Goals

If you aim at nothing you’ll be sure to hit it.
With the approach of 2012 just around the corner many people talk about New Year’s resolutions. I’ve not really been a fan of New Year’s resolutions in my life. However, in recent years I’ve had some success with goalsetting. I use a form which I download from Dan Miller’s 48Days.com website on life and career coaching. I also use Zig Ziglar’s guidelines and Dave Ramsey’s perspective as well.
Zig Ziglar has quite a bit of encouraging audio content available for free through his weekly Inspire podcast. His talks are both motivating and informative in regard to how and why to set goals. My significant learning from Zig this coming year is more carefully track my goals. In 2011 I was much more consistent with the goals I had devised a way to track.
Dave Ramsey says a goal has five characteristics. A goal is specific and measurable, has a deadline, is owned by the goal setter (not put on them by someone else), and is written down.
Dave Ramsey, Dan Miller, Zig Ziglar, and most principles of success writers explain that you need goals in all the major areas of life in order to be truly successful. Dan Miller’s goalsetting worksheets cover seven areas which are called the wheel of life. They are: financial, physical, personal development, family, social, spiritual, and career. You need to be addressing all seven areas of your life for your wheel of life to roll smoothly. If you neglect one area, you have a flat tire.
During this Christmas and New Year break which most educators enjoy, take some time to think about and write down some goals for your life.