If you take a general survey, most respondents will agree that goal setting is a key strategy in obtaining what is desired. Without it, they fairly reason, how will you know when you've achieved what you've set after? In practice, however, things are far different.

Only a fraction of those who understand the need for goal setting actually take the time to clearly outline goals of their own. For these folks, success is measured by arbitrary markers--a raise, clear skin, a new car. While each of these things in and of themselves is perfectly fine as a goal, then what? Do they bring some sort of fulfillment on their own, or are they simply steps toward achieving something else? Your goals should be moving you ahead, rather than simply staying on top of things. This is where a life coach can be, well, life changing. Any competent life coach will include goal setting as an instrumental part of any self-help regimen.

Concrete Goal Setting

For example, if your ultimate goal is just "to be happy," you may be setting yourself up for disappointment. Once you've gotten that raise or obliterated that pimple, are you a step closer to where you want to be? Or does your raise just alert you to all the new things you'd like to buy? Does your clear skin make you focus on other physical imperfections instead? An effective life coach will be able to work with you to identify your major goals, develop a path to reach them, and motivate you to stick with the program. It's quite likely that setting measurable goals will part of the process.

Part of the appeal of setting concrete goals is that they're ends in and of themselves. A good life coach will tell you that setting out to run a marathon in under three hours is a good goal because it's measurable. Once you've achieved it, there's no question about it. At the same time, a good personal coach will emphasize setting realistic goals. If you've never competed in a race before, shooting for such an impressive time is in fact a poor goal. But finishing a half-marathon might be a place to start. Goal setting is simply one of the many ways that life coaches can change people's lives for the better.