By Ayesha Desai

So often we tend to navigate through life by looking backwards. Whilst this is also beneficial in terms of learning from

our mistakes – it tends to cloud our vision in looking forward. We find ourselves stuck in a rut with no achievements or accomplishments to show for the past few years.

One reason for this is one’s inability to successfully set goals for ourselves. Think back to your earliest school memories.

The goal was to get to the school holidays. Then the goal was to have as much fun as possible (or get into as much

mischief as one could indulge in). Then in high school the goal was to get that all important matric certificate. Then, it is time to get vocational training or a job. And this is usually the point at which many of us stumble.

Up until this point, we were usually given a clear and detailed road map on how to arrive at the destination. Take our future into our hands. Do decide on what’s important and what’s irrelevant, or a distraction. Learn to set compelling goals, those goals that have deeper meaning to you. It is the kind of goal that motivates you to grow and enable achievement that is fulfilling and rewarding.

Identifying and setting life goals for yourself is one of the most life-changing things you can do and it must be a catalyst with the mind-set of establishing new habits.

FIRST: You want to get into a position to set compelling life goals for yourself. You must allow yourself to dream. Let there be no barriers. What are those things you most want to do? How do you achieve these? Do you have a bucket list? Jot them down and go for it!

THEN: Think about what you would do if the possibility of failure was completely removed from the equation. This works best when you chose important areas of your life to set life goals in, i.e. your body, mind, finances, family relationships, travel,

being debt free, doing charity work, learning to sew, or freeing your spirit. These can be skills, learnings, projects and all kinds of

achievements.

One of the most effective ways is to think about the success you desire. Visualise your endpoint as completed, see yourself achieving it, succeeding and celebrating the milestone achievement. Oftentimes we tend to be overwhelmed by a goal because it seems too big, too hard, too far, too heavy, just too much…but if we break it into smaller more manageable and more achievable tasks it makes it easier.

Once you have completed the above, you will be ready to use one of the most effective methods of goal setting: The SMART goal method. The next few paragraphs explain what this is as well as practical examples.

*Specific – What do you want to do?

One might say ‘My goal is to be healthy’ However this isn’t specific enough. How do you plan on being healthy? Do you wish to pay more attention to your diet, or do you want start an exercise program?

*Measurable – This is important so that you can identify your progress.

It gives concrete evidence of getting closer to your goal. If you want to build a cabin, it might seem overwhelming…but if we break it down into the following more measurable steps: buy land, get wood, draw a plan, hire a builder, start building, add windows and doors, put up roof and then furnish…it becomes more achievable. The end result is that you’ve built a cabin but without the pressure of this huge project.

*Attainable – Must be something that’s realistic & possible

A goal that is unattainable only serves to demotivate you. Whilst smaller goals that are realistic will help to propel you forward.

If your goal is to complete your degree, and you have 14 modules to complete, saying that it will be done in a year is a nearly impossible feat. Spacing it out however, will make it more manageable and serve to help you stay focused.

*Relevant – It should add value to your life

Is the goal you’ve set for yourself relevant to your life? Do you really want to be a famous Instagram influencer or do you just want to get stuff for free from new companies? Will it truly add value to your life? Many times people think the only goals worth setting are huge accomplishments that in this day social media needs to be ‘Gram worthy. But goals that are relevant can be as simple as finally sorting out the mess in the garage to going for those cooking lessons you’ve been putting off. Are these relevant to your life? Yes!

*Time bound – Have a deadline

An important aspect to remember is when setting a goal for yourself, you MUST also give yourself a deadline, a time frame within which you will achieve this. If you don’t have a timeline, then one day becomes someday and someday becomes never. Learn to hold yourself accountable. Your timeline can be for a short term goal (6 -12 months) medium term (year – 5 years) or long term (anything longer)

By setting goals you are giving yourself focus. You are motivating yourself to work through the difficulty because you know where you’re headed. When you don’t set goals for your life, daily, weekly, monthly, or even lifetime goals, and your life is determined by the flow of the river. You can’t control it. The direction is always the same and you don’t actively choose where you’re heading. The best advantage of having goals is consciously choosing to create your own flow, your own path and being aware of what you want to achieve. It makes it easier to unplug from social media and other distractions to concentrate on your to-do list. It gives you strength to make the sacrifices to get to your endpoint. It is very important to formulate this plan positively. “Whatever you focus on, increases and manifests” – There is no such thing as a person who got lucky and became successful. Luck is 99 % preparation and 1% opportunity. Use goal setting as a first point in your preparation strategy.

Remember that as you journey through life, your goals change. As you experience new things, your goals will venture in new directions. Irrespective of how your goals change, they will propel you forward and bring more meaning to your everyday.