The 7 Characteristics of Goals

The 7 Characteristics of Goals

Goals are personal. Goals have to be self-generated. Goals should not be reflective of what other people desire of you, rather they should be what you desire of yourself. When a goal is set, it should be done with a sense of challenge. The challenge gives one motivation where they must put forth effort to 

 achieve the goal. A goal should make you expect more from yourself and once you have achieved a certain goal you can determine if you can challenge yourself further. Goals must be realistic and able to be attained through hard work and determination, considering your resources and past history. If you set goals that you will be unable to meet, the end result will a sense of failure and lack of incentive to strive for better. As I move from step to step, I can look back and measure the success of that goal. Personally, when my youngest daughter walks across the stage on May 18th and receives her high school diploma, that that will have been a measurable goal that I have attained, and through hard work and determination I have been able to get b oth of my daughters through private school. My ex-husband, their father, walked out on us three years ago, leaving me with that expense and responsibility. Goals need to be approached with the attitude of “can do, will do.” Can do and will do will accomplish goals, “try and might” will not accomplish any goal.

The Five Steps to Writing Effective Goals

The first step to writing effective goals is to write down what you want to accomplish. The second step is to list any obstacles. This allows you to think about what you need to overcome. The third step is to know what resources are available to you to overcome the obstacles listed. The fourth step is to review and if needed, revise your tentative goal statement. The fifth and last step is to make sure your final statement is well written, concise and takes into consideration the seven characteristics of writing effective goals.s