We all have goals, some big, some small, some safe, and some bold.
We wish to become a painter, to move to a new house, to write a book, to eat healthily, to exercise more, to become less anxious, and to run a marathon.
The list is endless, if ill defined. And yet, how much do we really want each one?
If something is vital to us, we need to make plans.
So, how do we do this?
Goal setting is widely accepted as the most effective way to focus our attention on the right activities, energize us, and increase our commitment (Sheard, 2013).
And yet, unless the goal is well formulated, the strategy appropriate, and the actions directed, it will lack purpose, relevance, direction, and accountability (Ogbeiwi, 2017).
Thankfully, this is an area that has received considerable scientific attention.
Goals are most effective when we use well-formulated frameworks that provide a logical, reliable platform to plan and monitor their completion.
Use the techniques and tools that follow to inspire you and find out what you want to achieve, why, and how you are going to do it.
Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Goal Achievement Exercises for free. These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients create actionable goals and master techniques to create lasting behavior change.
There are many types of goals. But ultimately, all goals boil down to one thing:
We need to move from one state to another, from where we are now to where we want to be.
Firstly, what sort of goal do you want to achieve?
The type of goal will influence your approach.
Goals should be meaningful. They should challenge us, change us, and sometimes lie in the discomfort zone.
In Your Best Year Ever, Michael Hyatt (2019) outlines four steps (modified below) for defining goals that stretch us and help us overcome our built-in resistance.
Humans have a set of innate psychological needs, one of which is to add meaning to life (Ryan & Deci, 2018).
Does this goal align with your overall life goals?
Use the steps below to focus on becoming more aware of the most meaningful things in your life (modified from Ivtzan, Chan, Gardner, & Prashar, 2011; Ivtzan, 2016):
As you refine your goals, make sure they continue to align with the picture you have created of a meaningful life.
Write down and regularly review your goals.
The more vividly they are captured, the more likely you are to accomplish them.
The GROW model (Goals, Reality, Options, and Way Forward) is a simple but highly effective method for setting goals, recognizing where you are now, and identifying what to do next (Whitmore, 2014).
Complete the four worksheets as follows:
What abilities do you have or need to deliver your goals?
The Wheel of Success identifies the skills and abilities that promote your very best performance (Whyte, 2015).
For example, a runner training for a fast marathon time may have the speed but lack endurance.
| Attributes for marathoner | Current self rating | Future target score |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | 4 | 4 |
| Endurance | 2 | 5 |
| Nutrition | 3 | 4 |
| Rest | 3 | 4 |
| Motivation | 4 | 5 |
By scoring where you are now (blue) and where you want to be (green), it is possible to focus time, energy, and resources, on improving areas where you fall short.
How do you improve the skills you have identified?
Thankfully, we know the answer.
Research has confirmed that deliberate practice results in expertise.
The quality and the form the deliberate practice takes are more important than the number of hours devoted to performing the task (Ericsson, 2007; 2012).
Identify and connect with the motivation behind each goal.
Intrinsic motivation – being driven by internal rewards – increases engagement and the likelihood that you will reach the goal (Ryan & Deci, 2018).
Michael Hyatt (2019) has the following suggestions:
Goals that align with your values – personal growth, contributing to the broader community, etc. – are strong intrinsic motivators and increase vitality.
Are you ready to begin setting clear and defined SMART goals?
Follow the steps in the diagram below (adapted from Whyte, 2015):
If you answer ‘no’ to any of the questions, then you must revise the challenge or the environment before setting the goal.
Once you have answered ‘yes’ to all three questions, you are ready to define the goal to meet the challenge head on.
Goal setting not only helps you to complete the task, but also impacts wellbeing, represents your strive to achieve personal change, and enhances your meaning and purpose in life (Sheard, 2013).
To achieve something big, you need to break it down into a set of smaller, manageable tasks. Each time you complete one, you move nearer to the overall goal.
The widely used SMART, or slightly extended SMARTER, template ensures that each goal or sub-goal is realistic, achievable, and time-bound.
Specific – Goals should be clear and concise.
Measurable – What does success look like? How is it measured?
Achievable – The goal or task must be challenging but possible. Gently pushing the limits encourages improvement and growth.
Relevant – Does the goal fit with your overall life goals and core values?
Time-bound – When will you finish?
Exciting – What excites you? The benefits should be worthwhile to maintain commitment.
Reviewable – Circumstances change. Revisit the goals, and revise them if needed.
The SMART Goals Worksheet offers a valuable tool for defining and documenting a SMART goal.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a solution-focused therapy, ultimately aiming for the client to become their own coach (Neenan & Palmer, 2001; Wilding, 2015).
Goals should target the problem to be explored and outline the time available.
What do you want to achieve? How do you want things to be different?
The following steps (modified from Wilding, 2015) help you set appropriate therapy goals:
Well done! You are well on the way to having a set of goals.
Some goals are urgent but do not need analysis.
Acting upon them will immediately make your life better.
I would like to get the car fixed.
I would like to visit my mother; she is unwell.
Prioritize your goals and tackle the urgent ones first.
Are the goals achieved through action or a change in the way you think?
Label your goals as either:
Labeling each goal will confirm whether you need to work on how you think, behave, or both.
These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients create actionable goals and master techniques for lasting behavior change.
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Coaching needs to be goal driven to maximize its benefits.
The following two worksheets will help:
If your coping strategies are not effective against the problems you face, then a set of actions are needed to direct the best way forward.
The Coping Styles Formulation worksheet identifies a list of problems, potential coping strategies, and the advantages and disadvantages of each one.
Mindfulness is often taught as part of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). Clients are helped to gain awareness of their thoughts and feelings and eliminate behaviors that interfere with goals (Soler et al., 2012).
Being in the right state of mind and grounding yourself in the present can help you identify and deliver your goals.
The 3-Step Mindfulness Worksheet is deceptively simple but provides a valuable way of practicing mindfulness throughout the day and bringing awareness to the present.
The Positive Psychology Toolkit© is a groundbreaking practitioner resource containing over 500 science-based exercises, activities, interventions, questionnaires, and assessments created by experts using the latest positive psychology research.
Updated monthly. 100% Science-based.
“The best positive psychology resource out there!”
— Emiliya Zhivotovskaya, Flourishing Center CEO
Goal setting is crucial to maximize and direct limited resources in education.
However, the teacher’s and student’s states of mind are equally important.
Like all of us, students and teachers need to be motivated to meet their goals.
This Self-Directed Speech Worksheet can help you change your self-directed speech and increase voluntary, or autonomous, motivation, which is linked to goal fulfillment (Ryan & Deci, 2018).
There are four steps to this exercise:
Changing our inner narrative can be an effective way to motivate ourselves toward achieving personal, exciting goals.
Focus and attention are hugely important to the completion of goals. The absence of either will lead to an environment of distraction.
The Teaching Kids to Thrive worksheet discusses what mindfulness is and is not.
It helps to provide sufficient distance from disturbing or unwanted thoughts to act and deliver on outcomes.
Setting goals for children can be challenging.
Lack of focus, ease of distraction, and failing motivation are all possible challenges to overcome.
And yet, children asked to engage in a goal they value are likely to expend more effort and perform better (Koufoudakis, Erwin, Beighle, & Thornton, 2016).
An excellent starting point for setting goals with children is to identify what inspires a sense of meaning in their lives.
Start by downloading and working through the three Meaning and Valued Living Exercises.
Children need to gain an understanding of their strengths, along with what they find difficult.
The Self Awareness Worksheet is written for young children but is valuable at any age.
Through helping a child understand what they are good at, what they find hard, and what they like and don’t like, it is possible to define a set of goals that mix strengths and weaknesses.
Goals at any age should be challenging to encourage growth, but not beyond the child’s ability to complete, or they may become disillusioned and give up.
SMART goals are an effective way to direct focus in children.
The Student Goal Setting Worksheet is simple to complete, even for young children. Here is an overview of the questions and statements to consider:
Working through each of these will help a child understand which goals are important to them.
Goal setting templates can be a useful base from which to start planning. We share two templates especially applicable to business and employees.
Many employees are comfortable with the idea of setting SMART goals.
However, despite the familiarity, their value within the work environment is often underestimated.
When taken seriously, SMART goals can motivate employees to succeed beyond their current level of expertise and identify future opportunities for training and development (Clough & Strycharczyk, 2015).
Focusing on positive mental images can prepare and protect our minds, help us cope with change, and increase self-belief.
Mentally working through each step in as much detail as possible—imagining sounds, smells, touch, thoughts, emotions, and physical responses—on our way to hitting goals can feel as real to the mind as actually performing the activity (Clough & Strycharczyk, 2015).
Imagine feeling confident, in control, and enjoying the challenge and the moment.
