As a coach, I work with people to help them understand what they really want; to test what is realistic enough to achieve and then create the confidence, time, and support to get started and keep going. Here are my top 5 suggestions to help you set your own personal or professional goals.

  1. Write down what you want—use positive statements. Generally, people are more motivated by what they want than by what they don’t want. For example: “I want to exercise regularly so that I am healthier and have more energy.” Once you have written your goal down, put it where you can see it often.
  2. Make your goal realistic. For example: “What do I mean by ‘regular’ exercise? How much time/money can I afford to spend on my goal? When, specifically, will I work on it, and when do I think I will achieve it by?”
  3. Break your goal down into achievable chunks. Big goals can seem overwhelming and this makes them difficult to start.
  4. Think about how you will know that you are making progress towards your goal—i.e., the “evidence”—and make it as measurable as possible. For example: “I will go to the gym twice a week. I will be able to walk up the stairs in my house without running out of breath. I will start to feel more comfortable in my clothes.”
  5. Reward yourself. With the example of exercise, this can be something as simple as giving yourself a little pat on the back every time you step into the gym, or treating yourself to a nice meal when you achieve a significant goal.
Categories: Goal Setting

Linda Hayman

I am an ICF Professional Certified Coach, NLP Master Practitioner and Certified Hypnotherapist. I offer coaching face-to-face and by phone, or Skype.