What is a setup a Clear goal?

A clear goal should have enough details so you know what to do and can keep track of your progress until you succeed. It should have a clear purpose so you can change your plan if needed.

A clear goal tells you what you need to do to reach your target, how to track your progress, and when you need to finish. A vague goal lacks these details.

Example Vague Goal

Here's an example of a vague goal:

"I want to be a good swimmer."

1. This goal is unclear because "being a good swimmer" means different things to different people. For a beginner, it might mean just learning to swim, while for a professional, it could mean crossing an ocean. Without a clear target, you won't know when you've achieved it. 2. There's no deadline mentioned, so there's no urgency to take action. 3. It doesn't suggest any specific actions or plans to track progress.

A vague goal like this is unlikely to be achieved, or you won't even know when you've achieved it.

How to make this a clear goal?

Now, let's dig deeper and make this goal clearer. To do that, we need to understand why we want to achieve it and the benefits it will bring. We only have limited time and energy, so it's important to focus on goals that serve our purpose and improve our lives.

So, why do we want to achieve this goal?

1. Maybe I want to learn a new skill. 2. Perhaps I want to establish a new routine to stay fit and healthy. 3. I might aspire to become a professional swimmer like Nathan Adrian. 4. I could be looking to spend time on activities where I can make friends or even meet my life partner. 5. Or maybe I saw a sport on TV and felt inspired, wanting to experience the game myself.

There could be many reasons. We need to choose the right goal and plan accordingly so we stay motivated and feel proud when we achieve it. There's no one-size-fits-all goal, which is why goals taken from templates often fail.

Setting a challenging goal with little benefit can make you feel bad about yourself and lose hope in the process.

To become a professional swimmer:

If your goal is to become a professional swimmer, your aim could be winning a national or international medal. This requires intense practice and commitment. You must have a strong desire to become a swimmer, and achieving it should bring you immense joy.

In this case, you could set your goal as follows: "Win a national-level swimming competition within the next 18 months by practicing 16 hours a week consistently."

This goal is quite challenging, and committing to 16 hours of practice per week is a significant commitment. However, if you're a beginner, this goal might be unrealistic. Even if you manage to keep up with the commitment, your chances of success might be slim, and you'd invest a lot of time and energy without guaranteed results.

Alternatively, you could extend the deadline to 5 years, saying: "Win a national-level swimming competition within the next 60 months by practicing 12 hours a week consistently." While this might seem more reasonable, setting such a long-term goal increases the risk of losing track and motivation over time. Goals set beyond 12 months are often taken less seriously, and it's easy to lose focus.

So, what should you do?

Unless you're already proficient in swimming, setting such a challenging goal might not be worthwhile. Instead, you could set shorter-term goals to build your skills before aiming for larger achievements.

For example, as a beginner, your initial goals could be:

1. Enroll in a swimming class and obtain a certificate within the next 6 months. 2. Practice swimming for 2 hours every day for 100 days by March 2024. 3. Participate in 10 local swimming competitions and win at least 3 competitions within the next 3 years.

These short-term goals are attainable for a beginner and can help you make progress. Once you've achieved some of these goals and improved your skills, you can dream bigger, setting ambitious goals like winning a gold medal in the Olympics.

Additionally, these short-term goals are easy to track and can be achieved without disrupting your other life priorities.

Purpose is fitness:

If the goal is simply to stay fit and active through swimming, we can adjust our goal like this:

"Swim for 20 minutes every other day for the next 3 months."

Since the aim is fitness, I'm not restricted to just swimming. After 3 months, I can also try cycling, yoga, or any other activity. This keeps things interesting, prevents boredom, and helps me maintain my fitness levels.

Purpose is to find friends:

If my goal is to find friends or a partner to spend time with, joining a swimming club could be a good option. But I can also look into other ways to meet people who share my interests. In this case, swimming becomes an activity rather than the main goal. The right goal would be something like "Join a fun activity where I can meet like-minded people and make friends by the end of this month." If a swimming club seems like a good fit, then swimming becomes my plan. Otherwise, I can try other activities.

Summary

In conclusion, when we analyze the purpose and benefits of our goals, it helps us clarify our plans and enjoy the process. This often leads to achieving our goals in a shorter time than expected. It's important to create goals that make sense for us rather than simply using templates.

Want to print your doc?
This is not the way.

Try clicking the ⋯ next to your doc name or using a keyboard shortcut (

CtrlP

) instead.