See, before you can set goals, you need to have self-awareness, a trait that’s essential to know how ambitious you are or can be. Self-awareness will help you to set smart, realistic and manageable goals.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves…
What is goal-setting?
Goal–setting is the process of recognizing what you want to achieve and finding the right tools to use to reach the goals within a set timeline.
Goal-setting is essential for women in business
Let’s look at some of the importance of goal-setting for women in employment and entrepreneurship:
- Keeps you focused– You can stay focused despite what’s happening around you. There is a lot happening around a woman’s world, from her womanhood to taking care of her family’s daily needs, her career, business(or both), marriage, and much more. All of these can push you to shelf your intended achievements for later. However, when you set realistic goals then you’ll be determined to achieve them.
- Gives you direction– Setting goals positions your concentration on the right path, where to start, and what next. It gives you direction toward your goals, making them manageable.
- Keeps you motivated for success– When goals are set, you become motivated to do better and this could lead to personal and professional success. Setting goals increases the chances of success and satisfaction in life. Motivation is all-rounded and will affect personal and business or employment positively.
- Helps you track performance– When goals are set, you have a clearer view of your activities, enabling you to track your performance. This is essential as it helps you know if you’re succeeding, and if not, where you’re failing.
How do you know you’re setting up great goals?
- The goal should answer why it is important to achieve it. End game- This will motivate you to do it.
- The goals should be smart. They should be specific, measurable, achievable and have a time frame.
- Writing the goals on paper makes them real. “For some reason, the act of writing them down makes me remember. Each word I write brings me closer to finding the right one” Ally Condie.
- Plan the steps you will take to achieve the goals. This will show if there is development.
- Review your goals. The tools to achieve the goals may change over time.
Can women be more ambitious when they set goals?
An ambitious woman knows that she has the right to dream and achieve her goals. She is aware of herself which makes her ambitious.
Goal setting does lead to ambition. The goals set are achievable and realistic because you know your limits. This enhances the desire and determination to achieve or to succeed. Goal setting is the driving force to being ambitious
How can you tell she is an ambitious woman?
- She is satisfied. The feeling you get when you have achieved something is priceless. What you feel can be seen because you become happy.
- She is hard working in everything she does because has a purpose. Working hard is good for business and employment.
- She is self-confident. She has self-evaluated and knows her strengths and weaknesses.
- She’s self-motivated. She is willing to try to do more. She will push herself to achieve more. In entrepreneurship it will lead to an increase in profits and in employment can lead to career growth or recognition for achievement.
- She is a risk-taker. Knowing her strengths will propel her to want to try the unknown.
- She holds a positive perspective-She dusts off her failures and makes them her foundation. This woman will go back to the failed dream and change the plan to succeed.
Discovering the balance
Is there anything like being over-ambitious? Being ambitious will make you open that business, take that loan and also invest. However, everything has a limit. The old saying goes, Too much of everything is poisonous.
Being over-ambitious can lead to over-working and consequently failure in relationships (with children, marriage e.t.c.) and burnout. This can also affect your overall health leading to depression, especially, when positive results are not forthcoming.
In employment, there will be a high turnover of staff, poor performance thus loss of jobs.
It is prudent to know how far you can go with ambition and control it.
Examples of over-ambition
- Having employees working for long hours over a long period of time.
- Investing in unevaluated risky investments just because of high returns.
- Setting goals without considering if they are achievable or manageable.
- Opening a new business because your friend’s business is flourishing.
Setting up goals is not just achieving something but rather, outlining why you want to achieve it as this will make you ambitious enough to take the first step and focused till its completion.
Sources: positivepsychology, prenhall, yahoo, entrepreneur, mindtools
