Theory
A life without a goal is like a ship without a captain and compass. Goals give
direction to life. However, below 5 % of the population set goals with a motive for
achievement. The main reason as to why people are not successful is because
they do not have goals. Goal setting starts with a burning desire to achieve
something. Goal setting is a formal process in which one defines the agenda for
personal, team or business achievement and success. Sometimes goals are
referred to as dreams with a deadline. The goals that we set should be
challenging, practical, realistic, measurable, achievable, positive and flexible and
should also be time bound. Goals need to be documented. In fact, every business
or team or individual should have short term, medium term and long term goals.
We should also have goals in different domains of life. We should have health
goals, financial goals, relationship goals, professional goals, development goals
etc. All the major goals can be subdivided into sub goals. The major investment in
the form of time as well as other resources for the realisation of goal should be
considered while planning for achievement.
The SMART formula for setting goals is that, the goals that we set should be
S- Specific
M- Measurable
A- Achievable
R- Realistic and
T- Time bound
Example of a goal statement:
By December 1st of 2025, I will have positioned myself to ask for an enhancement
of salary by 15%, by cutting my department’s expenditure by 10% and increasing
my department’s sales by 20%.
Find out if the goal statement is SMART.
Story
Ankita had always been a dreamer. As a child, she loved writing small poems in
the corner of her school notebooks. She would hide them, fearing others would
laugh. As the years passed, she became an engineer, then a project manager. Her
life was neatly packed with meetings, deadlines, and bills.
But somewhere, the little girl who loved to write had gone silent.
One night, after another long day at work, Ankita found an old notebook while
cleaning her cupboard. On its yellowed pages was a poem she had written as a
teenager: “One day, my words will travel farther than my feet ever can.” She read
it again and again, her eyes wet. That long-forgotten sentence felt like a message
from her younger self.
She realized she had lived years without a goal that truly belonged to her. Yes, she
had short-term targets — promotions, pay raises, a new apartment. They gave
her pleasure, but not peace. The bigger dream, the one that gave her life
direction, had been left behind.
That night, she wrote down a goal: “In the next two years, I will publish my first
book of poems.” It felt small compared to the corporate targets she was used to,
yet it filled her with an energy she hadn’t felt in years.
The journey wasn’t easy. She struggled with doubts — Who will read my poems?
Am I good enough? The world still pulled her in a hundred directions, but her
written goal pulled her back each time, like a lighthouse guiding a lost ship.
Two years later, Ankita stood in a small bookstore, holding her first published
book in her hands. It wasn’t a bestseller. It wasn’t making headlines. But as she
signed a copy for a young girl who whispered, “I want to write like you someday,”
Ankita felt her heart overflow.
She had finally understood — goals are not about the applause of the world; they
are about answering the call within us. They turn dreams into direction, and
direction into destiny.
Ankita still manages projects at work. But now, she also manages the project of
her own soul. And that has made all the difference.
Activity
1. Write down a long term professional goal of yours?
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2. Write down a medium term financial goal of yours?
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3. Give your short term goal statement on building relationships.
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Quote
“Obstacles are those frightful things you see, when you take your eyes off your
goal”- Henry Ford
Take Away
1. Goals give direction to life.
2. Goals are a must for building success.
3. Set goals which are SMART.
4. Have goals in different domains of life.