“Setting goals is more than deciding what you want to do. It involves figuring out what you need to do to get where you want to go. And how long it will take you to get there.” (Source)

The first task in developing goals is to determine what you want to do. Think of the “big picture” in this step.

• Is there an area in your life that you’d like to see improvement in?
• Do you have a skill you’d like to learn?
• Is there a character quality you’d like to possess?
• Are you looking to grow in an area of knowledge?

If you’re like me, this list might be overwhelming - too many goals, no clue how to see any of them to fruition, too ambitious, etc. If this is the case, you need to categorize your goals and prioritize the order in which you would like to see them realized.

Others of you may be underwhelmed, staring at a blank sheet of paper. If this is you, I’d encourage you to find a friend to bounce around ideas. Maybe you can walk around your house with a pad of paper and pause in each room to reflect on the activities that take place there. If you are still looking for inspiration, take a few minutes to read through some of the other 3 in 30 participants lists and “borrow” their ideas!

Next, you need to break that goal into smaller pieces. Break the goal into stair steps – create a SMART goal for each of the steps. These SMART goals will build upon one another to help you reach the big picture goal.

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