Whether your challenge is figuring out your dream or giving yourself the permission to go after it, neither can be accomplished without setting clear goals and a proactive strategy. Manifesting a career where you feel fulfilled and financially rewarded should be at the top of your career priority list, and in this two part series I will discuss creating goals that you connect with and feel inspired by, and turning those goals into a strategy and plan of action.

We have all heard about the power of goal setting, but when it comes to your career it can literally mean the difference between success and failure. A study conducted at Dominican University found that writing goals down, and sharing your goals and your progress makes for effective goal achievement. People are 50% more likely to achieve their goals when they write them down.

Career goal setting is not only for people who are looking for a new job; even those that are happy in their current role should have goals for their progress. Some organizations make goals setting a big part of their performance review process, but you should be checking in with your goals quarterly all on your own.

Not only is it important to create your goals, but you must also make sure that you are following up and seeing what goals are being completed. All of your goals should have a completion date. Dates are what drive us to action; it puts that needed pressure on us to make sure that we are actively working on our goals. Without a date goals can seem like a far off dream, and create a “someday I’ll get to that” attitude.

When I set goals I also make sure to set the right mindset around my goals, which includes establishing my reason why. Start by asking:

• Why do I want to accomplish this?

• What will it change in my life?

• How will it affect my future and the future of my family/loved ones?

If you know the purpose behind the goal and how it will change your career and life it deepens the emotional connection to the goal, causing you to give it greater focus and increase you will. This changes how you talk and think about the goal. Work to act as though the goal is already completed, a great way to do this is by visualizing the goal as complete, and asking yourself what does that look and feel like.

If your goal is to get a promotion then imagine what your day would look like if you secured that new role. How would your life and daily routine change if you enrolled in school? Spend some time with that feeling, feel the sense of satisfaction, feel what has changed, once you know how you feel about something it pushes you forward.

Countless studies have proven the effectiveness of having and writing down your goals. When I think about what has increased my career success over the years the number one factor has been my ability to set goals and break them down into project plans. In the next part of my 2 part goal setting series, I will break down just how I do that. Until then set at least 3 short and long term goals and make sure to give them dates.