When we travel to some unknown place, we need a map to get to where we need to be. In personal and professional achievement, you also need a map to help you go to where you want to go. This is what they call the action plan. But before the action plan, you need a destination first and that is what people call “goals.”

Goal setting refers to the process of defining and setting goals. Goals are tasks that you need to accomplish. A goal can be large scale such as “I want to be a millionaire when I grow up” to small scale, “I am going to do my assignments today.”

Often, people do not have problem setting goals. In fact, we probably have a number of things that we wanted to do ever since we were little kids. The problem is in the achievement of those goals. It is the action part of the goal, the next step to goal setting that we often have trouble dealing with.

This does not however mean that goal setting is not important. People often do not plan or set their goals because they think that they are not able to achieve them anyway. They will say “We can set goals all we want but we never really achieve them. So it’s better to not to set goals anymore.” That’s where they are wrong. Not having goals is similar to not having a destination in your life. You do not know where you are going so how will you get there? Goals also function as your map because bigger goals can be broken down to smaller goals that you can accomplish to get to the final destination. Think Amazing Race, where you need to fulfill different tasks to get to your destination.

Setting goals is important because it defines your tasks and allows you to focus on them. Enumerating your goals also enables you to manage your time so you can maximize your day. Setting goals also makes you more persistent, more persevering and more hyped up to finish the task. Goals also motivate the person and gives them purpose and direction. People who have achieved a lot in their lives have set goals for themselves and followed through with them. Some even have checklists that they check off when they have already accomplished a task.

How effective goal setting is lies in the way the goals are made. Goals must be S-M-A-R-T. Goals must be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. It is not enough that you tell yourself that you will accomplish a specific task. The goal must be specific enough that you know what to do with it. It must have a time frame so you know how much time you have. It needs to be something you can actually do and not some impossible task or something that is entirely dependent on other people. And lastly, it needs to be a task that can be measured so that you will know if you have already accomplished the task or not.

MKWeb owns and runs over 140 WordPress blogs, all on autopilot! If you want to learn how, simply go to http://mkw-ind.biz to get your auto-blog started today! Register your domain name, pick your topic/niche and theme and we can handle the rest! www.mkw-ind.biz  Owner and founder of MKW Industries, Inc. I am determined to help as many people as I can learn to build an online business so they won't have to depend on Uncle Sam or their own government to provide for them in their retirement. Read more from this author