Goal Setting Mastery: Becoming a Goal Setter and a Goal Getter

As I think about what to share with you to encourage or inspire you to set goals, a quote comes to mind that changed my approach: "What gets measured improves." We all know setting goals is crucial. We’ve heard the fun acronyms like SMART, PACT, and WOOP, but simply knowing that you should set goals, why you should, or even how you should isn’t enough. The key difference lies in taking action. You can talk about what you should do all day, but without action, nothing gets done.

There are countless ways to track your goals. The key is to make it easy and repeatable. In today's world, our phones are always with us, so it doesn’t need to be complicated or fancy. I use the Notes app on my phone and a couple of other apps. The important thing is to take action and track it.

If you're unsure of what action to take, consider this: what is one thing that would move the needle the most for you? You’ve probably heard the statistics about continuing to read and educate yourself daily. The idea that you're the sum of the people you surround yourself with and the books you read was really eye-opening for me. I was never much of a reader, but I realized that was a "needle" I could move. I changed my internal dialogue from mindless TV and radio to intentional growth. I started reading every book I could get my hands on and eventually began tracking them. That’s when it got really fun, and I discovered the power of tracking your goals.

In 2016, I started a note on my phone to track every book I've read. It began with a goal of reading one book a month, and as the momentum grew, so did my reading. Since then, I've read 471 books. I didn’t realize it was that many until I counted just now. Each year, when you compare year to year, you're motivated to improve. When you see the big total, you want to keep going.

So, what are you going to start tracking today that will move the needle for you?

Glyn Ann Townsend

6th Degree Black Belt

Program Director