Career Goals For 2009

“How you live a day is eventually how you live your life.” – Philip Yancey

It is that time of year when everyone is reflecting and planning for 2009. It is the perfect time to think about your career – where you are today and where you would like to be by this time next year. I am not talking about goals without any substance. I am talking about sitting down and setting some reasonable and achievable goals for the new year.

Some of you may be wondering what all of the fuss about goal setting is really all about? You may even think that that it’s three parts common sense and one part luck. If you can organize and create a logical sequence for completing a bunch of tasks that you write down once, and rarely if ever look at again, that directly relate to your goal then that’s all it takes, right? To the uninitiated that may be what goal setting and appears to be. But if you’ve ever attempted to set goals for yourself, you know that they can become quiet cumbersome and eventually all of the initial excitement wears off and you realize the goals you set really require some work.
To successfully write and execute your new year’s resolution it is important to understand the basics of goal setting. And as many people discover, as you begin to set and work toward your goals - you may surprise yourself with your successes this year.
Done well, goal setting seamlessly ties together a strong plan with its execution. It helps you get from here to there. It allows you to track progress and determine what steps you need to accomplish next in order to arrive at your final destination.
With this Career by Design blog you will learn what it takes to set SMART goals to prepare yourself for success in 2009. This blog will help you to:

• Understand the basics of goal setting and planning, and practice using some core goal setting tools. • Learn to bridge the gap between your dreams and reality
• Create an action plan filled with strategies to help you get where you want to go in 2009.

Goal setting is a skill valued in every individuals personal and professional life. Goal setting encourages you to not settle for what you have but allows you to go after what you want. I’m here to answer any questions and provide further guidance and assistance. As always, if you have used this or a similar technique before and have further insights, I’d love to hear them. Please let me know how it goes.