Another Great Article On Goal Setting!

• January 14th, 2008
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This great article is from Get Motivation. The ongoing theme for goal setting: Have a set start time and a set deadline. Enjoy:

Column By Warren Greshes

A Written Goal Must Have Time Frames

One of the key components of a written goal is that it must
have a time frame or deadline.

Time frames give you a frame of reference. They also allow
you to know when you can stop. And, after all, if you don’t
know when you can stop, what’s the motivation to start?

Having a time frame makes it easier to formulate a plan for
achieving the goal. For example, if my goal is to lose 20
pounds in 10 months, I can draw up a plan that has me losing
2 pounds a month or one pound every 2 weeks.

If I leave it open ended, how soon will I get frustrated
with the lack of results, because I have no way of measuring
them, and just give up?

Most people doom themselves to failure before they even
start. They say things like, “Some day I’m going to quit
this job and get a better one;” “I’m going to start my own
business sometime in the next few years;” “Some day I’m
going to lose this extra twenty pounds;” Whenever you hear
somebody use one of the above phrases, rest assured none of
those things will ever happen.

Let’s examine one of the vague words people use to help
sabotage themselves: let’s look at the word “sometime.”

Sometime is an interesting word because it could mean
anytime, but the way we use it, it usually means never.

Have you ever asked one of your children to do something
around the house and they reply, “Sure mom (dad), I’ll get
around to it sometime.” What does their reply tell you? That
it’s probably never going to get done.

What if you called me on the phone to set up a sales
appointment with me and said, “Warren can I come over and
see you sometime?” And I said, “Sure,” then hung up. When
would you come by? I’d say you better come over right away,
because other than right now you’ll never know when I’m
going to be there.

Has this ever happened to you: you’re walking down the
street and you run into someone you haven’t seen in a while,
and couldn’t care less if you ever saw him or her again. You
find yourself saying, “Hey, haven’t seen you in ages. You
look great! We should get together sometime. Give me a call
sometime. Better yet, give me your number and I’ll call you
sometime.” Why do you say that: because you don’t ever want
to see that person again.

We use the word “sometime,” when we don’t want to do
something. So, what are we saying when we take the word
“sometime” and tack it onto the end of our goals and plans?
Unfortunately, we’re saying it’s never going to happen.

When you write down your goal, please remember to write down
the year or date you intend to achieve it by, because a goal
is a dream with a deadline.

____________

Warren Greshes is a professional speaker, who has keynoted
corporate and association meetings throughout the world for
the last 20 years. To learn more about Warren go to
http://greshes.net Warren can be contacted at:
1-800-858-1516 or by email at: warren@greshes.com

Tags: Articles, Get Motivation, Goal Setting, Goals, Motivation