Don't be a Fool and Work
without a Goal!
Have you ever sat down and thought about what you really want to accomplish in your job or your career? What is your goal? What is it that would make you happy at work? If you haven't decided on that yet, it's time to get started. When you work without a goal, you're being destiny's fool.
By doing this, you're depending on life to hand you a path that you haven't set up for yourself. It's true, life will always hand you a path, but it may not be the one you wanted. Avoid being destiny's fool, and decide on your own path. Know your goals at work so that you have something you're working toward. With a goal in hand, you're much more likely to focus your efforts in precisely the direction you should be heading.
Once you have your goal, you need to have a plan for accomplishing it. Certainly, work harder to get a promotion sounds like a good plan, but it doesn't really give you a set of actions to concentrate on.
Therefore, with your goal in hand, come up with small, achievable steps that will help you to obtain your goal. By breaking down your goal into small steps, you'll make it possible, and real. You'll be able to actually see yourself coming closer to achieving that final result, and you'll remain motivated, as the outcome gets closer.
Whenever you can, remind yourself of your goal. Put a post-it on your computer monitor that reminds you of your goal. Whenever you look at the note, remind yourself "I can do it!" When nobody's looking, say your goal and your reminder out loud. It's surprising what "talking to yourself" can actually do for your motivation to reach your goals.
Think about your goal at the end of every workday. Ask yourself what you did that day to move closer to attaining your goal. What will you do tomorrow?
Setting your goals makes the difference between just dreaming, and actually taking action to get somewhere. So take the time to plan out your goals, take the steps you need, and remind yourself that you can turn that dream into a goal that you can accomplish.
