Goal setting is a very effective and common technique used by high-achievers. It is also a technique that has been tried unsuccessfully by a lot of frustrated people. Both set goals/targets/aims/ambitions, but only the achievers were able to use them effectively. Why is that so? Is it a flaw with the method itself or is a flaw with how you go about doing it? 
 
If you want to be a highly successful individual, you need to know how to apply this technique effectively. Note the use of the word “effectively.” It is not enough to set goals, it is important to set them effectively. This article examines how you can do that. It will also help you identify where your technique is flawed, and help you correct it.
 
Step 1: 
 
You need to choose a goal at this step. It is not advisable to set a lot of targets at the same time.
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The Smart Goal-Setting Formula

Setting SMART goals is key to being successful. If you want to learn what ‘SMART Goals’ are and what they can do for your life, read this article now. The Dark Side of Goal Setting

When we think about it, goal-setting seems fundamental to performance and measurement of that performance in our world–a healthy response to the action we make and take; hardly any part of the world is immune from goals. Not even the ministry or the Vatican is immune, though they might be somewhat less relevant to some, viz, monasterial orders. Goal-setting is, however, ostensibly secular in its philosophy and objective. Process of Goal-Setting

Goals are products of visioning. Therefore, to develop a goal you must have had a vision of what, where and how you want your organization to be at specific times in future. Break this broad ambition into chunks of passionate desires; and you’ve got goals. Success Needs a Plan – A Simple Goal-Setting Guide

Do you plan for the events in your life: vacations, weddings, birthdays and holidays? Do you invest the time and effort to make them memorable and successful? Life is our biggest event. Yet, too many of us just float along, letting the whims of chance push us along life’s pathway.You can focus on a single desire for a month, and if things go well, you can start working on another one while still working on this one. 
 
It is extremely important to write down your aims. Why? When you write down a target, it changes from being an abstract idea in your head to a written down requirement. It channels your mind’s resources because now it is a solid statement to your brain, rather than a fuzzy ambition. 
 
So as a first step, write down a goal. Go ahead; write down the best and most important target you can think of. It will give you an idea of where your technique is at this moment. By the end of this article, you would have transformed this target into an effective one. For example, we will consider your target to be “Don’t shy away from public speaking” 
 
Step 2:
 
Now take a long, hard look at your aim.
Ask yourself the following questions, and proceed only if the answer to all these questions is yes. Otherwise, go back and choose a different target. 
 
Is this goal important to me?
Is this target going to help me move up in my life?
Is this my own aim, and not something my family/friends/media/society wants for me?
Is this target attainable? (You may want to ponder this question hard. If you don’t believe a target to be attainable, it simply won’t be so, however trivial it may be. If you think it is possible, however, then you can move mountains!)
Is this aim in alignment with my overall life plan?
Is your target something that does not contradict your other ambitions?
Is your ambition consistent with your values? 
Is your target independent of factors beyond your control? (Otherwise you may want to reword it so that it would be a performance goal and not an outcome target)
 
Step 3:
 
Now that you have an important, helpful, attainable, value-bound target of your own that is aligned with your life plan and other goals, you can move to the next step. It is about the “action word” in your goal. Does your target have a positive action word, like complete/finish/improve/do/perform/study etc? If not, rewrite your aim so that it has one. Also, your ambition should not contain words like don’t/mustn’t/won’t/shouldn’t etc. So now we will examine our target. 
 
You can see that the example target has a negative word “don’t” and no positive action word in it. So rewrite the example target as follows: “Improve my public speaking skills.” There, now that is much better!
 
Step 4:
 
This step is about setting a time limit for attaining your aim. Look at your written goal statement. Does it contain a completion date attached to it? If not, then write one down. Make sure it is realistic – that means you can’t change your target so it reads “Be the best public speaker in my country by next week.” Also make sure it is not too easy either. Find a balance. We will rewrite our example target as follows “Improve my public speaking skills by 31st December of this year.” 
 
Step 5:
 
Make it specific. Write an elaborate target which details what exactly you are expecting to achieve – so that you can MEASURE your success. It is very important that goals are specific and measurable. So we will now rewrite our target to be “Speak confidently and enthusiastically in front of ten different groups of an average 100 people each by 31st December of this year.” 
 
Step 6:
 
Drill it down to mini-targets. If your main target has a timeframe of one year, divide it to many shorter term targets, of time frames of months. Again drill them down to timeframe of weeks, and maybe even days. Make sure each of these mini-targets follow all the steps given above. 
 
Step 7:
 
Visualize it. Imagine yourself having already achieved these targets, and visualize it in elaborate detail. Get creative, and motivate yourself by visualizing your desired outcome. Get into a positive frame of mind. 
 
Step 8:
 
Share your goals with positive, encouraging people. Enlist the help of a supportive, understanding and helpful friend in keeping you focused on your target. The fact that someone else knows your aim could create enough peer pressure to keep you on your path. If you don’t have any supportive friends or family, you can join support groups of other people working on the same or similar targets. If there are no such groups in your locality, you can always find some online.
 
Step 9:
 
Lay the ground-work. Educate yourself if in detail about your target – read extensively about public speaking, research the various tips and tricks, join public speaking groups, start with speaking in front of a couple friends and move up the ladder and so on. 
 
Step 10:
 
Be passionate about your target. Great things will only be achieved by those who have sustained passion and are willing to commit to their targets. Enjoy working on your aim. Keep a goal journal and track your path. Blog about your ambition. Review your aim periodically and assess your performance. Rewrite it if necessary. 
 
These are some methods that can propel you towards a high success rate with goal setting.