As a child I was always told that I should ‘Dream’ big. I liked dreaming, but eventually one day I found that dreams can be fragile, and easy to re-frame and re-design. Why is dream fragile? It is because when we dream we do not write that on a piece of paper. We think everything thing on a much magnified level of ease, and overlook the difficulties we can have on the way to achieve that dream. Once we face one of those unplanned/overlooked problems, we just redesign our dream or more worse – we just drop the idea.
So I do not like to ‘Dream’ anymore. Instead I set ‘Goals’ for myself. Believe me, every time I set goals, I achieve it. So how do I set goals? I run everything through a checklist described below, I like to call this as my ‘GoalCheck’ process.
Think Real, Think Practical: Before setting a goal, I first think whether what I am doing is right and try to analyze if achieving that goal can significantly help me to improve my personal and professional life. If the goal is in line with what I want to do for the rest of my life, will that goal help me achieve my career highs.
Set the Goal, Analyze it: Once I choose a goal, I further screen as to how much of that goal is realistically achievable. Being realistic from the beginning is the best thing you can do to yourself. This will help you stick to what you are doing, and not demoralize you. This helps me channelize my resources towards proper utilization.
Search for Diverse Channels: Now that the goal is set, I list down the channels through which I can achieve the goal. I prefer to have more than one channel. It gives you a plan B towards achieving the same object without compromising with its results. But remember that even if plan B is present, Plan A is the best you can put in.
Look for Resources, Acquire them: You need resources to achieve your goals. So first plan out what you need, where can you find them, and how can you get them. Sometimes resources can be a bit expensive. But if the goal is worthwhile, and has the potential to pay you back, you might think of spending some money from your savings, or saving a few month to get the resources needed.
Trust your thought, Be Stable: Make you mind stable, and your thoughts rigid. You may have to face some of the biggest problems in life, and some very stupid distractions. But you have to stay focused to what you are working on. Sometimes when you feel exhausted and frustrated, think about the brighter possibilities which will open up once you achieve that goal of yours.
Discipline is everything:Discipline yourself with a routine. Try to stick to this time table of yours for the weeks you are working for your goal. Take small breaks, and return to your original schedule.
Reward yourself: Reward yourself every now and then for the small success you are making down the road towards achieving your ultimate goal. This will help make your journey eventful and enjoyable.
Go Get It: Get your goal. Get it done. Achieve it. Move to the next step towards success.
Arnab Pandey is a capital markets professional, an entrepreneur, a nationally awarded debater, an internationally acclaimed researcher, and a passionate blogger. He holds an MBA (Finance) degree from the Sykes College of Business at The University of Tampa, Florida. He procured his under-graduate (Bachelor of Technology) degree in the field of applied mechanics….. Read More
Arnab Pandey 