Good Sunday Morning to you all,

We are now 15 days into the New Year and I am still thinking about what goals I want to set AND accomplish for 2017! This is unusual for me as I  most often have my goals in mind by New Year’s Day. This year there was a bit of family stuff going on that required my attention for the last few weeks. Now, there is a little breather and I am ready to focus on what my personal goals should look like.

The main  thing  about goals is that it gives us PURPOSE!  Goals give us a way to measure ourselves, including but not limited to,  our change and growth in life. The actual work  of goal setting is as important in our thought process as is the accomplishing of the goals.  If goals are too low, we may lack the enthusiasm to stay focused on them. If they are unrealistic, we may lose heart in trying to accomplish them.

During my  years as a Speech Language Pathologist, I set many goals for my clients. As a University Professor later in life, I taught special education teachers how to set goals for their students. Here are the basics in goal setting, whether for the above situations or for your personal life.

The goals have to be specific and relevant to you. Visualize exactly the thing you want to do, not just a vague notion of your action. What is most important to you that you want to improve in your life? What is worth the effort of all this work? Find a way for the goal to be measurable. You need to be able to see that you are making progress. Measuring goals in short increments, perhaps every two months, helps to keep you on track. The goals have to be realistic for your situation so that you WILL accomplish them. Finally, place your goal list in a place that you will see it EVERYDAY. Another idea is to put a picture related to the goal beside the list. I place mine in my office right above my computer. It reminds me to keep working!

How is your goal setting for 2017 coming along? If you haven’t started, it is never too late. Today is as good as any other day to set the goals that will help you stay focused on your PURPOSE!