Success Is Specific

Do you know people who like to "shoot from the hip" or "live for the moment"? They take pride in their lack of goals and plans, almost wearing it as a badge of freedom. However, I suspect if you looked behind that badge, you would find a lack of focus and discipline and an inability to accomplish daily goals.

If that's the life for you, that's cool... but if you have goals, ambitions, or achievement in mind, "shooting from the hip" is rarely a successful strategy. Neither are vague or broad objectives like "I want to make a lot of money" or "I want to be spiritually disciplined".

What you need are SPECIFIC goals, plans, and objectives to be able to determine your path to achievement. Having specific goals will motivate you to take action because you will have a clear picture of the goal. Specific objectives give you a framework for you to take tangible, specific action.

If I came up with the goal of growing spiritually by helping the needy for an hour per week, that would be achievable. Why? Because the goal is specific, realistic, and measurable.

Write your specific goals down on paper so you can review them regularly. Goals in writing do not become fuzzy or forgotten. Written SPECIFIC goals allow us to have a laser-like focus when we need to decide what actions to take on a given day to obtain them.

Goals must be measurable. "I want to earn $400 more per month," or "I want to see some growth in my spiritual life, so I will give 5% of my income to charity," or "I would like to be a better father, so I plan on spending at least one hour a day playing with my kids," are all goals that can be measured. Goals that are measurable are ones that can be achieved.

Make sure your objectives are personal and realistic. Personal? Make the objective YOURS... don't set goals to appease other people's expectations of you. Goals you aren't passionately invested in for YOUR sake, aren't goals that are going to keep your attention for the long haul.

Also, make sure your specific objectives are realistic. I might have a specific goal to play basketball in the NBA, but believe me, that AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN. Specific objectives must be attainable to be realistic.

Let's not skip over the idea of realistic goals too quickly. I sometimes hear "I want to make a million bucks in 6 months." Specific, yes, but is it realistic? It depends on a lot of different factors. "I want to lose 100 pounds in 4 months." Specific, for sure, but realistic? I don't think so. What about "I have a goal to lose 4 pounds a week"? That is going to be hard, but it may be realistic.

Another important thing to remember about goals is that they must be compatible with each other. You can't set a goal to start a new business, coach your daughter's T-ball team, design and build your own home, and get your Master's degree all at the same time. You must choose your goals realistically so that they will fit together in your overall master plan.

Finally, put dates and times on your goals. This instills a sense of urgency and promotes action. Put in "mini-milestones" along the way to make sure you are making adequate progress. If a milestone shows you are behind, then you can adjust intensity to catch up or get ahead.

There are appropriate times to "shoot from the hip" in life, but if you desire to get ahead, gain financial freedom, a well-balanced life, and spiritual fulfillment, this care-free method of approaching life will not lead you where you want to go. You need specific, realistic goals with timelines to get you on the path to successful life management.

G. Brent Riggs has over 20 years experience as an author, teacher, mentor and business owner. You can contact him from his main website: http://www.gbrentriggs.com