The Simple Basics of Goal Setting

Did Siphiwe Tshabalala see the goal posts when he scored that magnificent goal during the opening game of the 2010 soccer world cup?

Imagine this….

South Africa is playing Mexico in the opening match of the 2010 soccer world cup. The stadium is packed with 84 490 fans, most of whom are supporting SA. The atmosphere is electric.

Our team is not doing too badly considering that at the time, Mexico are ranked 17th in the world and SA only 83rd! In the 50th minute of the game, Mexico is preparing to make a substitution. One of their players is warming up on the side and the team is momentarily distracted. South Africa gets the ball and starts moving toward the Mexican goal. We start making some headway down midfield and the crowd can sense that something could come of this and they get behind the team. We are now moving rapidly towards the Mexican goal and just as we get within striking range, our midfielder, Kagiso Dikgacoi, sends a perfect 40 yard pass out to the left wing. This allows Siphiwe Tshabalala to run in behind the Mexican defender. He collects the ball on his left foot, he’s moving at pace, he cuts infield, steadies himself, looks up…….. and there are no goal posts!! There is nothing to aim at!!!!

Now with that in mind, picture your own world cup of goals. Have you got goal posts? When you look up can you see them? Do you have something to aim at or are you just hoping that in 5 to 10 years you will end up “Somewhere!”

Goal setting is a simple business. But we sometimes complicate things unnecessarily by believing that goals have to be GRAND. “In 5 to 10 years I want a Porsche” “I want to have my own business” ” I want a holiday home in Spain”

We say 5 to 10 years because it’s so far away. There is no real commitment and no pressure to achieve.

Remember - If it’s not written down it’s not a goal, it’s a dream.

Now there is nothing wrong with having dreams as long as you have realistic goals that you can achieve while working on the dream.

I don’t believe that we have the capacity to monitor and track a 5 or 10 year goal, it’s too far away and we get distracted and bored and then we then give up.

Most people want things not goals. We want to own the things, not just wish for them.  

I believe that there are 3 types of goals that you should focus on if you want to achieve your dreams.
Long term. Short term. and Immediate goals.

A long term goal is 1 year. This could be a boat cruise valued at R 10 000.00. That’s achievable.

Long term goals can be adjusted if need be. If you have to adjust and it takes 14 or 15 months to achieve the boat trip it’s still an achievement. It’s something you would not have achieved if you did not have the goal in the first place.

A short term goal is 3 to 6 months. This could be a new dishwasher valued at R 3 000.00. That’s achievable.

And an immediate goal is something you can do right now, within 24 hours. Service the car.
Something you have been putting off for ages. Write it down. Make it a priority.
Phone and book the service. Once your car has been serviced, tick it off the list. Then add another immediate goal to the list.

When you get the dishwasher, tick it off the list. Then add another 3 to 6 month goal to the list. What’s important here is to get into the habit of setting and achieving goals.

This builds confidence in your ability to set and achieve goals. It’s not the size of the goal that’s important, what’s important is achieving what you set out to do.

Make a list of the goals you want to work on. Then allocate them into long, short and immediate goals. Then take each list and prioritize your goals and start working on them.

We get a thrill out of owning things. That’s what drives us and motivates us.
You need something to motivate you to go out and perform. You need achievable goals.

So, did Siphiwe Tshalbalala see the goal posts? Of course he did. How else he could have been so accurate. He hit the ball with power and precision and blasted it past Oscar Perez into the top-left hand corner of the net because he had something to aim at – GOAL POSTS!

What about your goal posts, can you see them? Do you have something to aim at?

Without GOAL POSTS, you simply can’t score goals. Even if your name is Siphiwe Tshabalala!