“Begin with the end in mind.” Stephen Covey

At MUA, we are grateful to be surrounded by successful entrepreneurs who consistently teach us through their stories of failure, in conversation, consultation and feedback. We have come to appreciate the significance of goal setting at an individual level so that collectively what we do contributes towards a growing and prosperous South African economy.

“If you want success in any area you must have goals. Not only will they help you achieve whatever it is you want in life, but they will give you life. My goals give me a reason to get up every morning. Writing down my individual goals helps me to define what I want in life,” says CEO, Dawie Loots.

According to Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz in their book The Power of Full Engagement: “To be fully engaged, we must be physically energized, emotionally connected, mentally focused and spiritually aligned with a purpose beyond our immediate self-interest.”

We have learned from business leaders around the country that there is one quality executives seek for themselves and their employees, sustained high performance in the ever-increasing pressure and change within the world of work. Goal setting has never been more important than now in the current economic climate within South Africa. To achieve your goals and thrive in the new year as a corporate athlete, consider setting yourself goals across the four key areas:

1. Mental goals;
2. Emotional goals;
3. Physical goals;
4. Spiritual goals;

Having a target to reach becomes critical in your ability to achieve more. Goals are a way to measure your level of success. Your goals will give you focus, direction and a sense of purpose while providing you a tangible benchmark to determine if you're actually succeeding.

Michelle Ashen-Abrahams, Marketing Manager & Life Coach says: “Research has revealed that knowing your WHY and setting goals is a recipe for success. Setting goals helps to create context for the choices we make every day so that the results we achieve take us closer to where we want to be. Progress is impossible without change. I have realised that without goal setting, what you want will become the sacrifice. There is value in taking time to map out the goals you want to achieve.”

Along the way, seek out the advice of your peers, a trusted advisor or mentor. They might have insights you've overlooked. Look long-term, but live short-term. It’s really easy to think about the things you want and the money you can make, but those don’t become possible without the here and now. Don’t get ahead of yourself. Trust your plan, work the plan and be flexible. It’s called hard work because it is hard. If it were easy, everyone would do it.

For more information on the making of a corporate athlete, visit The Human Performance Institue https://www.corporateathlete.com/ or read the article published by Harvard Business Review https://hbr.org/2001/01/the-making-of-a-corporate-athlete.