Thursday, May 29, 2008
78. Effective Goal Setting


1. Thing Big & Define your Goals before getting Started
Ever wonder why some people seem to have the ability to accomplish a lot? They know where they are headed and exude an enviable confidence. Effective goal setting & Thinking big is one of their keys to success. You may be working very hard at what you do, but without setting goals you'll find that your hard work doesn't yield meaningful results.
Remember Alice in Wonderland? At one point in the story, Alice stops at the crossroads to ask the Cheshire Cat which road to take. He responds by asking where she wants to go. When she tells him that she "doesn't much care where," he replies, "then it doesn't matter which way you go." As a result, she wanders aimlessly in her travels.
Like Alice, we often travel the road of life without a specific direction or goal. Studies have shown that most people either do not know what they want from life or, if they do, have no plans for realizing their dreams. People who write down the goals develop the plans to reach them.
2. Have Faith on your Goals & Visualize


Usually, the more you desire something, the harder you will work toward achieving it. Victor Frankl is a Viennese psychologist and survivor of a World War II concentration camp. In his book Man's Search for Meaning, Frankl describes people who were able to visualize a life and had faith for living were able to withstand the tortures of their circumstances. He maintains that people who had no purpose died quickly; those who kept an eye on their goals were more likely to survive. Have faith and desire in your goals to achieve it.
3. To reach the final destination take the alternative first step
My cubicle is situated in the 7th floor of my office builiding. Everyday as I traverse amidst the hectic traffic and reach office its usually around 9 when I reach there. Thats the time when most of my colleagues reach as well and the elevators are usually crowded. It takes around 5-10 minutes before I can reach my seat. Visibly annoyed initially with this delay, I decided an alternate plan - the moment I reach office I walk up the stairs and reach the First floor. Then I take the elevator from there to reach my seat - Voila! that helped me reach early avoiding any unncessary wait/delays. And taking this first step applies to goals too. If there are several stumbling blocks to reach your goal, take the alternative first step in achieving your goal!
So what are you waiting for - set a goal for yourself today, write them down, plan and achieve your desire!

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posted by Prasanna Parameswaran at 10:05 AM |


4 Comments:


At 11:06 AM, Blogger Preethe

Hi Prasanna !!

A nice one! worth the wait :)

Have you watched this speech by Harsha Bhogle on Excellence ( delivered at IIM-A in 2005) .
He talks about the path taken for our reaching the goal. He talks about Performance excellence and process excellence. Its a wonderful speech. Try watching it. I am sure you will love it.

 

At 11:22 AM, Blogger Prasanna Parameswaran

Hi Preethe -
Hope you are doing good, no I've not watched the vidoe will do see if its out there in your tube - thanks for letting know.

 

At 10:51 AM, Blogger Unknown

:) Ppl r seeing it but are lazy to post, I think.. :) .. This is a gud one , abt goals. Hint of 'Success Principles' in it :)

 

At 6:48 PM, Blogger Preethe

Hi Prasanna!

I have summarized the details of Harsha's speech on my blog.

Thanks to you .. If you had not posted on this topic, I would not have got a chance to revisit those old speeches