Setting Goals with SPIRIT

Research suggests that setting goals can be pretty tough on us if we aren’t sensible in how we go about it. The process should be as important as the end result, and if we don’t reach our goals, we feel like failures. To overcome that, we can call these goals targets. The target concept can offer you some mental flexibility. Your goals should motivate you to go after them and achieve the things that you want. Good goals should have SPIRIT!

SPECIFIC

Be specific about what you want or don’t want to achieve. The result should be tangible and measurable. ‘Look gorgeous’ is pretty ambiguous; ‘Lose 2 stone in weight’ is specific. ‘Sell more’ is vague; ‘Sell £10,000 worth of product’ is specific.

PRIZES

Reward yourself at different points in the goal, particularly if it’s long-term. If your goal is to set up a home office, for example, you might purchase a new desk when the room is cleared out and ready.

INDIVIDUAL

The goal must be something that you want to do. If your partner wants you to lose weight but you think you look fine, you’re not going to want to work towards the goal.

REVIEW

Review your progress periodically. Does the goal make sense? Are you stuck? Do you need to adjust certain parts of it?

INSPIRING

Frame the goal positively. Make it fun to accomplish. You could make a picture of the end result, frame it, and post it on the wall.

TIME-BOUND

Give yourself a deadline for achieving the goal. Even better, split the goal into small parts and give yourself a deadline for each item.