What Is a Personal Goal Statement?
Reviewing a personal goal statement is just as important as writing one. In order to chart progress and make adjustments as needed, it is important to maintain a daily update of goals and progress. While this process can be as simple as taking 20 minutes to review last night's goals to adding new goals as old ones are met, you can create and maintain a personal goal statement that allows you to grow in every area of your life.
Identification
A personal goal statement is a specific plan of action a person plans to take in one or more areas of her life. For example, a personal goal statement can address finance goals, relationship goals or professional goals. Each goal that is named in the personal goal statement is accompanied by the specific goal, an affirmation of the intended results of that goal and the plan of action that will be taken to ensure the successful completion of that goal.
Goal
Every personal goal statement must start with a clearly written goal. That goal must address an actionable and measurable change that the author wants to make. For example, a fitness goal could be, "I want to fit into size 30-inch jeans." This very specific goal is actionable, as weight loss is an achievable goal that can easily be measured as the author changes pants sizes.
Affirmative Statement
A personal goal statement should contain affirmative statements related to the actual goal. To create an affective affirmative statement, write with an assumptive or affirming perspective. For example, following the previous example, the author would write, "I have a 30-inch waistline." The purpose of using assumptive phrasing is to link the goal to the intended outcome and motivate the author in the process.
Plan of Action
A personal goal statement must have a clear plan of action. For example, a plan of action could be, "Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 45-minute strength training sessions," "4-Minute Mile," or "Measure waistline weekly." Each plan of action creates an accountability that charts the author's progress and allows him to measure how quickly that progress is being made.
Significance
The point of a personal goal statement is to evaluate and transform areas of the author's life so it matches his potential. For many, this equates to taking "stock" of one's life and then writing down troubled areas and assigning solutions to correct them. Personal goal statements can be written on a number of topics and updated at varying time intervals. From monthly to yearly, create a daily or hour-to-hour log of what actions have been taken and how effective they have been.
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