Setting up goals is one aspect of success that had been overlooked by many people most of the time. Usually, other aspects are played up and goal-setting simply become one of the many steps in achieving success.

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Many self-help experts outline some of the keys that make goal-setting successful. The following are some of those key points:

Goal setting is a skill and a discipline

They don’t teach goal-setting in schools but it should have been done because it has to be mastered. You need to find out as much as possible about the techniques of goal-setting and master them.

Another important aspect is the need of discipline in the process. Working on goal-setting can transform your life.

Goals must be in writing

This has been repeated over and over again by experts and gurus. The reason is that commitment documented in writing becomes embedded in the subconscious mind. Keeping your written goals where you can see them every day is a great way to keep them in both your conscious and subconscious minds.

The act of writing it down brings a better chance of success because the subconscious is helping in the process, drawing you toward your goal.

Clarity

One of the many qualities found in successful people is the clarity of their desires and wants in life. From your end, you need to be clear as well in your commitments, in your wants and needs. It sometimes takes a re-assessment or inventory of your own goals to gain the necessary clarity to move forward.

It had been proven in the past that clarity does have a big influence on the realization of your wants.

Being specific

This key aspect is also very important. Next to being clear on what you need, you also have to be specific.

The anecdote involving the comic Jim Carrey comes to mind. When he was starting out and was living in his car (he was broke), Jim wrote a check to himself for $7 million dollars. Shortly thereafter, he bagged the lead role in the movie “Pet Detective” and was paid exactly $7 million dollars. This is a perfect example of manifesting a specific goal.

Overestimate/underestimate

Most people, when writing how much they would like to be earning usually overestimate what they might achieve in a year. On the other hand, they’re dramatic in their under-estimation of what they can earn in five or ten  years time with the right goal setting structure in place.

Being more realistic with your earning capability and your time estimates will result in achieving more consistent successes.

Why

In achieving your goals, it is far more important to have compelling reasons why you must achieve them than it is to know how you are going to do it.  If you focus on your why, much of the rest of the task will fall into place naturally.
How

Frankly, you need not know how. Many people put off starting their goals because they do not know how to achieve them from the start. The key is simply…get started!

The more momentum you can develop in setting off toward your goals, the faster the ” how” will be revealed to you. The key is to take action. NOW!

Using these critical goal-setting keys can help you focus on the goals that you want to achieve. You can test it yourself and see what happens in the next 90 days. The success of these goal-setting keys depends largely on you and the intensity of your commitment.

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Let’s say you’ve got your attitude correct, the right skill set honed, and the right philosophy. Great! You’re on your way – somewhere. If you don’t have the right direction planned out, you’ll simply wander aimlessly.

You don’t attempt even the smallest of construction jobs without a plan, and yet many people work in a field they just happened to “fall in to” because someone suggested it, or a friend was doing it, or even worse—they didn’t have anything else to do.

Wandering through your career can be just as deadly as wandering through a desert without a compass and canteen—in both places, you can die a slow death of thirst and exhaustion.

You must know where you want to go in order to set a direction for your life and career. You’ve probably heard the adage, “No one plans to fail, but they do fail to plan.” So determine where it is that you want to go (i.e., what you want to do) and set a course for it.

I recommend doing something you love. Not something that you can tolerate or achieve a reasonable pension from after 30 years of work (do pensions even exist anymore?), but something you are truly passionate about.

If it’s music, think about how you are gifted in that area. Do you sing? Would your singing chip paint off a house? Do you have an ear for pitch and tune? Do you play an instrument? Consider the field of professional golf for a moment. Do you love to golf? Would you be willing to commit days, weeks, months, and years to bettering your game to the point when you could hit the pro-circuit?

Do you have a means to support yourself (and your family) while you work on your dream job? Would you be happy and content doing whatever you chose—for the rest of your days, if need be? These are all questions you should ask yourself as you try to set the direction for your life, and ultimately, for your success.

Now that you know where you want to go, you must plan and prepare for your destination. As you plan and prepare, it’s fair to expect that you will achieve that goal—expectations play a large role in success, no matter what the field. If you plan well and are committed to the work involved, then and only then, can you expect to achieve the desired results in your life.