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Set goals that are tangible and time-bound. BY PETER A. BALASKAS
設定明確且限期的目標。作者：PETER A. BALASKAS
What will your New Year’s
resolutions be? Eating better?
你的新年新希望是什麼呢？吃得更好？
Organizing your finances
more effectively? Giving more Toastmasters speeches? Becoming a club
officer?
更有效率地理財？在演講會發表更多的演講？擔任分會幹部？
Whether you set goals inside or outside of Toastmasters, establishing
concrete objectives can be very helpful. It allows you to reflect on
what you want to do to improve yourself, and gives order to your
ambitions.
不論你的目標是否跟國際演講協會有關，設立一個具體的目標將會非常地有幫助。這能夠反應出你想如何提升自己，並幫你的目標排出先後順序。
“The practice of goal-setting is not just helpful; it
is a prerequisite for happiness,” writes
leadership expert Michael Hyatt on his blog, Helping Leaders Leverage
Influence. “Psychologists tell us that people
who make consistent progress toward meaningful goals live happier, more
satisfied lives than those who don’t.”
「設定目標的練習並不僅僅是對你有所幫助；這還是讓你幸福快樂的必要條件，」 領導力專家Michael
Hyatt在他自己的部落格「有效影響，卓越領導」裡這麼寫著：「心理學家告訴我們，那些持續朝著有意義的目標前進的人們活著更加快樂，也活得比那些沒有設定目標的人還要滿足。」
The process is enriching, but not always easy. After all, pushing
yourself can mean roaming outside your comfort zone. For example,
perhaps you’re inconsistent with exercise but you nevertheless resolve
to join a running group or sign up at the local gym.
這個過程助益良多，但並非都可輕鬆達陣。畢竟，逼自己進步表示你要在你的舒適圈以外的地方活動。舉例來說，也許你沒有辦法持續的運動，但你參加了跑步團體或去當地的健身房報名，就能來解決這個問題。
Or maybe you decide to reach out beyond your normal social circle to
make new friends.
“The
benefits of being challenged physically, intellectually, emotionally
and vocationally are enormous,” says Gary
Ryan Blair, president of the GoalsGuy Learning Systems, which has
offices in New York and Florida. “Each of us
has great potential; however, it will never burn as bright as it could
if we do not willingly put ourselves in a position to test our limits.”
或著你也許打算擴展你原本的社交圈，來交一些新朋友。「身體上的、智能上的、情緒上的、工作上的挑戰都可以帶來極大的成長。」Gary
Ryan Blair這麼說過，他是GoalsGuy學習系統的總裁，在紐約和佛羅里達都有辦公室。「我們每一個人都有著極大的潛力；然而，如果我們不刻意去挑戰自我極限，潛能是不會發光發熱的。」
Make a List
列出清單
Too often, we set grand New Year’s goals but then watch our good
intentions go by the wayside. How do we make our resolutions stick?
Start by writing your goals down. That makes them tangible. To make the
process more effective, says Hyatt, keep your list relatively short—a
handful of goals is good. Also, make your resolutions specific and
time-bound.
每個新年，我們經常都會設定一個宏大的目標，然後就看著這些雄心壯志隨時間消逝。我們該怎麼維持住我們的決心呢？先寫下你的目標吧。這讓你的目標不再僅僅是空口無憑。要讓這個步驟更加有效率的話，Hyatt說，要把你的清單列的短少些──
一手量的目標就很夠了。同時，讓你的目標明確，並設定期限。
“Every goal needs a date associated with it,”
Hyatt writes in his blog post, titled “The
Beginner’s Guide to Goal Setting.” “A goal
without a date is just a dream. Make sure that every goal ends with a by
when date.” Don’t write “Lose
20 pounds,” he says— write “Lose
20 pounds by December 31.” Andy Smith, another
goal-setting expert, adds this piece of advice: State your goals in
positive terms. “If you frame your goals
negatively, like ‘I will not smoke’ or ‘I will
not be overweight,’ you’re putting an image of what you don’t want in
your mind,” he says. “You
need to frame your goal in positive terms: ‘I reach my target weight and
maintain it.’” Smith coaches leaders around
the world, including executives in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
When business leaders set goals for their employees, he notes, they have
to motivate other people to accomplish their objectives—therefore,
leaders must articulate the goals in a way that inspires the team. That
means communicating not just with words or figures on a PowerPoint
slide, but with images, says Smith.
「每一個目標都要有個與它相關連的時間期限，」Hyatt在它標題為《給新手的目標訂定指南》的部落格文章中這麼寫著。「一個沒有期限的作品根本就是癡人說夢。他說：請確定你每一個目標都有個截止日期存在。」不要只寫「我要減掉20磅」──該寫「我要在12/31號以前減掉20磅」。Andy
Smith，另一個訂目標專家，加上了這一段建議：用正面思考的方式來設定目標。「如果你用負面的方法來架構你的目標，像是『我不會再抽菸』了或是『我不會再讓自己超重了』，你一直給自己在心底留有一個畫面說你『不會』。」他說，「你要給自己用正面的方式來思考目標，諸如：『我會達到我的目標體重並維持著。』」Smith指導來自世界各地的領袖們，包括中東和南美地區的執行長們。他補充：當商業領袖們設定目標給他們的員工時，他們必須激勵其他人去完成這些目標──因此，領袖們必須清楚列出可以啟發團隊的目標。Smith說，這表示溝通方面不僅限於文字傳遞或是指著PowerPoint投影片報告，還要仰賴圖像來傳達。
“What will it look like when you achieve your goal?
What will it sound like? What does it feel like?
「當你達到目標時會看起來是什麼模樣？它聽起來應該是什麼樣子？應該給人什麼感覺？
“If you can communicate that clearly, it will capture
people’s imaginations and inspire their emotions—which is what will
really motivate them to make the goal happen.”
It’s also important that business leaders set realistic expectations for
their employees.
「如果你可以明確地溝通，就能夠捕捉到人們的想像力並啟發他們的情感──而這真的能夠激勵他們並讓目標成功達成。」企業領導人設定一個可實現的的期許給員工，是很重要的。
In a highly publicized 2009 academic paper titled “Goals
Gone Wild,” the authors said that managers
need to be flexible and cautious when setting goals for their teams.
廣為流傳的2009年學術報紙標題「放膽定目標」，作者說管理者在設定目標給他們的團隊時，必須靈活且謹慎。
For example, they have to remember that employees need to have the
skills and training to enable them to reach the goals, says the report,
and employees’ short-term efforts to reach a goal shouldn’t come at the
cost of long-term work objectives.
報告上寫著：舉例來說，他們必須牢記員工需要擁有能讓他們達標的技術及訓練，但是這不應該與他們的長期工作目標有所衝突。
Make It Manageable
務實可及
Sometimes we set goals that are too difficult to achieve, or we get
overwhelmed by our list, finding our resolutions too daunting.
有時候我們會設定一個難以達成的目標，或是被我們的清單給壓垮，希望太過高遠，往往令人疑懼，滯礙難行。
Make the process manageable by taking it one day and one goal at a time,
says Lesley Stephenson, ACG, CL. A member of clubs in Switzerland and
Australia, Stephenson says participation in Toastmasters helped her
achieve her goal of becoming an international corporate communications
trainer and keynote speaker. If there is a lesson she likes to share
with others, it is something a teacher once taught her.
Lesley Stephenson認為：要讓整個過程務實可及的方式就是每天一次，每次只完成一目標。她來自瑞士和澳洲的演講會,目前是金牌高級演講員ACG及中級領導員ＣＬ。Stephenson說，參加國際演講協會幫助她達成「成為一個國際型公司的溝通訓練者」及「說明基本政策的講者」的目標。如果有任何她想要分享給其他人的，那就是老師曾經教授給她的東西。
“I was moaning about not being able to finish a
mammoth biography project I had taken on [when my teacher] asked me if I
knew how to eat an elephant. When I said ‘No,’
he replied: ‘You eat an elephant the same way
you eat a chicken. One bite at a time.’”
Taking small steps was a lesson that Eugene Yiga, CC, learned while
creating “The Monumental Life,”
an online personal development course he created for his company’s
self-coaching platform.「我當時正為了無法完成自己負責的長毛象生物企劃而呻吟著，（我的老師）問我說我知不知道該怎麼吃掉一頭大象。我說『不。』，而他回我：『吃一頭大象的方法跟吃一隻雞的方法一樣。一次咬一口』」。「一步一步來」，是Eugene
Yiga（中級演講員）在為公司研發自我發展課程平台「不朽人生」時，學到的一課。
“Every goal needs a date associated with it. A goal
without a date is just a dream.” — Michael
Hyatt
「每一個目標都需要有效期。一個沒有限期的目標，只是癡人說夢。」──Michael Hyatt
“It
was a huge task and one that required over a year and a half of
planning, researching, writing and more,” says
Yiga, vice president education for the Grove Toastmasters in Cape Town,
South Africa. “The biggest obstacle was trying
to achieve such a complex goal while still making time for other
professional and personal responsibilities.”「這是個巨大的工作量，另外也需要超過一年半的時間來計畫、研究、書寫等等，」Yiga是南非開普敦Grove
國際演講協會的教育副會長，他說：「最大的困難是在達成如此複雜目標的同時，還要挪出時間來處理其他專業上及個人的責任。」
His solution was to follow a series of tips that he recommends:
他的解決方針是照做這一系列他推薦的秘訣：
Attack
your goals one step at a time.
一次只攻掠你的目標一步。
★Have
a firm grasp on why a goal matters. This boosts your motivation to
achieve it.
牢記這個目標對你的意義。這會給你動力去達成它。
★
Create a meticulous timeline for completing your goals.
做一個精確的時間表來完成你的目標。
★No
matter how difficult your goal becomes, never give up.
不管你的目標變得有多難達成，堅持下去。
★Ask
for help when you need it.
當你需要的時後就開口求救。
Stay Positive
保持正面心態
Yiga says the most
important lesson he learned is not being too harsh on yourself when you
fall short of reaching a goal. The key is to keep trying. “It’s
important to remember that failing doesn’t
make you a failure,” he says. “As
long as you stay open to new approaches and refuse to give up, you can
make it to success.”
Yiga說他學到最重要的一課是當你覺得自己無法達成目標時，不要對自己太過苛刻。關鍵是要繼續嘗試。「重要的是記住一次失敗不代表你永遠失敗。」他說，「一但你開始不斷做出新的嘗試並堅決不放棄，那麼你就能夠成功。」
When you do achieve the goals you set, your confidence surges. Dee Dees,
DTM, knows this well. When she joined Toastmasters more than 30 years
ago, she wanted to overcome her shyness.
“My
short-term goals were just to be able to speak to a small group of
people without stammering and getting red in the face,”
says Dees, a past international director and a member of the Gilbert
Toastmasters club in Gilbert, Arizona.
當你達成你的目標時，你的自信心就會大增。已是傑出會員DTM的Dee
Dees深知這點。30年前，當她加入國際演講協會時，她只是想要克服她的害羞。
Dees說：「我的短期目標是能夠在小群體內不口吃不臉紅地說話，」。她曾任演講會前任國際理事，也是亞利桑那州Gilbert演講會的會員。
Once she moved past that barrier, she developed a long-term goal of
working her way through Toastmasters’
leadership track.
當她跨過那道門檻，她就勇敢邁向國際演講會的領導之路，發展她的長期目標，成為演講會國際理事。
“These [leadership] positions were ones I used to
look at and think, I could never do that!”
Dees recalls. “And yet, by moving up through
the positions, one step at a time, I was able to attain goals far beyond
what I thought I was capable of.”
「我曾看著這些（領導）地位並想著我永遠不可能做得到。」Dees如此回憶，「然而，隨著我的位階逐漸上升，一次一階的來，我達成了那些以前我認為自己無法企及的目標！」
PETER A. BALASKAS is a
Southern California-based freelance writer, voiceover artist and former
publisher and business owner. Learn more about him at
www.peterabalaskas.com.
本文作者PETER
A. BALASKAS是南加州為主的自由作家、配音藝術家，曾是發行人及企業主。可以從www.peterabalaskas.com
上得到更多的資訊。
Goal-setting Resources
訂定目標可用的資源
Consult these resources
for help on setting and achieving your goals.
下面這些資源能夠幫助你訂定及達成你的目標。
The
Toastmasters International module Goal Setting and Planning (Item 314)
offers tips on how leaders can set goals and develop plans to achieve
them. The module, which is part of The Leadership Excellence Series, is
available through the Toastmasters Online Store at
www. toastmasters.org/shop.
國際演講協會國際「訂定目標與規劃」套組（項目314號）
提供了一個領袖訂定目標及發展計畫來達成它們的秘訣。這份套組是「卓越領導系列」的一部份，可以在國際演講協會線上商店(www.
toastmasters.org/shop)中購買到。
Toastmaster magazine has published articles related to goal setting.
The following articles can be found at
www.toastmasters.org/pastissues:
“Make a Goal … and Score
Big!”by Sushma Subramanian (January 2010)
“Set SMART Goals for Speaking Progress”
by Dena Harris, ACB, CL (September 2008)
“Visualize Success—And It Can Be Yours!”
by Judy M. Bailey (January 2008)
Toastmaster 雜誌有發行過關於目標訂定的文章。下面幾篇文章可以在
www.toastmasters.org/pastissues 上找到：:
《定一個目標…且大膽的評分！》，作者是：Sushma
Subramanian（2010年1月）
《設計一個讓演講進步的聰明目標》，作者是：Dena Harris, ACB, CL （2008年9月）
《眼睛能看到的成功──你也能做到！》，作者是：Judy M. Bailey（2008年1月）
★
Leadership expert Michael Hyatt’s
blog is Helping Leaders Leverage Influence, at www.michaelhyatt.com. He
has several posts related to goal-setting, including “The
Beginner’s Guide to Goal Setting.”
領袖能力專家Michael Hyatt的部落格是「幫助領袖們的手段影響力」，網址是www.michaelhyatt.com。他有許多關於訂定目標的文章，包括《給新手的目標訂定指南》。
★
Gary Ryan Blair is the author of many books on goal-setting and the
president of the GoalsGuy Learning Systems (www.goalsguy.com).
Gary Ryan Blair
是許多關於訂定目標的書的作者，也是GoalsGuy學習系統的總裁(www.goalsguy.com)。
★
Andy Smith is a leadership and emotional-intelligence coach who has
written articles about goalsetting and a book titled Achieve Your Goals:
Strategies to Transform Your Life. His website is
www.coachingleaders.emotional–climate.com.
★
Andy Smith是名領袖能力及情商輔導員，寫過關於制訂目標的文章及一本名為《達成你的目標：改變你人生的策略》。他的網站是：www.coachingleaders.emotional–climate.com。
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