to be our set off for longer term goal setting. In fact, short-term goals will motivate you to plan for longer goals, which will usually take some time before you achieve them in full.

  2. Make sure you really want the goal that you have set. By this, you have to ask yourself: "Is this what I really want to achieve? Will this goal give me a better life?" Answering these questions will awaken more passion to achieve that goal. Some people recall their past to find out why and how they came up with such goals.

  3. Speak up. By this, I mean you shouldn't keep your goals to yourself only. Sharing your goals could help you get the support you may need from others. Some people are too shy to tell others about their goals because they seem too lofty, or they lack the courage to speak their minds. This is not a good habit, because when the time comes that you really need support, you will have a difficult time getting it. You will then have to achieve your goals all by yourself. Also, sharing the fruits of your goals is uplifting to the mind and spirit.

  4. Write your goals down. This strategy is more advisable for those who have a long list of goals. After writing them, it is a good idea to review them because this will put them front and center in your mind. That, in turn, will encourage you to achieve them.

  5. Stay on track and don't give up. Reviewing notes will help open your mind to see if you are on the right track. While on track, you may have to face challenges that might change your level of motivation. A person who is overconfident might suddenly feel depressed after finding out that he is going the wrong way in achieving his goal. Thus this might lead to abandoning the goal. Never be discouraged. Facing obstacles is a test for how passionate you really are about this goal.

Next, I'd like to share an article by my friend and motivational speaker, Della Menechella, about goal-setting. Della offers several more tips on how you can set goals successfully to achieve career success (or success in any area of your life!).


12 Commandments of Goal Setting

Taking time for goal setting is crucial.

Many professionals have a basic idea of what they want to achieve in their careers. They may want to close more sales, earn a higher income, or move into a different job. However, somehow they do not achieve the success they desire. Why? Why is it that intelligent, motivated, hard-working individuals are not achieving the success they deserve? It is because they haven't taken the time for clear goal setting.

They may have a general idea of what they want to accomplish, but the mind does not work effectively with generalities. If you want to earn a higher income and you earn one more dollar, have you achieved your goal? No, of course you haven’t. Because you were not specific about what you wanted to accomplish, your creative mind could not assist you in reaching your true objective.

In order to be effective, goals must be written down in the present tense using clear, specific, vivid words. For example, if your goal were to earn a salary of $50,000 per year, you would write. "I now earn $50,000. per year in a job that is fulfilling and allows me to express myself creatively."

Completing the following steps will help effective goal setting so you can achieve positive results in your career.

  1. Decide what you want to accomplish. The goal should be very specific. If you want to close more sales, how many more sales do you want to close? What do you want your closing ratio to be? If you want to move into a different job, what are the characteristics of that job?


  2. Determine a deadline for accomplishment. A goal must have a deadline. If you do not have a date on it, the goal is only a wish or a dream.


  3. Determine that the goal is believable to you. You must feel that the goal can be realized. If you believe it is impossible to achieve, you will never take the action necessary to make the goal a reality.


  4. Where are you now? Take a current inventory. You will never know how far you have to go if you don’t know where you already are.


  5. What obstacles do you need to overcome? Is there something that may make it difficult to achieve your goal? Be aware of the obstacle so you can make plans to overcome it.


  6. What knowledge will you need to acquire? Will you need to earn a professional designation or take certain courses? Will you need to research new markets?


  7. What organizations and groups should you associate with? Are there certain groups of people that can make it easier for you to accomplish your goal? How can you become affiliated with them?


  8. What are the benefits to you? Write down as many benefits as possible. The more benefits you can come up with, the more likely you will be to stick to the goal until it is achieved.


  9. Develop an action plan. Determine the specific steps that will be necessary to achieve the goal. Start at the accomplishment of the goal and work backwards.


  10. Visualize yourself accomplishing the goal. See yourself in clear detail as if you have already achieved the goal. If you want to close more sales, see yourself closing more sales easily. Do this over and over again until it becomes part of your subconscious mind.


  11. Take daily action towards the goal. Dreams and goals require action. The best goal in the world will never materialize unless consistent action is taken.


  12. Resolve to never quit. Decide that you will never give up, even when times get tough, until your goal is reached.

Taking the effort to complete the steps in goal setting is not easy. However, when you follow these steps, your success is almost assured.

Della Menechella is a speaker and trainer who helps organizations achieve greater success by improving the performance of their people. She is a contributing author to Thriving in the Midst of Change and the author of the videotape, The Twelve Commandments of Goal Setting. She can be reached at 732-985-1919 or della@dellamenechella.com. Visit www.dellamenechella.com for other free articles about how to achieve peak performance.


I hope you enjoyed my tips on goal setting, as well as Della's article on goal setting. Put these tips to work and you are destined for fabulous career success, no matter what path you pursue!

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