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Writer's pictureSmita D Jain

5 Proven Tips for Successful Personal and Professional Goal Setting

If you want to succeed, you need to learn to set goals. Setting meaningful goals enhances your chances of getting success in your professional and personal life.



“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.”

~Albert Einstein


Have you ever thought about what you want to be in five years? Do you have a clear objective for the long term at work at the moment? Do you often experience a lack of motivation to carry forward your plan and actions? Do you know what goals you will achieve by the end of today? Do you feel something crucial is missing that can drive you forward in your life?


If any of these answers is yes, then you need to learn to set reasonable goals for personal and professional growth. Goal setting allows you to take control of your life and it’s direction. Without goals, you may lack the necessary focus and direction to make your life meaningful.


Goal setting is a powerful tool that provides you with a clear path to follow to become the person you want to be. Setting meaningful goals can be a great way to help yourself grow and develop, both in your personal and professional life. It helps you visualise how far you have come, and it can also keep you motivated to keep going.


Difference Between Personal and Professional Goals


Before getting into details to set meaningful personal and professional goals, let us first understand the difference between them. Personal goals are usually related to your health, happiness, and relationships whereas professional goals focus on career accomplishments and academic achievements.


Some prominent examples of personal goals are mentioned below:


● Starting good habits

● Learn from failure

● Practice gratitude

● Leave emotional expectations behind

● Learn healthy ways to cope with stress

● Improve your financial management skills


Some prominent examples of professional goals are mentioned below:


● Improve your core skill set

● Learn how to make effective decisions

Get promoted in your organization

● Earn higher credentials and salary


Creating a balance in both of these aspects of your life is crucial for your overall growth and well-being. You should take an egalitarian approach towards them for a meaningful life. Also, achieving the goal(s) of one aspect of life often helps in improving the other aspect of life too.


Tips for Setting Meaningful Goals


There is an art to setting meaningful goals for your professional and personal growth. It is a delicate process that starts with meticulous consideration of what you want to achieve, some well-defined steps as part of a comprehensive plan and a lot of hard work to actually accomplish it. Here are 5 tips to help you formulate realistic goals that you can achieve.


1. Identify Your Passions


Goal setting starts by determining what you want your life to be like in the future. Identify important things you are passionate about. Visualize your ideal life to understand what's realistic for you to achieve. Take some time to evaluate and reflect on your current situation to understand how you would like your life to be in the long term. These insights will help you a lot in setting your goals.


2. Use the SMART Rule


You should choose to apply the SMART method when setting goals for yourself. If you want your goals to be powerful, they should be designed with the SMART rule.


Here the term SMART stands for


Specific: It should be specific to help you determine the steps you need to take.

Measurable: It should be measurable so you can evaluate the progress.

Attainable: Your goals have to be realistic so you attain them.

Relevant: It should be relevant to your personal and/or professional life.

Time Bound: Set a deadline so you can work on it with consistency.


Applying these objectives to your goals makes it easier for you to set your goals, evaluate your progress, and celebrate your accomplishments. It ensures that you are going in the right direction and yields motivation to continue the journey further.


1. Create an Action Plan

nce you determine what you want to achieve, it’s time to create an action plan. Think and prioritise the goals you need to work on first. Evaluate your skills, determine your role, and include deadlines and the tools/resources you will need to achieve your goals while creating an action plan. Write down individual steps with clarity to make sure you keep going in the right direction towards your goals.


2. Set Milestones and Track Your Progress

Break your goals into several milestones to check and see how much you have progressed since you began pursuing your goals. You may check your progress once a week or even a month depending on the kind of milestone you are pursuing and the amount of time you can dedicate for such an assessment. Tracking your progress helps you to see if you've been consistent and also helps you identify strategies that work best for you.


3. Accept Setbacks and Change Your Approach


Setbacks are inevitable and you are not going to achieve what you want every time. Accept failures when they happen and don’t dwell on them. They are undesirable but can be a stepping stone towards your next achievement. Dealing with such setbacks smartly provides a positive impetus to your professional and personal growth.


Goal setting is much more than just saying something you want. Your chances of success are considerably enhanced when you clearly define exactly what you want and why you want it. Follow the above-mentioned tips to set goals with confidence and enjoy the satisfaction that comes while you accomplish them.


Learn smart and effective ways to make your life better with expert guidance. Get a personal life coaching session from Smita D Jain to manifest the dream life you want for yourself.


Not sure whether you can benefit from a life coach or not? Take the free quiz to find out the answer.


Smita D. Jain is a Certified Life Coach, Executive Coach and NLP Practitioner. Smita’s ‘Empower Yourself’ Personal Clarity Coaching Programs enable busy professionals unhappy in their jobs to tap into their passions and transform them into professions so that they work because they want to, not because they have to.


Prior to her journey as a coach, Smita had extensive experience of 14 years as a corporate and business strategy professional with Fortune 500 companies. She is also a speaker at various public forums, a published writer, and an Amazon bestselling author.


You can learn more about Personal Empowerment Life Coach and Executive Coach Smita D Jain’s ‘Empower Yourself’ Coaching Programs by visiting www.lifecoachsmitadjain.com and



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