Goal setting is a direct path to achieving any goals

Hi all! Lyudmila is in touch. What are you willing to do for $1,000,000? Probably a lot! Are you ready to work like a gray gelding for 10 years for the sake of this money? And if you found out that as soon as you earn your first million, it will be stolen from you on the same day and you will be the same person again, would you begin to hunch over the years? And if you know that this million will cause your death, would you start earning it? It turns out that you are no longer willing to do much for a million dollars! In a person’s life, the end does not always justify the means and achieving the goal depends on the circumstances. In this article we will talk about what goal setting is and why we need it.

COMPLETE LIST OF HUMAN SKILLS

What is goal setting

What is goal setting in simple words? Let us define the concept of goal and goal setting and characterize the process.

Goal setting is a conscious choice, setting a goal (the main task), identifying subtasks and finding ways to achieve them. A goal is an object, an object, a state to achieve which a person makes volitional efforts. The choice and achievement of goals are based on the needs of the individual. They set the direction of movement and determine motivation. If you dream about “something” and think that you will get it “somehow” or do it “someday,” then you will never achieve what you want. Only specifics and active actions will make you a happy person.

Goal setting is considered in psychology, philosophy and social science. It is defined as the process of selecting ideas, means, resources and establishing the boundaries of acceptable deviations in the implementation of the chosen idea. It's a continuous process. Why? Because even in the process of achieving a goal, new ideas are born.

The goal setting scheme includes the following blocks and levels:

Important! In simple words, goal setting is a person’s conscious determination of what, when and how he will achieve it. This is not only choosing a goal, but also developing a step-by-step plan for achieving it.

Why do we need a goal?

The big problem is that not all people want to find some kind of goal, because not everyone understands why. So everything is fine. But the trick is that if we don’t have a goal, then someone else will set goals for us.

I sometimes joke that if you don’t figure out what to do for the weekend in the spring, you’ll go to your mother-in-law’s house to plant potatoes.

Someone will definitely come up with a case for you and write you into their history. Therefore, if you are really tired of fitting into other people’s stories and you understand that you have not moved with your own for a long time, then you need to bother and set yourself some kind of goal.

The first thing to do is set a goal, set a goal for yourself

. Start doing something for this, because this is also a separate process. When you have set this task for yourself, you will attend some training events, watch videos on YouTube, or pick up and read the book “Start with the Essentials.” You will have more understanding in this direction. Accordingly, the likelihood that you will find where you would like to go increases.

If we take specific tools, then, for example, every day I re-prescribe for myself one thing for life, one thing for 5 years, for someday, for a year, for a week and for a day. Every day I consciously choose what I will do tomorrow.

Sometimes it happens that I don't do my one thing. Sometimes it happens that I don’t do it for 5 days in a row. But at the same time, I have an understanding with which I record that I didn’t do something. I admit that I have lived through the day, dealt with important issues, but these issues most likely do not lead me to my overall goal.

So I try to switch to what needs to be done. It somehow keeps me focused and on my toes.

Why is it needed?

Why is goal setting necessary? Without the ability to set goals, it is impossible to achieve success in life and its individual areas: work, study, love. Consistently defining goals and achieving them helps an individual move forward confidently, conquer new heights, and improve the quality and standard of living. A successful person always knows what he wants and how to achieve it.

He who does not have his own goals lives for others. He becomes driven, controlled. He gives his time and energy to other people, helping to achieve their goals. Those people who know how to set goals become leaders. They are leaders, not followers.

Let us present in the form of a table a general comparative analysis of the conscious and unconscious organization of the goal-setting process according to the main criteria:

Thus, goal setting increases the overall efficiency of life and human productivity, helps manage time and activities, develops awareness and systematic thinking. In addition, it helps to find the purpose and meaning of life, relieves fears and anxieties.

Important! In psychology, it is customary to distinguish two types (types) of goal setting: active (conscious) and passive (unconscious).

In what areas is it used?

As we have already mentioned, goal setting is in demand in all areas of life. Let's look at several particular areas where the ability to set goals and achieve them is the basis for success:

1. Pedagogy and psychology. Any subject-subject interaction has a main goal, subtasks and means of solving them. There are hundreds of psychological and pedagogical theories, dozens of training and educational programs, thousands of teaching, education and correction techniques. You can't do this without planning.
2. Sport. Athletes need training in order to set new records and raise the personal bar of achievement higher and higher. And this is impossible without goal setting. It helps to gradually develop skills and choose increasingly complex goals.
3. Business. You may have heard the quote from Steve Jobs that you should not work 12 hours a day, but with your head. This refers to the importance of goal setting, planning and analytics. Where does a business start? From setting the goals of the project, or more precisely from developing a business plan. First, a person sets a goal for himself, and then thinks about what steps he needs to go through, what tools to get, etc.
4. Self-development. Getting rid of bad habits and developing positive habits, changing your way of thinking, giving up destructive attitudes, getting rid of grievances and working through traumas - this and much more requires the ability to set goals and achieve them.

In addition, goal setting is used at higher levels. For example, in politics and any areas where leadership and management of people are involved. Knowledge of the principles and fundamentals of goal setting is important for an objective study of society and interaction with it. It is important to know the patterns of functioning of society in order to set goals and organize goal setting. Social science is a field of knowledge that serves as a prototype for personal goal setting.

Interesting! You can’t do without goal setting in relationships with friends or in the sphere of love. However, in this case it is not so much about individual work, setting and achieving personal goals, but rather about teamwork, choosing and achieving common goals.

Self-education course “Goal Setting Technology” article on the topic

Chapter 1 "Definitions"

We continue the conversation we started about goals and goal setting.

First of all, we need to define the terms in order to continue speaking the same language. So what is the goal?

The modern explanatory dictionary of the Russian language gives the following definitions of purpose:

1. Object to hit when shooting or throwing
2. Pre-designated destination
3. What they strive for, what they want to achieve; the main task
4. Intention, desire

In V.I. Dahl’s explanatory dictionary, goal is understood as “the ultimate desire, aspiration, intention, what someone is trying to achieve.”

In the scientific literature, the following concepts of goals are most common:

1. anticipated result of activity;
2. subject projection of the future;
3. a subjective image of what is desired, anticipating the reflection of events in a person’s mind.

So, a goal, as a scientific concept, is a representation in the consciousness of the subject of a result to achieve

which his activities are directed. That is, a goal is what one strives for, what must be achieved, implemented, realized, received.

In order for the goal to become known and understandable to other people, it must be described, i.e., formulate the goal. In the formulation of the goal, it is necessary to clearly define what exactly we want to achieve. In this case, we cannot use terms to describe the process; we need to outline the result (“goal-result”). Of course, many of us are accustomed to formulating a goal in terms of a process (“goal-process”) and the new principle, at first glance, seems too unusual. This is also explained by the fact that very often we were engaged in formal planning and also related to goal setting.

Real planning and corresponding goal setting require new approaches and a new attitude towards oneself. If we want to not only set real goals, but also really achieve them, then we need to fundamentally change our approaches to goal setting. It is new approaches to goal setting that we will consider during the study of this course.

The goal is:

1. What has meaning and value for us can satisfy our desires, ambitions, and ensure the fulfillment of our professional duties. For example: “Victory in the Olympics of teachers “Modern Education”. The formulation of the goal in this case could be as follows: “I became the winner of the Teachers’ Olympiad in the “5 Peaks” category.”
2. Something completely real, definite, concrete, measurable, having form and content. For example: “I won the professional competition for teachers “My class for my school” this year.”
3. Something that doesn’t exist yet, but we want to achieve it, get it, have it, use it. For example, “Increase in monthly salary in the amount of 2000 rubles.” I’m sure you can handle formulating this goal yourself :-).
4. Something that needs to be achieved (literally or figuratively), something that will require effort and resources. For example: “My work was recognized as the best according to the results of a comprehensive assessment for this year.”
5. What we need is not in general, but at a specific time, in a specific place, under specific conditions. For example: “I had a wonderful holiday with my family in a tent in a pine forest on the shores of Lake Ladoga in July 2015.”

Considering the above criteria individually and collectively, we come to the conclusion that a goal is the cornerstone of meaningful activity, it is a guideline for understanding our desires, it sets the vector for our thoughts, words and actions, it is an indicator of the achievement of our desires. The goal fills our activities with meaning, provides our efforts with motivational potential, and is a criterion for the success of our movement in the chosen direction. From here the importance of setting a goal and the importance of its precise definition and precision of its formulation becomes clear. For further discussion, let's accept that a goal is an idea of ​​the desired result of our activity or the activities of other people, and the formulation of a goal is a description of the idea of ​​this result. Is it necessary to set goals in pedagogy? A rhetorical question. The pedagogical process is always a goal-oriented process. The teacher manages the educational process, manages students, their activities, therefore, must know exactly where and to what goals he is leading his ship and his team. Without a clear idea of ​​the goal, it is impossible to achieve effective management and high-quality educational results. Moreover, students should also have a clear idea of ​​the goals of the educational process. Awareness of the goals of one’s learning and understanding of the significance of these goals provides a high level of motivation for students, fills their educational activities with meaning, and makes a serious contribution to the formation of an individual learning trajectory.

Educational goals are specified in state educational standards. They determine the results of training, education, development and socialization of students at different stages of the educational process. The goals of each specific educational event must be determined by the teacher, correlating these goals with the goals of the standards. Setting a pedagogical goal means determining those changes in the student’s personality that the teacher wants to achieve. This means that when planning an educational event, it is necessary to approach setting goals from the perspective of the entire complex of tasks of the modern educational process, not limiting ourselves only to subject goals. In this case, each educational event will contribute to the advancement of students towards quality preparation for modern life.

Do you want to ask how you can achieve goals in the classroom that are not related to the study of the subject? My answer is that within the framework of reproductive learning technology, such opportunities are sharply limited. Therefore, new educational standards are focused on modern educational technologies, for example, the technology of active learning methods (AML), moderation technology, and social design technology. In the AMO technology format, a subject teacher can quite reasonably set a set of educational goals and confidently achieve them.

Let's see why the teacher sets goals?

1. For the purposes of the educational event, key results are formulated that all participants in the educational process will strive for.
2. Goals determine the directions along which the educational process will be built.
3. Goals help determine the necessary content, sources, technologies and methods of training, education, development and socialization of students.
4. Goals are indicators that provide an accurate determination of the effectiveness of the efforts of the teacher and students.
5. The goal is a motivator for the cognitive activity of students and the pedagogical activity of the teacher.

Agree, Galina Rocheva, there is a sufficient set of reasons for applying effective goal-setting techniques in practice. Thus, we have briefly defined the meaning-forming and substantive components of goal setting, and now we can move on to the technical (instrumental) component of the process of defining and formulating a goal, i.e., goal setting. But before this, it is necessary to complete a practical task, and also discuss what mistakes are most common when setting goals, so as not to make them when setting a goal.

We recommend that you complete the practical task right now, and you will become familiar with goal setting errors tomorrow by studying the next issue of the course.

Practical task 2.

1. Formulate your understanding of the goal. Compare it with the wording given in the text. Which one do you like best?
2. Formulate goals for the educational processes you previously selected. Record your goal statements in your course workbook\computer.

And do it right now!

Good luck, colleague!

PS The results of the completed practical task do not need to be sent anywhere yet. Having completed it, you have completed one more for your final task!

Chapter 2 “Errors in goal setting.”

Let’s, before we begin to directly master the technique of effective goal setting, let’s determine why our usual methods of goal setting do not lead to the planned results. It is clear that identifying a goal using the random method can only end in success by chance, but, after all, other home-grown systems very often waste our efforts. To determine why this happens, let’s look at the most common mistakes in goal setting.

1. Undiagnostically set goals. The formulation of the goal in this case does not allow us to objectively determine whether the goal has been achieved or not and, if achieved, to what extent. Most often, such formulations do not contain a description of the result of the activity, for example, “study the chapter”, “read the text”, “get acquainted with new material”, etc. A diagnostically set goal involves a formulation that describes learning outcomes expressed through student actions that can be realistically identified. Such goals are called diagnostic (diagnosable, diagnostic, or operational. Examples of formulations of diagnostic learning goals can be found in the taxonomy of B.S. Blumai, known to teachers, and similar developments by other authors.
2. Globalization of purpose. The stated goal of the classroom is to cultivate tolerance among students. It is clear that the goal is not realistic, since this cannot be achieved in one class hour; a full-fledged program is needed, consisting of a set of interrelated activities, activities that have more local goals, the achievement of which, in their entirety, will contribute to the development of tolerance.
3. Narrowing the range of goals or lowering the level of the goal. Setting a weak goal when there are resources and potential to achieve a larger goal or even a higher level goal. Achieving a limited goal also makes sense, but in this case a situation of missed opportunities arises, the effectiveness of the educational process decreases, for example, when the teacher does not set goals for education and development, limiting himself only to subject goals.
4. Uninteresting goals for students. The goal is set in a plane that is far from the interests of students, without reference to the real current or future needs of students, without explaining the practical significance of the goal for important aspects of life. The goal is imposed on students from the outside, without taking into account their interests and their motives.
5. Unclearly defined, incomprehensible to students, vague, insufficiently specific goals. “Go there, I don’t know where, bring something, I don’t know what.”
6. Inaccurately set goals. The formulated goal does not reflect or does not accurately reflect the desired situation. A contradiction arises, an inconsistency between the goal and the activity. Even quality work does not lead to achieving the desired situation.
7. Declarativeness in goal setting. Replacing a goal with a slogan. A goal is a wish or a goal in general. "Let's overcome illiteracy." “It would be nice to work in this direction.” “It is necessary to achieve significant success in studying this subject,” etc.
8. Substituting a goal with a task or topic. Let's imagine an ordinary lesson. The teacher says that today the purpose of the lesson is to study goal setting. And all students study goal setting together for 45 allotted minutes. We studied something, left the class and forgot. We rested during the break and went to study the next topic of the next lesson. With a similar result. Goal setting is the theme of the course. The purpose of this course is not to study goal setting, but to acquire specific goal setting skills. Another example of a similar goal is to clean the windows in the classroom. Violators of academic discipline, left as punishment after lessons, gladly spread dirt on the glass and calmly reported to the class teacher about the work done. Moreover, they were absolutely honest, saying that the goal was achieved - the windows were washed. But washing windows is a task, and the goal is clean glass and frames, without streaks, stains and drips. What we set as a goal is what we got.

Teachers are often confused about the terms and concepts of goals and objectives. Let's figure out what the difference between a goal and an objective is. In order to distinguish a goal from a task, it is necessary to resort to common sense and the existing formulation. The goal should be formulated as a result of an activity, and the task as an activity. For example, the goal: “I am proficient in goal setting techniques.” In order to achieve this goal I will have to solve several problems:

1. Find a course on goal setting
2. Sign up for it.
3. Complete training.
4. Test acquired knowledge and skills.
5. Submit the final assignment.

Having successfully solved all these problems, I achieved (well) my goal.

Thus, the goal answers the question “What has been done, (what will be done)?”, and the task – “What needs to be done for this?” That is, a goal statement describes the end result that you want to achieve, and task statements describe the actions that must be taken in order for this result to be achieved. How to formulate the desired result - I own (already done) or I will master (will be done) - decide for yourself what is closer and clearer to you. Both formulations are possible, but the first one has higher energy. If it is easier for you to move from a formal goal setting (What needs to be done) through an intermediate formulation (What will be done), use it. This will already be a correct goal setting.

The energy of the formulation is essential to achieving the goal. When defining a goal as a desired result, you include powerful motivational potential in the formulation! Compare two formulations: “Master the goal-setting technique,” ​​and “I have mastered the goal-setting technique.” Do you feel the difference? What formulation attracts you, attracts you with its absolutely definite completeness? To master it - I’ll start someday, provided it’s possible to succeed, etc. Mastered means mastered, the conversations are over, we need to act, i.e., solve the assigned tasks and move towards the magnet - the goal!

Thus, formulating a goal in the category “goal-result” rather than “goal-process”, in addition to accurately describing your desire, gives the goal a powerful motivational charge.

If the goal is a specific target, an exact definition of the state you desire, then it must be described accordingly, because the desired state is when “the technique has been mastered,” i.e. I own this technique, I know how to apply it in practice, I formulate my goals correctly, and not “I still have to master it.”

By formulating the goal as “I already have”, “I already know”, “I have already mastered”, “I already own”, you set a vector of action and fill your actions and the actions of students with an energy charge. Therefore, it makes obvious sense to formulate a goal as a completed action, as an already achieved result. Of course, this is an unusual goal setting, since in formal planning we are accustomed to setting a goal with an imperfect verb. But the time has come to move from formal planning to real planning (Details about real planning in the book “Educational technologies of new standards. Part 3. Social design in school” and in the Program for training methodologists in social design in school) and new goal setting is one of necessary steps.

Concluding this chapter, it must be said that this is, of course, not a complete list of common goal-setting errors, but it shows quite convincingly that there are real difficulties in understanding goals and setting them competently.

That's all for today. You can proceed to the third practical task. It's very useful :-).

Practical task 3.

1. Analyze the goals you set for your work. Do they contain the errors that we have just discussed?
2. Open your work journal and scan the statements of goals recorded in it that you formulated in the last practical task, comparing them with the typical goal setting errors given in this chapter. Is everything okay with your wording?

Chapter 3. Smart Goal Setting Method

Surely, dear colleague, you already have a question - how to avoid all the listed mistakes and formulate the correct goal? How to competently structure the goal-setting process so that upon completion we can obtain a complete formulation of the goal that meets all the necessary requirements. I will answer your question - all this can be done using goal setting techniques. Today, the most well-known technique or method is SMART (smart - from English - smart), which allows you to formulate a clear and specific (smart) goal. The essence of the method is to formulate a goal based on certain criteria, the use of which determines the correctness and viability of the resulting formulation.

SMART:S – Specific criteria. The goal must be extremely clear, precise, specific, not allowing for double interpretation.

M – Measurable. The goal must be measurable, which presupposes the presence of quantitative and qualitative criteria, having achieved which, one can be confident in achieving the goal.

A – Achievable. The goal must be achievable, taking into account external opportunities and risks, as well as the resources that you or your team have.

R - Relevant. The goal must be relevant to the situation being changed, the changes must meet your needs and (or) the needs of your students.

T – Time-limited. The goal must be achieved in a limited time. Determine exactly the time or period for achieving the chosen goal.

Let's look at the application of smart goal criteria using examples.

S – specificity in the formulation of the goal. Using this criterion, it is necessary to reflect in the statement of the goal what exactly you want to achieve: for example, “Within a year I will take three distance courses in multimedia technologies presented at My University,” “I will visit the Hermitage during my summer vacation,” “I will meet with friends on Saturday evening."

M – measurability of the goal, i.e., the introduction of quantitative indicators into the formulation of the goal. For example, “I’ll take 1 cup of tea, 2 sweets and one cake for afternoon tea”, “Five people from my class, together with the teacher-leader, will take part in the school project competition “My class - my school”, “At the All-Russian scientific and methodological conference “ Project activities in modern education" teachers of our school will publish 7 articles." The achievement of any of these goals is very easy to check by comparing the achieved indicators with those indicated in the formulation.

A – achievability, reality of the goal for you or your students. “Petya Ivanov will finish the first quarter with excellent marks,” “Every day I will promise myself to do exercises in the morning” :-), “I will purchase and master the educational and methodological set “How to develop a school project?” . As you can see, to achieve these goals you and (or) your students have the necessary resources, and the existing conditions really make it possible to achieve these goals.

R – what you want to do must be necessary for you or the person for whom you are going to change the existing situation. For example, “I will add to the goals of my lessons the achievement of meta-subject results by students”, “I will tell my colleagues about this electronic course”, “On the weekend I will go to the cinema with my child.” The goal may be small, but even in this case, you need to think about its compliance with the needs being satisfied.

T – by entering time indicators into the goal, you ensure that the goal is verifiable according to one more criterion: “I will check all notebooks before 11 pm”, “I will master the course “Goal Setting Techniques” in 7 days”, “I will reformulate the goals in the notes of my lessons by April 2013 " It would seem a simple criterion, but it is rarely used, although it is very important. The absence of this criterion allows you to achieve the goal indefinitely, without any guarantees of ever achieving it.

Let's check the goal statement for compliance with each of the given criteria. Let’s take a goal that is simple and understandable for teachers: “Petya Ivanov will receive an “excellent” grade in the second quarter in my subject.”

S – Specific (specificity in the formulation of the goal). The goal must be extremely clear, precise, specific, not allowing for double interpretation. We check the wording - is everything accurately and specifically stated? Who will get what exactly? My student, Petya Ivanov, will get an A. In what subject will he receive it? Which I lead. Is there only Petya Ivanov in your class? For now, yes. Then, according to this criterion, everything is extremely accurate. Let's move on.

M – Measurable (goal measurability). The goal must be measurable, which presupposes the presence of quantitative and qualitative criteria, having achieved which, one can be confident in achieving the goal. We check - the subject for which one assessment is being carried out, namely yours, will receive five points, and not 4 and not 5 plus. Everything is measurable and verifiable. The criterion is met.

A – Achievable (achievability, reality of the goal). The goal must be achievable, taking into account external opportunities and risks, as well as the resources that you or your team have. Let's check the goal against this criterion. Petya Ivanov studies well in your subject, but falls just short of an A, because sometimes he is lazy, doesn’t study enough, and hopes for chance. But you and Petya have developed an individual trajectory, identified the motives that are important to Petya, and are confident that with joint efforts you will be able to achieve this goal. This means that you described everything correctly according to this criterion.

R – Relevant (what you want to do must be necessary). The goal must be relevant to the situation being changed, the changes must meet your needs and (or) the needs of your students. Let’s check that Petya needs strong knowledge of the subject for further studies, plus, dad promised him a new fishing rod for an A, which means this goal fully meets Petya’s needs. It is also important for you that Petya overcome his laziness and use his potential more effectively. Therefore, this goal is quite appropriate and meets the needs of the target groups (i.e., those for whom this goal is being implemented - Petya, his parents and you)

T – Time-limited (time indicator). The goal must be achieved in a limited time. Determine exactly the time or period for achieving the chosen goal. The time is determined extremely precisely - the second quarter, not the first, for which he already received a “4”, and not the third, for which the goal has not yet been set. This means that by this criterion the goal is “smart”.

Thus, we checked the goal for compliance with all SMART criteria and made sure that the goal formulation was correct.

Colleague, the smart goals method allows you to fundamentally change the formulation of the goals of your activities and fill them not only with objective content, but also, very importantly, with new energy. If you want your goals and the goals of your students to become real magnets that attract success, formulate them using the smart goals method. In addition, when formulating a goal using the SMART method, the teacher thinks about indicators that objectively prove the achievement of the goal. These indicators are needed by both the teacher and the student, and both of them must come to similar conclusions with the help of these indicators.

Inaccurate formulations of goals, objectives, and results make it difficult to understand what needs to be done. Vague, vague, confusing statements of goals, insufficiently clear understanding of goals by students, possible double or triple interpretation of the meaning of proposed changes and actions cause prostration of students, demotivate them, deprive them of guidelines and desire to engage in educational activities, which are very quickly replaced by more understandable and interesting activities for children .

Clarity of thought determines the accuracy of formulation. Precise wording ensures that actions are clear. The clarity of actions is a condition for their correct execution. Create favorable conditions for the educational work of your students with well-set goals.

And now, dear colleague, it’s time to test the technique you’ve learned and formulate three smart goals! Those. we quietly approached today's practical task.

Practical task 4.

Using the smart goals method, formulate three goals for the areas of teaching you have chosen.

Basics

The basis of goal setting is the motives and needs of the individual. Let's look at both elements in a little more detail.

A need is a strong attraction to something and a desire to possess it, a feeling of internal psychological or physical discomfort due to a lack of something. Needs are basic (physiological) and spiritual. A transition to a new, higher level is possible only after satisfying the needs of the previous level.

In total, it is customary to distinguish 6 levels of needs (according to A. Maslow’s pyramid):

• physiological (food, water, sleep, sex);
• need for security (security, confidence, stability, comfort);
• social needs (communication, attention, care, support);
• the need for respect and recognition (need, significance);
• creative needs (creation, cognition, discovery);
• aesthetic needs (love, joy, harmony, beauty);
• spiritual needs (self-realization, self-actualization, self-development and other “self”).

All the goals we choose relate to these needs.

Motive is an internal impulse that encourages action. As goals, we choose what is not only significant and relevant for us right now, but also what motivates us to be active.

There are different types of motives:

• internal (self-satisfaction) and external (praise from other people);
• sustainable (related to the individual’s worldview, values, needs) and unstable (related to the environment);
• positive (based on positive feelings and emotions) and negative (based on negative feelings and emotions).

Sometimes motives conflict with each other. This complicates goal setting, but at the same time it helps resolve the conflict of motives. In the process of developing a plan and setting priorities, the individual understands that what is more important for him is which motive is worth keeping.

Separately, it is worth specifying the requirements for goals in goal setting:

• concreteness;
• measurability;
• reality;
• reachability;
• flexibility;
• verifiability;
• transparency;
• unambiguity.

This also applies to the basics of the goal-setting system.

Goal setting methods

Some people (especially those who are hearing about goal setting for the first time) don’t know where to start. In fact, everything is simple: psychology has already invented universal methods of goal setting. All that's left is to use them.

So, let's look at popular goal setting methods:

1. SMART. This is an abbreviation of the English names of five elements: specificity, measurability, achievability, relevance, time limitation. That is, you determine what you want to achieve and over what period, how you will measure the result and how you will achieve the goal. And you also analyze how this goal relates to your true desires and needs at the present moment.
2. Brian Tracy method. Write 10 goals for the year. But formulate your sentences as if you have already achieved these goals. Feel each of them and choose one that will truly change your life. Write it on another sheet of paper and analyze only this goal using the SMART technique.
3. Goal tree. Consistently, orderly and clearly on a piece of paper, draw up a “portrait” of your goal in the form of a tree. That is, first write down or schematically define the main goal, then write down the tasks of the second level from it, from them - the third, fourth, etc. At the same time, you immediately assign the resources necessary to achieve each goal and subtask.
4. Method of G. Arkhangelsky. This technique helps in planning when the conditions for achieving a goal change periodically. That is, the method helps to adapt to changed external conditions and, no matter what, to reach the goal. The process of goal setting using Arkhangelsky’s technique involves determining the limits beyond which you will not go to achieve your goals. These are the areas, values, priorities with which the goal interacts. You need to formulate your goal so that it does not conflict with your life values ​​and beliefs. After this, break the goal not into subtasks, as in the SMART technique, but into levels of difficulty. In addition, define soft and hard objectives. The first can be completed within a certain period of time, and the second - by a strictly designated time. And, of course, determine the period for realizing the main goal.
5. Balance wheel. Draw a circle and randomly divide it into sectors with lines. One sector – one area of ​​your life. Determine for yourself how many there will be, what kind of spheres they are. Rate your achievements in each area on a 10-point scale. Connect all the marks with lines and paint over the resulting shape. A free field in each area is an area for your growth and goal setting.
6. Mind maps. On a piece of paper you draw up a diagram or drawing where you define the main goal, and on its basis you fix the goals of the second, third and subsequent levels. Continue dividing into levels until you reach tasks that can be done right now.

These are universal, most popular and simple techniques. If you wish, you can find and try others. For example, in the book by Heidi Grant Halvorson “The Psychology of Achievement. How to Achieve Your Goals" contains many practical exercises.

Far-fetched and true goals

It is very important to understand: the only thing that drags us forward is our goal. But it often happens that we live by far-fetched goals. Not because someone told us: “Do this!”, but because behavior patterns are dictated by society and marketing.

“If you don’t drive a certain car, don’t live in a certain apartment, then you’re not cool at all.” And many people have the only goal - to become no worse than their peers.

Not even better, but simply not very worse, not the last. And when they reach a certain period, buy a car, an apartment, a stupor appears because they do not understand what to do next. Everything they wanted and everything that society dictated to them, they have already received. A sad story begins about the search for oneself in alcohol and in all other wrong trajectories.

We must understand: until a certain period we are using “necessary” resources. We force ourselves to do something to be no worse. But this must be overcome.

If you think about it, we live much better than people 100-200 years ago. Compared to them, we are in chocolate, no matter what level we are at, even homeless people. At least we have many more resources than those people who lived 200 years ago.

The problem with “not achieving” goals is that many people cannot switch to the mode of answering the question “What is the most significant thing I want to do.” Not because I need to be no worse than someone else, but because I need to do something really cool.

I think the great entrepreneurs who really wanted to do something cool - the iPhone, SpaceX, Tesla - didn't do their projects because they wanted to be cooler than their peers. They had a different meaning.

Many people need to find a real answer to the question “why”, and then they can learn to achieve cool and fast results.

And to check whether your goal is true or imposed, you just need to meditate. Imagine how you would feel if you had already achieved your goal. Do you have a surge of energy? Do you want to glow and sweep away mountains in your path? Energy rushing? This means there is a high probability that this is exactly what you need.

Goals may change along the way. And that's okay. The most important thing is that right now you feel like a pearl from something, no matter what.

The goal is a hypothesis. We're going somewhere. Then we realize that we need to correct the course. This goal is called evolutionary and adapts to the features of reality, to the changes that occur in life. It is used not only to set goals for a specific person, but also to build the mission of an entire company.

For example, you can read about Tesla's mission here

Stages of goal setting

Let's look at the stages and rules, or the universal process of goal setting:

1. Determination of needs and motives. Find out what is valuable and meaningful to you, what gives you the strength to confidently move forward. Set yourself one specific goal.
2. Selection of goal setting techniques. You can try all the techniques discussed and adopt the one or those that suit you best.
3. The transition to drawing up a step-by-step plan for achieving the goal and its implementation.

Remember to always leave room for maneuver. Be prepared to make adjustments to the plan, keep several auxiliary tools in stock, allocate a little more time, effort and finances to realize the goal. Then no failures, difficulties, or unforeseen circumstances will unsettle you.

Common mistakes in goal setting

When turning to goal setting, do not make other people’s mistakes (goal setting problems):

1. There is a lack of specifics. Either the deadlines have not been determined, or the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of measuring the result have not been established.
2. Unrealistic goals. For example, if a person sets a goal to lose 10 kg in a week, then most likely he will fail, and with it disappointment in himself and life in general. But losing 10 kg in two months is quite possible. Set realistic goals, do not create obviously losing conditions for yourself.
3. Priorities are not set. By grasping at everything at once, a person, as a rule, achieves nothing. The same applies to cases when a non-urgent and unimportant goal is mistakenly mistaken for an urgent and important one. Use the Eisenhower Matrix to prioritize.
4. No work plan. Taking an hour to develop a plan now will save you hours in the future. According to the plan, work proceeds faster and more efficiently.
5. There is no control and analysis. Identification and elimination of errors, correction of the plan due to changed conditions increase the efficiency of the entire process.

Goal setting technology is universal. This is similar to a formula in mathematics - only the values ​​change, that is, goals, resources, motives, deadlines.

My goal setting experience

In my life I use a universal goal-setting algorithm:

1. Selection of main goals.
2. Determining the resources needed to achieve them. This includes my knowledge, abilities, skills, capabilities. At the same stage, I develop a plan to obtain some tools, if I don’t have them yet, but potentially I can acquire them.
3. Search for motivation, development of a system of rewards and punishments. Keeping a diary helps me (you can just make short notes about what has already been done). It’s convenient to go back, see how much has been covered, and be inspired by it.
4. Identification of specific problems and subtasks. These are steps towards achieving your goal.
5. Presentation of the result. This can also be used as motivation. Imagine how your life will change, what you will gain when you achieve your goal. If your transformation can somehow be visualized on paper, then do it. For example, if your goal is to lose 10 kg, then you can edit your photo in Photoshop and print it. Or if you want to go back to your previous weight, you can keep an old photo of yourself visible.
6. Implementation of plans. This is the main and longest stage, where motivation and self-control will help.

In my life I am guided by this plan. For example, it helped me lose weight. Then an example of a goal setting algorithm looked like this:

• first I determined how much and over what period of time I wanted to lose weight;
• then I decided on a correction plan (physical activity and proper nutrition);
• divided these elements into even smaller tasks (for example, what kind of activity, how many times a week);
• identified control tools - in my case it was not so much the number on the scales, but the volumes and subjective perception of my reflection in the mirror, although the number on the scales was in my mind (no goals are set without specifics);
• etc.

The effectiveness of goal setting depends on how much you are willing to control the process, admit mistakes and work on them, and adjust the strategy depending on changing conditions.

Planning

Planning is essential because it will help you:

• Focus on what really matters;
• Remove anxiety and doubts;
• Decide on the directions to follow and the actions to be taken;
• Significantly increase motivation to successfully achieve the goal;
• Decide on the actions necessary for a successful result;

How to plan correctly?

• Use available resources and skills as efficiently as possible;
• Make sure what you are doing is correct;
• Understand what you need from life.

The goal may change one another and this is normal. A small everyday goal can become a path to achieving a larger goal. For example, a small goal - to wake up and do twenty squats - leads to a more global goal - to have toned buttocks in a month.

That is why it is important to see the end result and plan your path to achieving the goal.