Does goal setting work?

I believe the answer very much depends on who you listen to, what motivates you and which method you use.

I have used the traditional SMART goal planning method, planning what needs to be done, booking up my entire week/ month and sometimes even a year in advance in order to get my goal achieved. Has it worked? Sometimes. However, although I’m on a high for achieving my goal, I have usually p***** off a lot of people in the process by saying no to invitations and not talking to my family or partner in order to get the tasks done. Also I have suffered a lot of stress in the process.

Recently, however, I have been introduced to another method to achieve my goals. I have a think about what I would like to achieve and then I write it down. I then visualise I have it and I get a really good sense of it, what it would feel like and be like. Then I get up and walk away. I trust that it will happen as I go about my everyday life and be present with what’s going on around me. By adopting this method, I have steadily moved towards my dreams and aspirations without getting stressed or being disappointed that I missed a deadline.

For example when I was younger studying accountancy at university I used to dream of being the CEO of a business, and here I am CEO of my own company! Another more recent example is that I did some goal setting planning with a little help from Jack Black’s free material on YouTube over Christmas and New Year, then I consciously worked towards one of them (a holiday) but the rest I closed my notebook to. I picked up my notebook earlier today (2 months later) to be amazed that I had achieved so many of them in such a short time. It’s a wonderful feeling to be present with life, your family, friends, and nature, have fun, let go of stress and still achieve what you want, and sometimes much more! 🙂

© Helen Monaghan

Look out for my eBook coming soon!