Yes or No, the daily decisions of life are constantly coming at you.
Quick… you only have a few seconds!
Blink!
How do you make up your mind?
Do you automatically make a split second decision or do you take a few seconds and compare your decision to a mental list.
A mental list of lifetime goals.
Do you ask… Does this decision further my goals?
Will this help or hinder my progress?
For example:
- If your goal is to lose weight, your decision to eat that large brownie in front of you may not be the best one.
- Watching that extra hour of TV may hinder your progress to your MBA.
- Your lifetime savings plan may be negatively affected by your frequent trips to the Casino.
The problem with this scenario is that most people have never written down long term or lifetime goals. When you don’t have something to shoot for it’s easy to pick up that brownie, turn on the TV, or pull the handle on the slot machine. Writing down your goals will help cement them in your mind.
With the end of the year quickly approaching, I have put together a quick and easy “Top Five,” lifetime goal sheets. It consists of twenty questions to ask yourself and you have a place to put your top five answers for each one.
Here are the questions…
- Top Five Things You Want To Do
- Top Five Things You Want To Accomplish
- Top Five Things You Want To Have
- Top Five Things You Want To Learn
- Top Five People You Want To Meet
- Top Five People You Want To Have Dinner With
- Top Five People You Want To Thank
- Top Five Mentors
- Top Five Places You Want To See
- Top Five Places You Want To Experience
- Top Five Places You Want To Live
- Top Five Places You Want To Eat
- Top Five Jobs You Want To Have
- Top Five Businesses You Want To Start
- Top Five Career Titles You Want
- Top Five People You Want To Work For
- Top Five Books You Want To Read
- Top Five People You Want To Impact
- Top Five Things You Want To Give
- Top Five Things You Want To Be Remembered For
While there are many goal setting worksheets available, I think you’ll find this one somewhat different and fun to fill out. As you start to write things down from a lifelong perspective you may find that common pre-conceived perceptions of what is really important may fade somewhat. I was really surprised what I wrote down as I followed the exercise.
Take about 20-30 minutes and quickly go through the list, writing down items as they come to mind. Don’t spend more than 15-20 seconds on any line. When you are done, go back and pick three to five items that stand out and write them down on the Goals Action List on the back page.
Write the goal down along with a completion date and then write down an action statement. Make the action statement specific and concise. Use positive statements.
When you have your action statements completed, fill in the 12 week, one year, and two year vision statements. Keep the statements positive and describe what you see after completing your goals.
This simple exercise can really have a positive effect on your life. The real secret to goal setting is to
- Write Them Down
- Make Them Specific
- Have a Completion Date
Take a few minutes today and download the Top Five Goal Sheets. Open them in Microsoft Word and print them on sturdy paper. Use a pen or fine tip marker to fill them in.
Once you have them written, you can use our Goal Setting Toolkit to take them with you wherever you go.
