Serving as much as an overview of goal setting, this article takes you through a process from reviewing your vision statements to formalizing and locking in goals that are meaningful and actionable.

The difference between a vision, a goal and a plan

Visions, goals, and plans are important tools used together. However, each service has a different purpose to help you get from where you are to where you want to be efficiently and effectively. Unfortunately, most people skip the vision step entirely, rush through the goals step, and as a result, are setting themselves up for failure in the planning stage. A good analogy is taking a trip.

  • A vision captures the main decision you make about where you want to go on the journey. It frames, but does not answer, the details of the trip.
  • A goal captures the key decisions related to that journey. When will you leave and come back? Will you fly or drive? What activities do you want to do while you are there?
  • A Plan captures the details that will allow you to complete the trip, meeting the goal you set for the trip. What is your flight itinerary? What is your budget? In which hotel(s) will you stay? When will you carry out the activities chosen during the trip?

It is important to note that once established, you must remain fixed on your vision, be slow to change your goals to get there, and yet remain flexible in your plans to achieve the goals. This is called staying fixed on the “What” but flexible on the “How.”

Start by reviewing your vision statements

Do you have a vision for your life? If not, you should take some time to do it. If you already have a set of vision statements, then before you start setting specific goals, now is the time to look at the overall vision statement for your life and the related vision statements for each area of ​​your life, and ask yourself the following questions, making changes if necessary:

  • Is it inspiring and can you emotionally commit to achieving it?
  • Is it really important to you?
  • Is it stretching, but you can still see yourself making it?
  • Is it really your own vision and not someone else’s (parent, boss, etc.) for you?
  • Is it positive and sustainable over time?

Remember there are four parts to a great goal

Since you’ve already established some clear and compelling vision statements for your life, the next step is to create big goals. A mission statement is made up of four components:

  • A mission statement that states the goal in a specific and positive way (often very similar to the vision statement: “I will be independently wealthy”).
  • A Measure statement indicating how you will know when you have achieved it (“I will have achieved it when I have a net worth of $5 million”).
  • An importance statement indicating why it is important that you achieve this goal (“This is important because I want to focus on working with nonprofits to help them achieve their missions while enjoying traveling the world.”)
  • A time statement indicating when you would like to achieve it. (“Given where I am, I will achieve this in ten years”).

Keep in mind that your goal objectives don’t have to match 1:1 with the vision statements you’ve created. The reason is that sometimes a vision requires multiple goals to achieve, and other times a single goal, when achieved, can lead to multiple visions.

Choose one or more vision statements to write three goal statements for

Someone once asked what the difference was between a dream and a goal. The answer: A dream dies at dawn. As you have heard, it is not enough to have a clear idea of ​​what you want (a vision), you need detailed goals and plans to make it happen. By following the step-by-step process outlined below, and available in our My Goals tool available on Percess, spending just a few minutes each day, you’ll build detailed, compelling, and achievable step-by-step goals like never before. before in your life. If you’re already an old pro at goal setting, then this is a great opportunity to refresh and update your goals to set you up for success in your plans.

Then, after you’ve reflected on your Vision statements, select up to three visions or wishes to make Goals (and ultimately Goals) statements. Why only three? Because no more?

  • First, we have limited time and resources. Although we can do things to free up time, as the number of goals we are actively working on at any given time increases, our chances of success decrease. The reason is that as the number of goals increases, it is easier to get distracted, overwhelmed or discouraged. Just to be clear, each goal you work towards can have several smaller parts. However, try to stick to only three at any given time.
  • Second, in any given situation, only a few things really matter, and some potential goals are best achieved after others are achieved (new career after completing necessary training).
  • Third, it forces us to focus on really big goals and not get distracted by small goals.
  • Fourth, by focusing on fewer goals, we are more likely to achieve what we believe to be significant progress sooner. This also helps keep our momentum going.

Create your Mission Statements

After you have selected the Vision statement(s) you want to use, create three shorter-term goal statements to use as the basis for your goals. Read them again, reflecting on your individual life area and the general vision statements. Are you really excited to make these three Goals a reality in your life? Once you’ve thought through and refined as you’d like, it’s time to turn these goal statements into full goals.

Turn your mission statements into goals

Now, for each, write below the Goal statement your Measures, Importance, and Timing statements associated with the goals. Here’s an example (note the structure, not the content that may or may not be relevant or resonate with you):

Vision: I want physical health so I can enjoy the activities I love.

goal

Goal: Dramatically increase my stamina and energy level.

Size(s):

  • Conditioning to complete a 10K without stopping.
  • Energy to stay awake until 11 p.m. without getting tired.
  • Strength to work in the garden as many times as you want.

Importance: This is important because not getting the exercise I need prevents me from fully enjoying my children, keeps me from doing fun outdoor activities with friends, and makes me feel tired most of the time. I don’t want to be one of those lonely people, barely able to move when I’m older, having missed out on being a part of great memories when I was younger.

Moment:

  • I will start a workout routine on xx/xx/xxxx
  • I’m going to run 10K in yy/yy/yyyy
  • I’ll have the energy I want from zz/zz/zzzz

Assess and refine your goals

Once you’ve done this for each goal, review them to see if they’re SMART (stretchable, measurable, achievable, related, and timed).

  • yesStretching is important as it’s hard to have an inspiring goal if it’s not stretching you in some way relative to what you’ve accomplished in the past.
  • METERMeasurable is important as this will not only give you a benchmark to measure yourself against, but will also help provide insight into what may be required as part of the plan you will build to achieve it.
  • HASAchievable is clearly important, but by achievable we simply mean that it is potentially achievable. How to achieve this will not be established until the planning stage. Use this for a quick reality check here.
  • Related is a check to make sure this goal is related to your visions and priorities.
  • Timed is to give you a sense of urgency and a date when you want to enjoy the benefits of reaching the goal. Keep in mind that the timing may change a bit as you go through the planning phase and identify the steps needed to achieve the goal.

Once you’ve reviewed the goals, made any changes you want, you should set them aside for a few days, and then come back and refine them if you like. This is to make sure they are really yours and what you want to focus on. Be sure to spend enough time on the Importance statement as this will help ensure you have a clear motivation to work towards the goals and help provide perspective on whether you have truly captured the goal the way you want.

Expand target detail

In this step, we’ll add additional details to your goal that will help guide the development of your plan.

For each goal, ask yourself: To achieve this goal I will need:

  • overcome these challenges
  • Take advantage of these strengths
  • Acquire these knowledge/skills
  • Work with these people/organizations

It is important to note that you most likely do not have all the answers to the above questions. The point is to start thinking about what it will take to achieve the goal so you can better think about how to break it down into manageable chunks. Think of this as a first step. You will have additional opportunities to further refine it as you progress and develop your plans. Once you’ve made a first pass, set it aside for today and then check back tomorrow if it’s helpful.

Regarding overcoming challenges, these could be a perception of lack of resources, time, connections, etc. These are items you’d like to address as you go along.

With regards to harnessing certain strengths, these are the ones you bring with you. They can be tangible in the sense of financial resources, etc., emotional in terms of desire, dedication, energy, etc. or functional in terms of skills, habits or connections, etc.

Regarding the acquisition of knowledge or skills, we are always in a process of growth and learning. As you set goals, you may want to add or improve a part of your skill set. Goal setting is a great opportunity to get the reason and energy to do it.

In terms of working with other organizations, nothing really great has been done alone. Even Edison had Watson, and today working with other people and groups is even more important. Who should you meet or tap into to create a win-win relationship?

Repeat for each target and check quality

For each goal, ask yourself if you can say yes to each of the following statements:

  • These goals reflect my core values ​​and the vision I have for my life.
  • These goals inspire me and I have fully committed to them.
  • I accept full responsibility for the achievement of each goal
  • I will make the necessary trade-offs that will allow me to achieve the goals.
  • I will review each night how my day went overall in relation to my goals.
  • I will plan each night the next day’s activities that support my goals.

If you cannot truly commit to each of the above statements, then you need to take a step back and further refine your goals or vision for your life. It has taken decades to get to where it is today; spending another day, or even a week, making sure you’re headed in the right direction in the future is more than worth the effort.

Congratulations!

You’ve probably now done a better job of creating meaningful goals than 90% of the people who try to do so. Now is the time to think about your plans…