How To Achieve Your 2022 Goals – It is the custom of most people to make new year resolutions every 1st day of the year. Examples of those resolutions are:
- Bad habits they want to stay away from
- Good habits they want to imbibe
- Certifications/degrees they want to obtain
- Projects to be worked on and so on..
What is a goal?
Goal is simply an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. A goal is simply your objective, your desired outcome, what you want to achieve.
Types of goal
Process goals: are specific in nature. They include specific actions or process. For example, jogging thirty minutes every morning, reading a book once in a week, etc. Process goals are totally controllable by the person setting the goal.
Performance goals: according to the name is based on performance per time. For example, aspiring to make nine As in the forthcoming WAEC.
Outcome goals: this from the name is based on results. For example, as a secondary school leaver, gaining admission into the university.
Short and long term goals
Short term goals involve results that you intend to achieve in a short time, usually less than 12 months. They are things that needs to be accomplished within a short period of time.
Long term goals are things you intend to achieve over a long period of time. Long term goals are actually achieved by breaking them into bits in order to achieve.
What is goal setting
Goal setting is the act of developing plans and strategies in order to achieve a particular goal. It involves taking some active steps towards achieving a desired outcome.
Why set goals?
- It helps you to stay organized
- When you set goals, resources are well maximized
- Goals gives you some level of motivation
- It helps you to stay focused
- It delivers you from one of man’s greatest enemy: procrastination
- It helps you measure your progress
Consequences of not setting Goals
- You will not be focused.
Goal setting will help you stay focused which will help you achieve in life.
2. It leads to lack of priorities.
Lack of priorities means you don’t know what to do first or last. You can’t differentiate between the important and unimportant, you just do whatever comes to your mind. This will lead you nowhere in life.
3.You will easily get distracted in life
4.You are open to opportunities: this is a positive one. Goal setting most times has a tendency of blindfolding you to other things.
5.There is absence of motivation.
6.It will lead you nowhere in life. It also implies that you are giving someone else the authorization to determine your destiny.
How to Achieve your 2022 goals
Goal Setting tips
- Set goals that would motivate you
- Set both short term and long term goals
- Write down your goals and place where you can see them regularly e.g on your mirror, stick to your table, etc.
- Let your goals be flexible, such that you can adjust when necessary
- Let your goals be SMART
- Always ensure to reward yourself whenever you meet a goal
Let your goals be SMART
For your goals to be achievable this 2022, you must set goals that is SMART
S- Specific: Your goals must be specific, clear and well-defined. Avoid any form of ambiguity.
For example,
I want to have a G.P of 4.8 this semester.
M- Measurable
Your goals should be measurable. This will help you track your progress. Ability to track your progress will keep you motivated and make you accountable.
For instance:
“I want to apply to five multinational companies for the post of a brand manager this month of May”.
A-Achievable
Even though it is important to set goals much bigger than you, you must be realistic with those goals. You should ask yourself this question,
With available resources, time, skill and environmental factors, is this goal achievable?
If your answer is No, then it is not an achievable goal.
Yes, you may have a grand goal, that is great!
But you can start with small ones, and as you achieve the small ones, you can move to bigger ones.
R-Relevant
You must ensure that your goals are relevant and beneficial to you. Your goal must be able to contribute to your wider objective in life. Your goal should be actionable and achievable. Your goal should be able to help you achieve your long-term objectives.
For instance,
Your long-term goal is to be a public speaker, so setting a goal to improve on your communication skills is a SMART goal.
T-Time Bound
Your goal must be timely. That is, there must be a timeline attached. This will help you stay motivated and be able to track your progress.
For instance
Instead of saying, “I want to get more clients”, you can say, “ I want to get 50 clients in 2 months”, that is a SMART goal.
Constraints of setting goals and how to handle them
- It can bring about unnecessary stress and pressure
For instance,
As a student that is on a 3-month holiday and wants to maximize that period to learn graphic design. He/she is under pressure of time to master that skill within the short time.
Stress and pressure are good at times because they become the driving force that motivates one to achieve more.
Solution
- Convert the stress and pressure into a motivational force that drives you more towards achieving your goal rather than stopping.
- Develop the ability to handle stress and pressure. The principle of life is this: as you allow yourself to grow up, stress and pressure will be reducing until they become insignificant.Work at improving yourself, keep growing, keep learning and keep developing your skills.
2. You can feel like a Failure when you are not able to achieve your goal
I regularly tell myself that, I would rather try something and fail than not to try at all. Until you get to that point in life that you are no longer afraid of failure, you aren’t ready for the top yet. The truth is that if you don’t set goals, failure is imminent too, so it’s better to set goals.
Solution
You can always start with small goals that you know is very realistic. When you are able to achieve that, you can then move on to something slightly bigger and on and on. You can always start small and grow bigger step-by-step.
3. It can blind you to other opportunities
When you set a goal, all your energy and attention is directed towards it. This can make you blind to other opportunities.
Solution
Always be open and willing to embrace new opportunities /possibilities. Always remember that there are many routes to arrive one’s destination in life. So don’t be rigid.
4. You will become Result-focused rather than Progress-focused.
There is a tendency for you to be so focused on the result that you don’t give attention to the process. For instance,
You want to lose 20kg in a space of 3months and you started a 30minutes work-out daily. After one week, you check yourself and discovered that you added 5kg instead of losing weight. You shouldn’t feel discouraged but rather be focused and consistent with the daily work-outs. You will discover eventually after 3months; you have lost even more than the 20kg.
Most people focus a lot on their goal that they forget about the progress. Remember that it is your progress that will give you the result. If you don’t make progress, there will be no result.
Solution
Have a good goal but beyond that, let your focus be more on the daily progress /steps you should be taking. When you make progress, you create small wins. It is those small wins that you create daily that will accumulate and grow into your desired result.
According to Confucius,
“The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones“
5. Goals can make you addictive
Having powerful goals is good but it can make you addictive to results. It can make you ignorant or pay less attention to other areas of life such as health, family, etc.
Some people are so addicted to winning that they are willing to do unethical things just to win the game. For instance,
Athletes taking drugs just to win the game, etc.
Solution
Always remind yourself of your purpose. Why do you want to achieve that goal? Why are you pursuing success? When your purpose is clear, you won’t be blinded by the goal and do unethical things.
Take note of this:
“Success is a journey not a destination”
The process, progress, experience and journey are far more important than the outcome. Therefore, focus on the journey.
Examples of Goals you should set for yourself as a student in 2022
- Study your books daily.
- Get better grades than you had in 2021.
- Make friends with serious-minded people.
- Learn a foreign language.
- Learn a vocational skill
Conclusion
When you set goals, you are giving yourself a destination, a place where you want to end come what may. So, dear students start setting goals today.
