Design your year – Part 2

Don’t start the year without first sitting down to plan the year. For example, I started building somewhere in November, 2022. But before I started, I reached out to the engineer to give me the cost of building in three stages namely DPC level, decking and completion. So, I had to save first and raise the cost of the first stage. The building started and was going on smoothly, but somehow something was not factored into the cost which almost disrupted the progress.

After the digging of the foundation, I discovered that it will need more laterite to cover the foundation before casting the DPC, but it wasn’t factored into the costing and it will require over additional one million Naira to buy trips of laterite. I was troubled and scared, but I went to pray that God should help me deal with it – you see that is the power of planning. God gave me a business opportunity that gave me the money to take care of that problem.

One lesson to note from this story is that to avoid disruptions, setbacks and slowdowns in the year, it’s important to sit down and plan ahead. A very important part of planning is setting goals. Goal Setting is a life planning mechanism for success. It is a mechanism for planning your life. Goal setting involves your direct involvement. No one would successfully plan your life for you without your direct involvement. Everyone that wants to excel and be the best version of themselves must learn how to set goals. Luke 14 talks about sitting down to count the cost, that is planning and strategy.

For you to be successful, it is not automatic. You have to be strategic, you have to be deliberate and intentional and you have to be consistent.Strategic and effective goal setting are some of the secrets of maximising your possibilities and achieving success. A lot of people have wishes, but not goals as they get into the New Year because they don’t put in place strategies to ensure the application and the realisation of the things they want to do.

Goal setting is simply writing out in clear terms things you intend to achieve. Goals are simply things you want to achieve. Brian Tracy said: “Success is a goal.” Successful people are intensely goal oriented. You are going nowhere because you are not pursuing anything. It is what you are pursuing that determines what will follow you. Where there is no goal setting, there is no goal getting. Goal setting affects everyone, whether you are an individual, a family or a company, you need to set goals for the year.

You need to set goals for the different areas of your life, for example, there are spiritual goals, financial goals, health goals, relational goals, company goals, among others. You also need to set goals for the different roles you occupy, for example as a CEO or Head of Unit, you need to set goals for that particular role. Goal setting helps you to be focused, disciplined and being able to measure your progress .

There are short-term goals (within 12 calendar months); mid-term goals (between 1- 3 years) and long-term goals (from five years and above). Goal setting is something you actually have to do every year, every quarter and you keep evaluating your progress.
Without goals, you simply drift and flow on the currents of life. With goals, you fly like an arrow, straight and true to your target.
• Today’s nugget: Goals boost your motivation. Phone contact: 07032361509. E-mail: [email protected]. Joel Ejiofor, Business Coach and Strategist