Setting Goals: The Power of Words

Pre-reading task

You are going to read an article about setting goals. Before you read， think about the following questions： How do you usually set goals in your personal and professional life？ How do you come up with a plan？ What helps you stay motivated？

We all have personal and professional ambitions， whether these include wanting to run a marathon， enter a poetry contest， learn to cook or make a career move. According to Forbes magazine， only 8 per cent of people actually achieve their New Year’s Resolutions. Why are so few of us successful in completing the steps between wanting and doing？ Your success may depend on the very first stage： setting your goals. Unless you know where you’re heading it’s hard to know if you’re on the right track. Effectively setting goals can be very motivating and can make the difference when it comes to achieving your objectives.

A

First of all you should question your motivation and incentives. Is it really something you would like to do？ You need to do some soul-searching and ask yourself why you really want to climb that mountain， or paint it， or move it for that matter. Do you want that challenging position because of the external rewards like money or status， or because you will find it interesting and exciting？ If the answer to this question is simply ‘Because I want to！’ you need to dig a little deeper， as not having a clear motive will just end in frustration.

B

Whatever your motivation， in business it often helps to be SMART. This is an acronym that can be used to guide you when establishing your goals. Be：

· Specific， not general. Don’t just say ‘better’， specify how.

· Measurable. Decide at the start how you will measure your success.

· Attainable. It is not an impossible task for you.

· Relevant. Ask yourself how it fits into your future plans.

· Time-bound. Having a clear time frame will help you plan and execute it！

C

Once you’ve written down your plan， it’s time to zoom in a bit closer. Think of all the different steps involved and try to break the whole task down into manageable chunks. This could be the time to get out that notebook and start making some spider diagrams or listing bullet points. This planning stage also requires you to take into account all the resources involved： time， money， people， equipment， etc. Start with where you want to be and plan backwards to where you are now. This will help you to spot obstacles before you run into them going forwards.

D

Next， there is one important thing left to do： follow your plan！ This is not always an easy thing to do， but here are some strategies that can help.

Rudyard Kipling said that words are the most powerful drug in the world. Modern science has proven that words affect our brains. When you see negative words your brain releases stress-producing hormones and neurotransmitters. Positive words， on the other hand， lower physical and emotional stress， which means that we feel better and are more likely to be motivated and active. So give yourself a little pep talk once in a while; remind yourself of all the positive things to come from achieving your goal.

E

Visualisation is yet another powerful tool used by many famous sportsmen and performers. According to experiments， the brain does not distinguish much between visualising and actually practising or rehearsing something， which is good news for us. This means that it is a proven technique that can help set you up for success. By imagining yourself doing something perfectly， you are actually increasing your chances of executing it flawlessly in real life.

F

Another strategy recommended by experts is keeping track of your progress in a diary， log or chart. Sharing this with your partner， friends， family or on a social network can also be a great motivator. When it comes to personal fitness， many apps are available that allow you to do just that and increase your chances of making it happen.

G

While it is important to give it your best and make things happen， sometimes we need to deal with unexpected situations and our plans need to change accordingly.

If for any reason you decide to give up on your goal， try to replace it with something else！ Also， try to think outside the box and keep up with the latest trends; there might be a more effective way for you to get to the finish line. So， think smart， plan， formulate， visualise， track and adapt and you’ll be well on your way to success.

You should spend about 20 minutes on questions 1–12 below， which are based on the reading passage.

Questions 1–7

This article has seven paragraphs， labelled A–G. Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings （i–ix） below. You do not need to use all the headings.

1. Paragraph A ______

2. Paragraph B ______

3. Paragraph C ______

4. Paragraph D ______

5. Paragraph E ______