How to Set Achievable Goals - How to Build Rome
When you chart your course in life you want to set clear, realistic and well thought out goals.
These goals give your life direction and help you focus your efforts on something that will lead to an accomplishment that is meaningful to you.
There are three types of goals based on where they fall on your future time line.
Let's discuss how to set short, medium and long term goals.
Definitions You can define these goals any way you want.
A goal may be defined in terms of how long it takes to accomplish it.
For example if your goal is to retire financially independent it may take twenty or thirty years or more to accomplish.
That would likely be a long term goal for most people.
If your goal is to get the kitchen completely clean you can probably do that in one afternoon.
That would be a short term goal.
For the purpose of our discussion here though Short Term Goals are defined as those you expect to accomplish in a year or less.
Medium Term Goals are those that would take one to five years to accomplish.
Long Term Goals are those that will take over five years to accomplish.
It is also useful to divide goals into two classes: independent and dependent.
Independent goals stand by themselves.
To use our kitchen example there are is no need to break that goal down into sub-goals.
You can tackle that goal in one effort and complete it in a short period of time.
It is independent of any other goal.
A dependent goal, sometimes called a sub-goal, are created when a Medium Term or Long Term goal is simply too big to tackle with a single effort.
In fact most Medium and Long Term goals and even some Short Term goals are too big to swallow whole.
You need to break them down into more manageable steps.
This is an excellent strategy to help achieve those big or long term goals - chunk it down to smaller steps or goals that are more attainable.
Reinforcement Everyone likes to be rewarded for their effort.
We are encouraged by rewards.
We feel re-energized by recognition and rewards.
A sense of accomplishment keeps us on track and defeats the weariness that can occur when a task is just too big and takes too long.
By breaking large goals down into sub-goals you are rewarded with a sense of accomplishment every time you complete one of those sub-goals.
This gives you the momentum to continue working toward that big goal.
Start with a BHAG Author and business consultant Jim Collins coined the term BHAG (bee-hag) to mean a Big Hairy Audacious Goal.
These are the really giant goals you dream up.
It may be to climb Mt.
Everest.
It may be to lose 50 pounds.
It may be to become a millionaire.
It may be to become the very best in the world at what you do.
Whatever it is - it is big and formidable.
These are usually Long Term; they take a long time to achieve.
They are measured in years or even a lifetime.
To make these BHAGs manageable you need to break them down into Medium goals that have a discreet beginning point and ending point.
They are more easily measured and achieved.
However even most Medium goals as we have defined them take a long time, a year or more.
You are more effective if you break them down into Shorter Goals, smaller steps that you can accomplish in a matter of days, weeks or at most months.
As you accomplish the Short Goals you may need to refine your Medium Goals in light of the changing circumstances you encounter.
It is easier to make these course corrections with Short and Medium goals than it is with your Long Term Goal.
Rome was not built in a day Keep your goal-setting on a human scale.
It may seem trite to observe that Rome was not built in a day, but it is very true.
Rome was built one building at a time and each building was built one stone at a time.
It is overwhelming to think of building Rome, but it is very reasonable to think about hewing one stone and moving it into place.
Each completed stone is a victory that rewards you and keeps you moving toward completion of that building.
Every completed building brings you one step closer to a finished Rome.
Follow this approach to goals and you will accomplish far more - including those Big Hairy Audacious Goals.
These goals give your life direction and help you focus your efforts on something that will lead to an accomplishment that is meaningful to you.
There are three types of goals based on where they fall on your future time line.
Let's discuss how to set short, medium and long term goals.
Definitions You can define these goals any way you want.
A goal may be defined in terms of how long it takes to accomplish it.
For example if your goal is to retire financially independent it may take twenty or thirty years or more to accomplish.
That would likely be a long term goal for most people.
If your goal is to get the kitchen completely clean you can probably do that in one afternoon.
That would be a short term goal.
For the purpose of our discussion here though Short Term Goals are defined as those you expect to accomplish in a year or less.
Medium Term Goals are those that would take one to five years to accomplish.
Long Term Goals are those that will take over five years to accomplish.
It is also useful to divide goals into two classes: independent and dependent.
Independent goals stand by themselves.
To use our kitchen example there are is no need to break that goal down into sub-goals.
You can tackle that goal in one effort and complete it in a short period of time.
It is independent of any other goal.
A dependent goal, sometimes called a sub-goal, are created when a Medium Term or Long Term goal is simply too big to tackle with a single effort.
In fact most Medium and Long Term goals and even some Short Term goals are too big to swallow whole.
You need to break them down into more manageable steps.
This is an excellent strategy to help achieve those big or long term goals - chunk it down to smaller steps or goals that are more attainable.
Reinforcement Everyone likes to be rewarded for their effort.
We are encouraged by rewards.
We feel re-energized by recognition and rewards.
A sense of accomplishment keeps us on track and defeats the weariness that can occur when a task is just too big and takes too long.
By breaking large goals down into sub-goals you are rewarded with a sense of accomplishment every time you complete one of those sub-goals.
This gives you the momentum to continue working toward that big goal.
Start with a BHAG Author and business consultant Jim Collins coined the term BHAG (bee-hag) to mean a Big Hairy Audacious Goal.
These are the really giant goals you dream up.
It may be to climb Mt.
Everest.
It may be to lose 50 pounds.
It may be to become a millionaire.
It may be to become the very best in the world at what you do.
Whatever it is - it is big and formidable.
These are usually Long Term; they take a long time to achieve.
They are measured in years or even a lifetime.
To make these BHAGs manageable you need to break them down into Medium goals that have a discreet beginning point and ending point.
They are more easily measured and achieved.
However even most Medium goals as we have defined them take a long time, a year or more.
You are more effective if you break them down into Shorter Goals, smaller steps that you can accomplish in a matter of days, weeks or at most months.
As you accomplish the Short Goals you may need to refine your Medium Goals in light of the changing circumstances you encounter.
It is easier to make these course corrections with Short and Medium goals than it is with your Long Term Goal.
Rome was not built in a day Keep your goal-setting on a human scale.
It may seem trite to observe that Rome was not built in a day, but it is very true.
Rome was built one building at a time and each building was built one stone at a time.
It is overwhelming to think of building Rome, but it is very reasonable to think about hewing one stone and moving it into place.
Each completed stone is a victory that rewards you and keeps you moving toward completion of that building.
Every completed building brings you one step closer to a finished Rome.
Follow this approach to goals and you will accomplish far more - including those Big Hairy Audacious Goals.
