Sep 09
21
Why is goal setting important?
The simple and short answer to this question is that goal setting provides clarity to your life, enabling you to establish a clear focus and achieve the things you really want.
Goal setting is not a particularly new topic; people in all walks of life have been setting personal and business goal for many years. It has risen to prominence in recent years in light of the demand for Life Coaches, Self Management and Personal Development.
This change of attitudes has encouraged an increase in people retraining as homeworkers, demanding personal development and Internet working. Consequently there is has been a marked change in working patterns with more people taking advantage of the opportunity to move away from the pressures of the corporate world and be more available for family life.
How to set personal goals
GROW Model
To help the process of goal setting there is an acronym to follow known as the GROW model. The GROW model isn’t so much a goal setting theory as a step by step process to help the goal setter achieve a positive outcome. The acronym of the GROW model stands for:
- Goal
- Reality
- Options
- Way forward
Goal – the goal to be achieve. Make this as clear and specific as possible, not too general. Otherwise de-motivation will soon set in when you realise to task isn’t clear enough.
Reality – what as happend so far. Identify everything you have done so far in trying to achieve your goal. What else has happened elsewhere that could affect the eventual outcome?
Options – What are the options to choose from that will take you towards achievement of your goal.
Way forward – which one of the options are you going to commit to take you towards final achievement. Make a commitment between 0 to 10, however make sure you score at least 8 otherwise you will need to re-address the process.
The are a number of goal setting strategies one such strategy includes a goal setting worksheet known as the Wheel of Life. Please click here to download a Wheel of Life in pdf format knidly supplied by The Coaching Academy. Goal setting forms are one way to record each of your goals which will encourage you to fully commit to them.
Another strategy to be considered is goal setting games; there are a number of games that could be used or even invented for the creative ones amongst us.
Goal setting isn’t limited to personal use; goal setting in the workplace has become very much part of the working day with many organisations including them in staff development training days.
That’s just about it, goal setting in a nutshell. If it’s new to you give it a try and share your experiences. If it’s not new to you please share your experiences anyway.
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View Comments "Why is goal setting important?"
I agree 100% with you. Goal setting is very important. One of the first steps towards improving yourself, in fact. I have, and will continue studying the best techniques for goal setting. I look forward to reading some more on this topic here.
Thank you for your comments. Yes I find goal setting so important to ensuring I achieve the things I want in life. I look forward to you future comments about similar topics.
[...] What are you going to do? You’ve followed all the rules identified what you want or desire, what you’ve already done, identified the options and the way forward. Yes, you’ve followed the coaching GROW model but yet again you’ve come up short. You can read more about the GROW model here, “Why is goal setting important“? [...]
[...] Before you begin to scale the dizzy heights of your barriers make sure you have set a clear and specific goal; I suggest you use one of the well know and much used acronyms, such as GROW or SMART, for your goal setting process. If your not sure about the GROW model read this post, “why is goal setting important” [...]
[...] Goal setting is generally associated with the life coaching process, however you don’t need to be working with a life coach to use it. The process is fairly straight forward but does need to be practiced on a regular basis. If you are unsure what is involved with goal setting please refer to an earlier post “Why is goal setting important.” [...]