Difference between Goal Setting and Wishful Thinking
Most of the people do not go
beyond "wishful thinking". And they mistake and confuse their wishful
thinking with goal setting or target setting. More often than not, these people
do not attain their wishes. Just desiring something or wishing something in a
vague manner does not lead them to their achievements. It is difficult- if
wishes were horses, everyone would ride. But in real life it is not seen that
way.
There is a significant
difference between wishes and putting wishes into a format of goal setting.
In large numbers of our
seminars and workshops, when we request the participants to jot down their
goals or targets, they scribble something like:
• Getting quicker promotions and raise in
salary
• Getting rich
• Owning a nice house
• Traveling to foreign countries
• Blissful family life
• Excellent education to children
And so on.
Are these expressions of their
targets or goals?
The answer is: These are
definitely not targets or goals. They are mere wishes or desires. Goals or
targets are much more than simply stating your desire or wish of wanting
something to happen. For achieving your goal you need to clearly define exactly
what you wish to accomplish otherwise your chances of success get significantly
lowered.
Then how to convert these
wishes into meaningful targets or goals? We will show you by taking just one example.
Example:
The wish
or desire is: Traveling to foreign countries.
Let us now create a goal or
target out of this wish or desire.
Ask yourself following
questions and answer them:
•
Where
do you wish to go first?
•
When
do you wish to go to the chosen foreign country?
•
Will
you be able to complete all the preparatory work before that date?
•
Which
cities in that country you want to visit?
•
How
long you intend staying there?
•
Where
do you plan to stay there: with your relatives/with your friends?
•
How
much money will be needed for to and fro airfare and other expenses during
travel? Which route and airlines will you choose?
•
How
much money will be needed to stay there?
•
How
much money will be needed to travel various cities you wish to see in the
foreign country?
•
How
will you take care of your medical expenses if any?
•
Do
you have this kind of money? What are your sources of money?
•
Do
you have a passport? If no, how much time it will take to get a new passport?
Have you got all necessary documents?
•
Do
you have the required Visa to go to the foreign country? Do you have all the
documents to get the Visa?
•
Will
you make your travel plans yourself or will you outsource it to an agency? What
extra money you will need to hire the agency?
This may not be an exhaustive
or comprehensive list. But you get a line of thinking and acting from this
indicative list of questions.
You need to answer each one
of them very specifically with facts and figures as correctly as possible. Then
you will need to plan out the actions to be taken in order to complete the necessary
tasks. The plan will have to be drawn on a time line.
Then you will have to get
down to doing all those actions as per the timetable or schedule. And soon you
will see that you are progressing towards achieving your goal day after day.
And a day will arrive when you will have your passport and Visa with you,
you will possess the required money (foreign currency) and you will
be proceeding towards the airport to board your flight. Hey! You have
achieved part of your above-mentioned goal. You will achieve rest of it after
reaching the foreign country.
What did you really do? You
really converted your wish or desire into a concrete goal or target by defining
it as per the SMART criteria described in an earlier paragraph. In defining
your goal in this new manner, you were SMART- your goal was now specific (S),
measurable (M), agreed/achievable (A), realistic (R) and timed (T).
(It will be a good idea to read all the other posts on Goal
Setting on this blog).
Related Book
"Essentials of Goal Setting": You may like to order online your copies of the book (eBook as well as printed book) from Amazon.
Books Authored by Shyam Bhatawdekar and Dr Kalpana Bhatawdekar (eBooks and printed books available online from Amazon)
Management, Business, Self-help & Personality Development Books
1. HSoftware (Human Software) (The Only Key to Higher Effectiveness)
2. Sensitive Stories of Corporate World (Management Case Studies)
3. Classic Management Games, Exercises, Energizers and Icebreakers
4. Classic Management Games, Exercises, Energizers and Icebreakers (Volume 2)
5. Classic Team Building Games, Exercises, Energizers and Icebreakers
6. 101 Classic Management Games, Exercises, Energizers and Icebreakers
7. Stress? No Way!! (Handbook on Stress Management)
8. HSoftware (Shyam Bhatawdekar’s Effectiveness Model)
9. Competency Management (Competency Matrix and Competencies)
10. Soft Skills You Can’t Do Without (Goal Setting, Time Management, Assertiveness and Anger Management)
11. Essentials of Work Study (Method Study and Work Measurement)
12. Essentials of Time Management (Taking Control of Your Life)
13. Essentials of 5S Housekeeping
14. Essentials of Quality Circles
15. Essentials of Goal Setting
16. Essentials of Anger Management
17. Essentials of Assertive Behavior
18. Essentials of Performance Management & Performance Appraisal
19. Health Essentials (Health Is Wealth)
20. The Romance of Intimacy (How to Enhance Intimacy in a Relationship?)
Novels, Stories, Biographies and Travelogues
21. The Peace Crusaders (Novel: how the peace crusaders established permanent peace on a war strewn planet?)
22. Love Knows No Bounds (Novel: a refreshingly different love story. Also available with the title “Good People”)
23. Funny (and Not So Funny) Short Stories
24. Stories Children Will Love (Volume 1: Bhanu-Shanu-Kaju-Biju and Dholu Ram Gadbad Singh)
25. My Father (Biography)
26. Travelogue: Scandinavia, Russia
For everything you wanted to know on building leadership and management, refer Shyam
Bhatawdekar’s website: http://shyam.bhatawdekar.com
(Refer our High Quality Management
Encyclopedia “Management Universe” at: http://management universe.blogspot.com/)
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