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The Basic Psychology of Setting Goals

The psychology of setting goals is relatively complicated and in-depth – even at the most basic level.

In order to become successful when it comes to setting your goals and working through to seeing the achievement of those goals, there are many different processes that should be considered.

You will need the appropriate tools and resources to set the goals and to ensure that you follow through on them.

Let's look at the basic psychology of setting goals.

When we set goals, we are establishing a process in which we must work through. There is a beginning to goal setting, just as there is an ending.

Many individuals will take tidbits of information that they hear or see and implement it into their own goal setting endeavors.

This is where many elements fail.

We cannot just stick bits and pieces of information where we feel is most appropriate, we must follow the complete goal setting process from the time we set the goal until we achieve that goal.

I would like to illustrate this point for you. Let's say that your grandmother bakes the most delicious apple pies that you have ever known. One day, your grandmother provides you with a recipe to that mouth watering apple pie. You now know what ingredients that she puts into the recipe, as well as the steps that are necessary to make the famous pie yourself.

Well, you will need to go purchase the ingredients, then, mix them as they should be mixed, and follow all the instructions on the recipe in order for it to be successful, right?

Of course! This is a process. In order to set goals, and achieve them, you must follow the recipe for success.

The goal setting process is a direction. It takes many different roads and landmarks out for you so that it is easy to travel on the road to success and reach your destination.

In this aspect, it is almost like a map. Maps outline the roads that allow us to come from one place to get to another place.

If you elect to take a different path, we may find that it takes longer to reach our destination – if we reach it at all.

The goal setting process is just like this. Certain roads and landmarks must be experienced so that we know that we are still on the path to personal growth and achievement.

When we experiment with goal setting techniques, there are two things that we should keep in mind.

The first is that we remain flexible on our path to success.

The next thing that we should remember is that we should not place all of our focus on the process of goal setting in itself.

We must always keep our eye on the actual goal that we are attempting to achieve.

The following details an effective goal setting process that can be used for any goal, for any purpose:

Evaluation in a reflective manner.
Dreaming as big as you want to dream.
Using the S.M.A.R.T formula for setting goals.
Action which includes implementing the process, and holding yourself accountable.
Evaluate once more in a reflective manner.

Evaluation

In the evaluation stage of the goal setting model that we use here, it is important to take the time to consider where you have been in life, and consider the things that you have learned there.

This will help you to determine where it is that you need to go. This is more less a personal realization of where you are starting out at on the road to success.

You should also reflect on any thoughts, people, or things in your life that are holding you back. It is important to ensure that you address this step at the beginning of the goal setting stage.

Dream

In the dream stage of the goal setting process, it is important to think or dream BIG. You should also ensure that you think and dream in a positive way.

Thoughts create the feelings that you have. Eventually, the feelings that you experience create behaviors. In turn, the behaviors that you have will lead to actions.

It is these actions that bring forth results. If you start with a positive attitude on your dreams, you will experience positive results.

If you start with negative thoughts, the results will also be negative.

The S.M.A.R.T Formula

The S.M.A.R.T Formula as it pertains to goal setting is as follows:

S – Creating Specific Goals

M - Making Sure Goals Are Measurable

A - Attainable

R - Realistic

T - Timely

Action and Accountability

As you are setting your goals, and move through the goal setting process, it is important to ensure that you hold yourself accountable for those goals.

This is where action and accountability come into play.

Evaluate

When you are setting goals, it is important to come back around and evaluate where you are in conjunction to where you have been. This will determine if any adjustments need to be made.

As you can see, goal setting is not as complicated as it seems, but there are still some challenges that may be faced.

If you follow the goal setting process, you are sure to come out on top at all times.