Goal Setting Template to Knock it Out of the Park!

You've just put another year in the books, made new resolutions--and come Valentine's Day, you'll trade out your resolutions out for a Valentine's Day card. If you used a goal setting template that worked last year, and mapped out how to achieve goals and hit your mark, you don't need this. If you want to set some real goals this year and knock it out of the park, here's a great goal setting template that will get 'er done.

First off, if you want to know how to achieve goals, you have to understand that goals may be mini-dreams at first--but they're notjust dreams.Take the bigger 'dream/goal' and chunk it out into smaller bits all of which lead to the major change in your life that you were hoping to accomplish. You have to take the bull of life by his horns and wrestle that steer to the ground--nobody else is going to hand you your goals, neatly packaged with a bow. You've got to join the rodeo and handle your business.

The real secret of how to set and achieve goals, then, is to take the "big idea" and make it more manageable. Sure, you want to lose 25 pounds, but the first goal may be to stop eating burgers and fries, right? So, your first mini-goal would be to cut out the golden arches.

If you want to know how to achieve goals, this is the not-quite-patented, but very-successful-nonetheless,goal setting template:

1. Specify your goal and Write it Out!Don't play at the edges with some vague notion like, "I want to spend more time with the kids." Be vague, you'll fail. Be specific and win. Vague goals are frustration waiting to happen.

By writing down your goals, you'll have a finish line in view. You will be more motivated to finish the race, so review the "finish line" often, and keep on truckin'.

2. Own your goals.Do you want to know why many college students don't complete their degree coursework? They were in school trying to live out their parents' dreams, not their own. Your goals have to be your goals, not somebody else's goals for your life.

3. Measure your progress.Of course, this means you need some way to measure your progress. Your goals need to be something you can actually see--paying off debt, for instance, is an easy goal to measure if you're checking your statements. If you want to lose weight--how much? That's the idea.

4. Give yourself a deadline.Give yourself a limit so you can have more manageable, reachable goals. For instance, if you want to have a million dollars...by when? Tomorrow? That's not going to happen, most likely. If you want to lose 30 pounds by Easter, that's a real goal. The deadline will also give your plan some wheels. Putting your goals in writing will make you much more likely to achieve them. Write down your goals and review them often. This will give you motivation to make them a reality.

That, dear reader, is how to set and achieve goals. Re-evaluate your progress, often, and live on purpose, with a purpose. Forget the New Year's resolutions, you've got a goal setting template to succeed at any time, any place, with any problem.

Now you don't have the luxury of an excuse: ball's in your court.