Regardless of whether you’re a top athlete, academic or a mum with four kids just trying to get through the day, goal setting is important if you want to progress in life.
But of course, it’s much more than that. It also makes us feel good when we achieve our goals and spurs us on to do even better. That’s because we feel like we’re ‘on a roll’. It makes the writer feel like starting on another chapter and the runner believe it’s possible to tackle another mile…
Knowing what our goals are and then ticking them off when we achieve them makes us feel more in control of situations – and our life. Once we reach our next goal it gives us a chance to sit back and evaluate how we’re doing so far. Can you see how goal setting can really help with a property investment career?
Keeping our goals in mind will help us with our property strategy and dictate the type of investments we should aim for. If we’re looking to retire early in say, 10 years time, then we need a higher risk strategy than the long-term buy to let landlord who is happy to wait several decades for the capital appreciation on his two properties. In other words, setting goals will help us focus on what we want to ultimately achieve.
Another advantage to goal setting is that it helps us make decisions. This is crucial when we’re dithering over whether or not a particular investment makes sense i.e. if it’s not part of our strategy or gets us to our end result then we should leave it.
Finally, setting goals motivates us to behave in a way that’s going to get us to achieve. If your goal is to own a house on the coast practically mortgage-free in five years time, then there’s no harm sticking a photo of that ideal cottage above your desk. This is especially true since you now know what you have to do at work that day to get there.
How to begin setting goals
Think about what you want to accomplish
. Write down where you want to be in your property investing career within one year, five years and ten years. Be as ambitious as you like. In fact, the more ambitious you are, the better.
Have a personal brain storming session
. How are you going to get there? Write down all the possibilities you can think of. Make lists or use a mind mapping technique – anything really that lets you jot down your ideas and subconscious thoughts.
Highlight the serious options
. What’s really doable in there? Can you put that jumble of thoughts into meaningful categories e.g Finances , Properties, Time commitments etc?
Create your action plan
. Using the SMART goal setting technique you’ll be setting goals which are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-based. Write down specifically what you have to do to reach those goals of yours and emphasise in red why it’s important to you that you get there.
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Author
Chris Kirkwood
