When you know how to focus on your goals, you really can achieve more. When asked what your New Year’s resolution is, you may say “exercise more often.” That is not a goal, but a vague statement. If you state with certainty, “exercise 20 minutes every other day,” then you are setting a goal that is focused and achievable.
Step 1 – Define Your Goals
The first thing you need to do is define your goals. What kind of goals do you want to focus on?
Family Goals
If you have a Family, it is among the most important things in a your life, so it is important to set goals pertaining to our marriage and children. Whether there is something you would like to change about your parenting style or an area of your marriage that could use some work, working on family dynamics can make life happier and less stressful.
Of course family goals do not have to be that serious. Maybe your family has never been on a real vacation, and you would like to do that this year. Consciously setting goals for such things is the first step toward making them happen.
Family goals are not just for our spouses and children. We may also wish to set goals pertaining to our relationships with parents, siblings, or other family members. If you don’t see your parents as much as you would like or have had a feud with a sibling over the years, you could set goals to correct these situations.
Individual Goals
Setting goals pertaining exclusively to ourselves is something that many moms don’t take the time to do. But by working on aspects of our lives that are important to us, we can feel better about ourselves. When we feel good about ourselves we have better attitudes, and that makes us better parents and wives.
Women often face a dilemma. Family obligations often take precedence over career obligations. But it’s important to feel fulfilled in our careers as well as our families.
Setting career goals is just as important for a working mom as it is for anyone else. Whether we want to take our present careers to the next level or would like to start a new one, work is an important part of life. It should be treated as such.
Setting goals is important for women because they help us change things in our lives that are not as we would like them to be. Defining goals that pertain to both ourselves and our relationships with those who are important to us can result in changes that make our lives happier and more fulfilling.
This Ted Talk show how to focus on your goals and achieve your most ambitious ones:
Now let’s explore a couple of techniques on how to focus on your goals and achieve more results.
Make a List
Perhaps you may have applied for a specific job, and decided to make a list describing your strengths and weaknesses. The same focus is needed to list your goals in order to achieve them, with one exception. Add a third column indicating a timeline. For example: Let’s assume you want to quit smoking. This will be the title of your worksheet. In the first column, list the number of cigarettes you smoke a week.
The second column will feature the cost of purchasing cigarettes, and the third column will feature how much you cut down each week. Eventually, the number of cigarettes versus the cost will decrease the amount in column three. It is realistic, effective, and sends a subliminal message to your subconscious indicating the cost is outweighing the effect.
Prepare a Chart
In an Australian TV series about a cattle ranch run by women, the overseer had a chart in her room. It was her five-year goal. On the chart, she listed her educational pursuits; her first jobs; and her eventual goals, with her ultimate goal listed at the bottom. The uniqueness of the chart was akin to a chart one may obtain to list a family tree.
Every goal met was checked off. Using red and black pens to underscore certain achievements, she was well on her way to her final goal; that of owning her own cattle ranch. In this case scenario, art did imitate life.
Charts are a way in which one can really focus and measure their ability to attain certain goals. If additional education is required; add that to the chart. If an internship is needed to obtain a prime spot in an organization; add that as well.
Charts are maps which not only give direction, but keep us on the right path to success. So often we veer off, only to find we are lost and unable to navigate our way back. So too, a chart is a constant reminder of where we’ve been, and where we are going.
Now You Know How to Focus on Your Goals
The next time you are determined to reach a new goal in your life, write down the steps that will guide you to it. Be specific in your detail, and use it as a roadmap to achievement. Focus on it; memorize it, and become empowered by it. You’ll never fail, not at 30, not at 40 or more. Never.