How To Set Goals And Be Successful In Personal And Professional Life

Ask any person who is successful in whatever he or she is doing, what motivates him/her, and very probable the response will be "goals" or maybe fear of failure.

Goal Setting is extremely important to motivation and success. I would say motivation and goal settings is something that drive us to success in both personal and professional lives.

Let me here quote Greg Anderson who said: When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then we truly live life. So what motivates you?

Motivation is not something that comes naturally for everyone. It can be learned and developed. How do you build this inner desire?

Let's see what can be the most important points in motivation taking into consideration your personal and professional life.

Motivation in Your Personal Life

1. Believe in yourself. Allow only positive thoughts to dominate your thinking, such as:

• I am worthy.
• I like myself.
• I am strong and self-secure.
• I can handle what comes my way.
• I know the future holds opportunities for me.

Forcing yourself to think this way may be difficult at first. Only when you believe that you deserve success can it possibly come your way.

2. Overcome fear. Fear creates stress, panic, and anxiety. Fear defeats your plans and goals. Here are some ways you can overcome fear:

• Build self-confidence.
• Identify and understand your fears.

• Take action. Once you start to do something, your fears will disappear.

3. Build on failures and mistakes. Socrates once remarked that there is more risk in buying knowledge than in buying food. He is correct. If you purchase spoiled meat, you throw it out, not allowing it to harm your body. But ideas imprinted on the mind are not so easily dislodged.

Once you learn from your failures and mistakes, they should be discarded like spoiled food. To judge yourself only in light of your failures and mistakes is to assure more of the same.

4. Start now. Get in motion as soon as possible, and as your momentum builds, so will your motivation.

Motivation in Your Professional Life

1. Welcome challenges. Challenges are opportunities to break out of the routine of your job and expand your skills. Challenges can be springboards to professional growth if they are welcomed as opportunities rather than tolerated as nuisances. You are more likely to be motivated to a higher level of job performance if you embrace positively the challenges that come your way.

2. Take pride in achievements. Keeping score can provide a tangible way to measure progress. As progress is made, it is important to take pride in your achievements. Though you cannot overlook the problems of tomorrow, you should not forget to celebrate the successes of today. Even small achievements can be occasions for pride.

3. Visualize success. As clearly and vividly as you can, you should visualize the rewards of your success in your mind. Make it such a good picture that you'll do almost anything to be part of it.

4. Be flexible. Sometimes self-motivation is lacking because of failure to adapt or change. It is possible to hold a goal too tightly. For example, failure to reach unrealistic goals can cause your self-image to plummet. The solution to the problem may be flexibility a willingness to adapt goals so they more nearly fit your values and skills.

"Note how good you feel after you have encouraged someone else. No other argument is necessary to suggest that one should never miss the opportunity to give encouragement." (George MatthewAdams)

Take into consideration the important points in motivation and goal settings mentioned here and you will see improvings in your life and your carreer.