How I Set Goals and Objectives

Since the new year is almost upon us, I thought I would share how I go about setting goals and objectives. It’s a simple process, and I’ve found it to be reliable and successful.

Start with Mission and Purpose

If you have been following my work for a while, you’ve heard me use the term mission and purpose. I use these words because they have specific meanings and help me stay focused. My mission is the what I am doing. It’s the thing I actually do. It’s my writing. It’s my teaching at conferences. It’s providing patients medical care. The purpose is the why I do these things.

For my writing and teaching activities, my mission and purpose are:

Mission - create educational material that raises the business intelligence of the consumer

Purpose - help the client have the business they desire

For my medical practice, my mission and purpose are:

Mission - provide safe and effective anesthesia to the patient

Purpose - enable the patient to endure the surgical procedure so their quality of life can improve

For my personal life, my mission and purpose are:

Mission - to live a healthy lifestyle through diet and exercise

Purpose - to healthy and active with my children and grandchildren when I am older so that I am not a burden on them

The important thing in this step is to write down your mission and purpose. Read it out loud. Have someone else you trust read it as well and provide feedback. The result of this exercise is something brief, concise, and powerful.

Set Objectives

Next, I set an objective. The objective is that ultimate task or outcome I want to achieve. In the case of my personal wellness, last year I chose the objective of losing ten pounds of fat and an inch off my waist. As I was choosing this objective, I asked if this objective supported my mission and purpose. I believe that it did. Notice this; my objective is the larger outcome I want. It’s specific but doesn’t get down into the weeds if you will.

Again, you will want to write down your objectives so that you can refer to them each day. When faced with a question, opportunity, or problem, you can review your mission and purpose and objectives to help establish a starting point for yourself.

Set Your Goals

Goals are the regular physical tasks that support the objective. Goals can be daily, weekly, or whatever frequency you want. In my weight loss example, I set some goals that supported my objective.

I set a goal of exercising every day for thirty minutes. There were days this was not a fun goal. Then there were days when it was fun. On the not-so-fun days, I would look at my written objectives and review my mission and purpose. Doing this reminded why I set out on this journey, to begin with. It motivated me. Now, there were days when I was ill or injured. I made a note of it in my logbook and never beat myself up for it. I reminded myself my mission and purpose is a longterm outcome - one that I might never achieve but will keep striving for.

I set a similar goal for my diet. My wife helped me with this. Together we developed an eating plan with specific foods groups such as fruits and vegetables. Trust me; there were days when the chocolate cake looked delicious. But I asked myself how eating the cake supported my objective and will eating it help me achieve my mission and purpose. Now I didn’t deprive myself of eating good food or sweets every once and a while. I merely asked if that particular action helped me.

This critical lesson in setting your goals is finding someone who will hold you accountable. My wife and business partners do this for me. If you want real change and growth in your personal development or business, having someone hold you responsible is a great motivator.

Write It All Down

Keep a log of your progress. There are a lot of great products out there. Look at a few and pick one and use it. Writing down your mission and purpose will help solidify it in your mind. Writing and reading your objectives will help you stay focused on them and keep them in the forefront of your mind. Keeping track of your goals will help you see the progress you make towards your objectives.

It’s a Simple Process

I promised the process would be simple. I adapted this method from what I learned from one of my mentors, Jim Camp. Write down your mission and purpose. Know your what and why. Then develop objectives that support the mission and purpose. After that, set goals that are specific, measurable, realistic, and once accomplished, help you achieve your objective.

I’ve been using this system for years now, and it has helped me achieve things I never thought I would. By using this method, I’ve written a book, launched a speaking career, and found financial rewards as well. I hope you use this or a similar system. I would love to see you accomplish your dreams. You can when you set yourself up for success.

Wishing you the best in the new year,

David