Three smart ways to set personal goals

Half the year is officially done and dusted, which means you should have made some major progress as far as your goals for 2017 are concerned?

Sadly, according to data released by the Statistic Brain Research Institute,  less than 10% of people who set personal goals at the beginning of the year, actually end up achieving them. 

This means that there are probably a lot of people who are slacking on their personal goals for the year right about now. 

If you are one of those people, the good news is you have six more months to get back on track. 

Here are three ways to set personal goals, and how to make sure you achieve them.

Set smarter goals

One of the biggest mistakes people make when setting personal goals is being vague or not being realistic. If your goal is simply to lose weight, then you are unlikely to be successful. Your goals need to be measurable, and to to that they need to be clear, and list steps on how you plan to get there. Don't be afraid to adjust your goals, as sometimes achieving smaller goals can be all the motivation you need to aim higher. Many people use the "SMART" goal process.

S - specific 
M - measurable 
A - actionable 
R - relevant
T - time-bound

Watch the video below to learn more about smart goals.

Work on your goals every single day 

Making progress on your goals - no matter how small - will not only improve your chances of achieving them, but also keep you motivated. It is easy to lose faith in your goals when they just don't seem to be coming together, but the actions you take every day will help keep you positive. As long as you are doing something towards making them a success, you will always feel like you are on the right track.

Write them down and/or create a vision board 

Writing down your goals has been proven to help improve your chances of achieving them. A study carried out by the Harvard MBA program found that only 3% of graduates had written down their goals and plans, while 13% had goals but had not written them down. The same class was interviewed 10 years later, and it was found that the 3% who had written down their goals were earning ten times (on average) more than the other 97% of its class. Of course, there are a number of factors that affected their salary, but the study showed that writing down your goals is extremely beneficial. Writing your goals down will help motivate you to take action. Even better, place your written goals near your workplace so that you are reminded about them every day. Vision boards are also a great way to keep you motivated about your goals.

ALSO READ: Five ways to achieve happiness at work