MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY WITH DAN: Set Your Goals! Set Your Sails!

Let’s kick start the 3rd Monday of the year with this Bill Copeland quote: “The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.” A Goal is an end toward which effort or ambition is directed. A successful year begins with goal setting. Goal setting involves identifying something that you want to accomplish and establishing measurable goals and time frames to reach them. Success and goal setting go hand-in-hand.

Setting SMART goals provide a blueprint for our lives and keeps us in the direction that would lead to the realization of our dreams. There are eight different areas of life that you need to set specific goals in 2018. This includes – physical and health, social, family, personal development, financial, career and work, educational and spiritual goals. Below are six tips that could be helpful in achieving success in these areas.

Tip #1: Break it Down!
The bigger a goal looks, the more it creates fear. It’s wiser and better to break your big goals into a sequence of smaller ones. The smaller the goal the easier it is to achieve.
Tip #2 Make it S.M.A.R.T
Make your goals fit the SMART criteria. SMART is a best practice framework for setting goals which is an acronym for: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound.
Tip #3 Write It Down!
Write your goals down. Those who wrote down their goals accomplished significantly more than those who don’t.
Tip #3 Tell someone
Tell someone about it. You can involve your family and friends in helping you stay on track towards the achievement of your goals.

Tip #4 Stay Persistent
Working to achieve your goals will certainly come with challenges, difficulties, disappointments and frustration. Whatever the challenges you encounter as you pursue your dreams in 2018: Stay Persistent!
Tip #5 Keep a Record
It’s important to track your progress weekly, monthly, quarterly etc. Take time to review your goals – write out what worked, what didn’t, why it didn’t and how you can do better.
Tip #6 Celebrate!
Finally, celebrate. Yes, whenever you reach a goal – celebrate it! Remember to also say “Thank You” to people that helped you achieve it. Then go back to the goals that are yet to be achieved.

As we press forward in 2018, use all these tips to navigate your goals. Remember: Without clearly defined goals, you can spend the entire 2018 running up and down never achieving any worthwhile results. Are you ready to tackle 2018 head-on? Set your goals! Set Your Sails and Go! To your success! #MotivationalMonday #MakeTheYearCount #DanEkoko