The Effective Way of Goal Setting
Your goal works like a GPS to a driver. The goal keeps you focused. You know where you want to go. In absence of a goal, you are clueless.
But, goals often fail. In fact, more goals are failed than accomplished. Edwin A. Locke and Gary Latham spent many years in different social and corporate environments researching the utility and long-term effects of goals. They have also worked with different research teams separately and together to find various features and outcomes of setting goals including why goals are important, why goals fail, when goals fail, and how to make goals more realistic and achievable.
In their book, “The Theory of Goal Setting & Task Performance”, Edwin A. Locke and Gary Latham have mentioned five aspects of goal setting. These five aspects make goals more realistic and achievable.
Let’s discuss the five aspects of goal setting as proposed by Edwin A. Locke and Gary Latham a little elaborately:
- Clarity
Do you feel the goal? Close your eyes and live the goal for some time. What will happen if you achieve the goal? How will the environment surrounding you change? If you cannot visualize the goal or manifest it, then the goal is not clear to it. First, you need a clear goal.
2. Challenging
Simple goals don’t excite people. Even if a simple goal excites you but that doesn’t persist. A simple goal has a high chance of failing. Dream big and set a challenging goal. It will make you active and push you out of your comfort zone. The goal should keep you busy and thoughtful. A challenging goal is such a goal that will set your life at a higher level once you achieve it.
3. Commitment
Once the goal is set, you should be committed to it with utmost focus and energy. You may need to create smaller targets and respective deadlines. You have to plan an overall strategy and line of action. You also have to arrange the necessary resources. These all reflect your commitment to that goal. The absence of commitment makes a goal a mere wish. Lack of commitment also means you are not attached to the goal.
4. Feedback
From time to time, you have to take feedback. Systematic feedback helps to scale your progress. It also ascertains the flaws and drawbacks, the changes needed, and your progress level. For feedback, you have to create certain measurement scales or use the established ones for the key parameters.
5. Complexity
A goal with complex tasks could be confusing and sometimes upsetting. Again, the complexity of the process may be perplexing. If the process could be segregated into smaller targets, segregate them accordingly. If the process seems complex, you may need to upskill. Complexity is normal. When you set a higher goal in life, the path toward it is not going to be smooth sailing. You have to be prepared for all hardships. The complexity should be managed efficiently.
Paying attention to these five aspects of goal setting will help you set an effective and engaging goal. Following the steps will also help you improve your knowledge, dedication, and performance.
