Personal Goal Setting - 7 Key
Steps
How do you begin personal goal
setting? What are the areas you
can start setting goals? These are
questions you would ask if you
are new to goal setting.
As a career builder you are
probably more concerned about
career goals. However, there are
other areas of your life that you
can set goals for yourself.
Goals shouldn’t be about career
alone. Goals can be set in the
area of attitude, career,
education, family, financial,
physical and personal/social.
Each of these is interrelated. They
are anchored on what you value
and what are your priorities.
Your personal goal setting can be
in these areas:
1. Attitude
What are the attitudes and habits
that are holding you back from
reaching greater heights? How is
this attitude affecting you, your
career and your relationship with
your family? Make specific points
to change this attitude that is
affecting the way you behave.
Your attitude determines how far
you can go in life. Take time to
confront your negative attitude
and make a plan to change it.
This area of personal goal setting
is one of the most important.
2. Career
In the course of interviewing
hundreds of candidates, I am
sometimes surprised at the
number of candidates that do
not have career goals. Where do
you want to be in 3 years time?
Where do you see yourself in 5
years time? How will you get
there? What are the skills you
need? What are the potential
barriers? As a career builder
newbie, you may not have all the
answers. In that case, seek
someone you can talk to or
better yet – mentor you.
3. Education
Continuous education is
important for success in life. Not
just your career. And education
should not be just for the sake of
career promotions although
people often do that. You may
want to learn new things that
can enrich your life. Learning is a
process, a journey – not a
destination. You should never
stop learning in order to
improve.
4. Family
How much time do you want to
spend with your family? What are
some of the things that you have
neglected to do for them the past
year? Something that you have
always wanted to do for them –
perhaps a holiday? Put these
down in writing. It may seem
simple but trust me this is one
area where it is challenging for
personal goal setting. Sometimes
we misplace our priorities.
5. Financial
How much money do you want
to save by when? What would be
the big-ticket items that you
would like to buy? A house? A
car? How much do you plan to
earn by when? Having a financial
goal is crucial in enjoying the
material side of things. Financial
rewards are directly related to
our careers. Therefore, they are
important in your personal goal
setting.
6. Health – Physical/Mental
If you aren’t healthy physically
and mentally, you won’t be able
to enjoy the fruits of your labor.
What are the steps you are
willing to take in order to achieve
optimum physical and mental
health? Do you plan to run X
number of days in a week?
Meditate an hour each day? What
are the measurements you
would use for the goals in this
area?
7. Personal/Social
Allocate time for yourself too. Set
a goal to achieve this for yourself.
This is your time for the things
you enjoy. Is it getting together
with friends? Or it could be
meeting new friends. Some
people measure their success by
the amount of free time they
have for themselves to pursue
their hobbies.
These are some of the areas you
can consider when considering
your personal goal setting. If you
are ambitious enough – choose
each of these areas and start
writing some goals for these to
be achieved for the year.