Where are you headed for 2011

‘The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low….and we reach it’ – Michelangelo

Welcome to the New Year! 

In this weeks article I decided to focus on goal setting, as so often the beginning of the year is a time to reflect on the past and set new goals for 2011.  So many of us start with great new year resolutions, such as loosing weight, giving up smoking, finding a new job, but within a few weeks nothing has changed and life continues as normal.

So make 2011 a different year by setting powerful, compelling written goals that will propel you forward and charge you up with unstoppable motivation to achieve.

“Most people”, says Denis Waitley, author of The Psychology of Winning, spend more time planning a party, studying the newspaper, or making a Christmas list than they do planning their lives”, including their careers.

Yet by setting written goals it is more likely that you will succeed.  The key reasons for setting goals include:

Produce Action

Goals, when properly planted in the subconscious mind, produce action.  Goals create the energy and motivation and enable you to stay totally focussed, even when you don’t get the results you want when you want them as job-seeking is highly unpredictable.

Power of Positive Thought

Goal setting provides you the framework for the power of positive thought that will enable you to get that promotion and new job.  I’m not saying you can simply “think yourself into a new job, or career”, as no amount of positive thinking will work without action.  But, what I’m saying is the goal will enable you to ensure that you don’t “sabotage” the job search, by giving up on yourself.  I mean there will always be times of lapses and breakdowns in “willpower”, or you despair when you get a rejection letter, or you perform like an idiot at interview.  But with a strong goal you will change the negative thought into a positive thought, which in turn will result in positive ongoing daily actions.

Focus on what you what to Achieve

A goal provides you will focus on what you want to achieve, not on what you want to avoid.  I know this one sounds like semantics, but it is a very important distinction.  If I ask you to close your eyes and NOT to think about monkeys, you “mentally” see monkeys everywhere, as you can’t NOT think about something!  You either think about something or you don’t. 

So instead of :

• I can’t get a job, no matter what I do.
• Why can’t I get that promotion?
• I wish I could get a higher paying job.
• I don’t have the stomach for another rejection letter.

Replace this with:

• What can I do today that will take me closer to my ideal job?
• I can do it.
• How great am I going to feel today, after making 5 calls to decision makers?
• I have time to set aside everyday, to achieve my dream career.

How to set a goal

When setting a goal, use the SMART strategy.  SMART is the acronym that describes the five important characteristics of goal setting, namely:

Specific – Make sure your goal precisely spells out your desired result
Measurable – The goal states your target in measurable terms so you will know when you have arrived, as well as where you are at any specific moment
Achievable – The goal is physically possible to complete
Realistic – Your goal can be accomplished within the specified time and with available resources
Timed – There is a calendar date by which you plan to achieve your goals

Establish the emotional reason behind the goal

When using this framework, make sure you establish the emotional reasons why you want to achieve your goals.  There will be days when you feel lousy after not securing that job, or promotion.  The secret to staying motivated at times like these is not having a goal, but it’s establishing the reasons why you want that goal, or rather the purpose behind the goal.  Determining the reasons you want to achieve a goal adds emotion to it.  The more emotion you stir up, the more motivated you’ll be to go after it. 

Reward yourself for efforts, not just results

Job-seeking is really unpredictable.  Sometimes you will do everything exactly right and still don’t get the results you want when you want them.  So reward yourself for not only the results, but the challenging work that lead up to the result, otherwise you might feel as though you aren’t getting anywhere.  So if you make 10 cold calls to HR Personnel, then even if all the cold calling did not reap a result, reward yourself for the effort anyway.

Before you close this email

OK – before you close this email, start writing down your goals for 2011 NOW!  Goal setting is the key to your career success, so start by writing down your goals for the next 90 days.  If you don’t set goals and then implement these goals, by February, you will still be stuck in the same old job, frustrated, bored and wondering why 2011, is the “same as it ever was”.