zig ziglar goal setting assignment

Zig Ziglar’s Seven Steps of Goal Setting: Create Better Goals

Zig Ziglar, an American motivational speaker, pulled together a list of seven steps associated with goal setting (or goal achievement). They are: Identification, Benefits, Obstacles, Skills, People, Plan and Timelines. Summary by The World of Work Project

Zig Ziglar’s Seven Steps of Goal Setting

Some people want to understand the theory behind topics such as goal setting. Other simply get a few hints and tips that they can use in their everyday lives. To help the latter, we’ve created this post which details Zig Ziglar’s seven steps of goal setting.

We consider each step in more detail below. Interestingly, this process is fairly similar to the way that some coaches help individuals achieve their goals.

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Identify the Goal

The first step of goal setting is to actually identify and detail the goal that you wish to achieve. You should look to capture your goal succinctly and clearly. You should also ensure that the goal is actually something that you wish to work towards. It may be worth talking through the goal with others as part of your definition process to ensure they are right for you. And you should probably try and ensure your goals are SMART .

List the Benefits

Once you’ve identified your goal you should ensure you reflect on the benefits of achieving it. This will help you gain further clarity about the goal, and help increase your motivation to achieve it. It will also help you identify further things you can do to help ensure that you achieve it.

List the Obstacles to Overcome

It’s also important to reflect on the obstacles that you’ll need to overcome. These are the things that may block you from achieving your goal.

It’s important to understand each of the challenges that you may face on your way to achieving your goal. If you do this, you can then plan how you will overcome these challenges.

List the Skills and Knowledge Required

As well as understanding the benefits and obstacles associated with your goal, it’s important to think about the skills and knowledge you’ll need to achieve your goal. Understanding these requirements will help you create a plan to gain the skills and knowledge you need for success.

List the People or Groups to Work with

It’s not just skills and knowledge that will help you reach your goal. You’ll almost certainly benefit from the support of other people as well.

It’s important to spend time thinking about who the people are that could help you. Of course, you should also consider why they might want to and how you can engage with them.

Create an Action Plan

Having thought about what’s required to achieve your goal, you can start to build a plan to achieve it.

In your plan you may include steps to overcome the obstacles you identified. It may also include steps to help you focus on the benefits you identified and steps to acquire the skills and knowledge you need. Of course, you’ll also include the practical steps you need to complete to achieve your goal as well.

Set the Deadline for Achievement

An open ended goal is much less likely to be achieved than a time-bound goal. It’s important to ensure that you have a deadline for your overall goal, but it’s also important to have timelines for the steps of your action plan as well. You may wish to use project management techniques to ensure that you have a clear and realistic plan to achieve your goal.

Learning More

To learn more about some theory behind goal setting you might enjoy some of our other articles. These include posts on Locke and Latham’s goal setting theory , SMART goals and common goal-setting mistakes .

Ultimately, goals are about helping individuals or organizations achieve an objective. Motivation is often key in helping individuals achieve their goals. Behavior Change and Habits also come into play in helping individuals achieve goals.

As well as the podcast shared at the top of this post, you might enjoy this podcast on behavior change.

The World of Work Project View

There’s nothing wrong with a self-help approach to reaching a goal, which is basically what this post is about.

Zig Ziglar’s Seven Steps of Goal Setting are sensible and helpful. In fact, many “solution-focused” coaches basically help their clients go through roughly this process. As with many things like this, they’re simple on paper, but not always that easy to do on our own in real life.

Our Podcast . 

Our Podcast is a great way to learn more about hundreds of fascinating topics from around the world of work.

This post is based on work originally produced by Hilary Hinton (Zig) Ziglar, who produced a huge amount of content on the topic. You can learn more through a wide range of his materials, including the audio book: “Goals: Setting and Achieving Them on Schedule” .

The World of Work Project: Zig Ziglar’s Seven Steps of Goal Setting: Create Better Goals

We’re a small organization who know we make mistakes and want to improve them. Please contact us with any feedback you have on this post. We’ll usually reply within 72 hours. 

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Zig Ziglar’s Goal Setting Method: The Ultimate Guide to Achieving Success

Your expectations and dreams for bigger and better things require your daily discipline and interest in setting goals. Putting efforts into setting goals makes the process of progress easy and provides direction on the way to success. 

Many approaches help to develop a goal-setting plan but Zig Ziglar goal setting is a workable philosophy that provides a solid foundation for goal-setting. Zig Ziglar is an American motivational speaker that created a seven-step formula for goal setting.

Zig Ziglar’s method involves seven steps to set goals for achieving success in your life. Let us encounter these steps to identify the benefits of Zig Ziglar goal setting.

Table of Contents

What are the steps in the Zig Ziglar Goal setting method?

If you tend to legitimately expect success in your future you need to reflect on the seven steps of zig ziglar’s goal-setting formula. Here are the proper steps that own proven benefits to accomplishing your life goals for success.

• Identify the Goal

The first step in the Zig Ziglar formula is to recognize the goal you want to achieve. Identifying the purpose and benefits of every goal provides an infinitely better chance to achieve the goal within a limited time.

Make sure to create goals that are SMART and clear enough to provide a purpose to your life. So, when you tend to set goals always mind to endure with the real purpose of that goal. For example, if you are looking forward to saving money you have to write the reason why you are wanting it.

• Make the goal clear

One of the most important things during goal setting is to develop a clear goal plan and to recognize all the benefits of your goals. Setting a clear goal reduces the chances of failure and burnout and helps to develop a solid foundation for your goals. 

For example,  walking for 30 minutes daily can make it easy to achieve your weight loss goal .

• List the Obstacles to Overcome

Among these seven steps of the Zig Ziglar formula, listing the potential obstacles and hurdles helps to break the fear of failure. The obstacles always hinder you from achieving your goals . So, it is one of the important things to reflect on these blockers of success.

Write all the challenges that may block your progress they can be your fears of trying new things, self-sabotage, emotional weakness, and factors affecting your confidence.

• Write the benefits 

When you end up setting a specific goal write down the benefits of your goals. If a goal lacks the infinitely better success chance and doesn’t provide the required motivation, dismiss it.

List all the benefits that suit you or are out of your comfort zone, as not all your expectations are going to be fulfilled. Be realistic and think broadly.

• List the Skills and Knowledge Required 

The powerful combination of knowledge and skills is full of benefits. Identifying the required skills for a certain goal to achieve urges you to legitimately expect success. You can be one of the best team players if you are capable of identifying your knowledge power and learning skills.

Mostly circumstances demand to own mind full of new ideas and creative thinking. For example, if you want to have a dream home you should be good at saving money and making more money skills.

To own winning qualities some of the must-have skills include financial skills, communication skills , social skills, problem-solving skills, and personal development skills.

• List the People or Groups to Work with

In addition to skills and knowledge, your company also matters a lot for achieving goals. The support of helpful people and friends is beneficial to make the process easy to accomplish success in life.

Always make sure to be part of a group that is more likely to encourage you and boost your confidence. Your gathering should have a positive impact on your personality and mental growth.

•  Develop an action plan with a deadline

An action plan is the mandatory workable philosophy that completes the process of achievement.  When creating an action plan prepare carefully according to the level of your skills and knowledge.

After setting goals always make sure to set a timeline so may you can achieve your goal within a deadline. Researchers have proved that open-ended goals are less likely to be achieved as compared to close-ended goals.

Conclusion 

In the end, I would like to sum up the Zig Ziglar strategy into six most important things including goals identification, benefits, hurdles, skills, and timelines.

FAQ’s

What is a SMART goal example of zig ziglar goal setting?

I have to buy my dream home within the next two years and for this purpose, I am going to save money and make a profitable investment to double my income this year. What did Zig Ziglar say about goals?

Zig Ziglar is an American motivational speaker who emphasizes on” what you gain through achieving your goals doesn’t matter but what matters the most is, what you become after achieving your goals.”

What are the 5 R’s of goal setting?

Following are the 5 R’s of goal-setting.

• Reflect on your past
• Be realistic 
• Reassess 
• Recognize 
• Review 

What are the 3 R’s of goal setting?

Here are the 3 R’s of goal setting.

• Realistic 
• Result focused

What are the 4 goal-setting strategies?

The 4 goal-setting strategies are given below.

• Prefer clarity
• Face the challenge
• Make the commitment
• Get a regular feedback

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Zig Ziglar goal setting worksheet

The Happier Therapy editorial team is made up of Masters and PhD counselling psychologists. Each worksheet is created by a team member with exposure to and experience in the subject matter.  The worksheet then gets reviewed by a more senior editorial member. This is someone with extensive knowledge of the subject matter and highly cited published material.

What is the theory behind the Zig Ziglar goal-setting worksheet?

Achieving goals is like a journey with a thousand different challenges and lessons, but small and realistic steps and consistency are key to reaching your goals. If you are committed to those small steps you are more likely to achieve your goals successfully. Always remember, planning, deciding, exploring obstacles, and creating an action plan, all these efforts always pay you in the end. 

How will this worksheet help you?

This worksheet can help you in planning your goals more effectively and efficiently. These seven steps of goal setting help you set sensible and helpful goals for yourself. With the help of this worksheet, you can shape yourself mentally, physically, and spiritually. By identifying your obstacle and support group you can learn to work on these obstacles in the form of a team. 

How to use this worksheet?

You can use this worksheet by downloading it either in digital form or in a hard copy. Before starting the worksheet, think of a goal that you want to set with the help of this seven-step zig ziglar worksheet. Complete the worksheet according to your goals. Seek help from your therapist, mentor or any supportive friend who can guide you. 

Was this helpful?

Weinberg, R., Morrison, D., Loftin, M., Horn, T., Goodwin, E., Wright, E., & Block, C. (n.d. ). Writing Down Goals: Does It Actually Improve Performance?, The Sport Psychologist, 33(1), 35-41.

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The 7 Steps Of Zig Ziglar Goal Setting

When you're setting your goals for the future, the process is not something that should be rushed. As 'See You At The Top' author Zig Ziglar teaches us in his book, goal setting is serious business, and doing it the right way will require some time. 

Before you start reading, grab a pen and paper and make a quick note of your responses to each of the steps in this article. Writing things down helps solidify the knowledge and is more likely to spur you into action than simply reading the steps. 

If you want to set clear, achievable goals, read on for the 7 steps of goal setting, Zig Ziglar style: 

1. Make the goal clear

How do you know what to work towards if you don’t have a clear idea of what you want? You should be able to state your goal in a clear, succinct sentence, dropping any words of doubt or negativity. Even if you’re not 100% sure you can achieve it. 

Instead of saying: “I should probably lose 5kg” say “I want to lose 5kg.” Be clear and positive about what it is you want to achieve. 

What’s even better is mentally phrasing your goal as if you’ve already reached it: “I have lost 5kg by July.” This will set the tone for how you approach your goal, giving you a positive and optimistic starting point. 

2. Set yourself a deadline

Without a deadline, you can procrastinate and delay working towards your goal indefinitely. A goal is nothing without a deadline. 

Some people are hesitant to attach a date to their dreams but doing so will kick your subconscious into high gear, just like writing things down a to-do list does. Even if you don’t reach your goal by the deadline, it doesn’t have to mean you’ve failed. 

Simply change the date to one that seems achievable and keep putting in the hard work. Perseverance leads to success, procrastination doesn’t. 

3. Identify the challenges

If you’re a pessimist, I have some good news: this step will come naturally to you! On the other hand, the bad news is that seeing these obstacles might put you off wanting to set your goal in the first place. 

Identifying anything that might hinder you is good because it’ll help you figure out a way to get past that obstacle. 

Don’t throw in the towel just because a goal seems too hard. It’s often the harder things that bring the most joy, the most success, and the most satisfaction. 

Make a list of the things that might prevent you from reaching your goal and write them down. You don’t need to work out how to get over these just yet, acknowledging them is enough for now. 

4. Identify anyone who can help you

Working towards your goals and dreams is not a good time to be shy or try to go it alone. We all need help sometimes, and that goes for the brightest minds in the world too. The right support system could be the difference between struggling and succeeding. 

If you’re trying to lose weight, join a support program or group. If you want to start your own business, join a mastermind. If you want to improve your finances, sign up for a seminar. The internet is a wonderful tool and finding the right people will save you hours of frustration trying to figure things out by yourself. 

Spend some time researching and noting down anyone or any organisation that can help you in achieving your goal. 

5. List all the rewards of reaching your goal 

This is where you can really have some fun imagining all the benefits you’ll have once you accomplish your goals. 

Think of all the wonderful things that will happen; financial success, greater confidence, a better job, and how they’ll affect your life. Whatever it is, list as many benefits as you can think of. Visualise how it will feel to succeed. 

Imagining the rewards of your hard work will propel you forward into action and coming back to this list when you’re stuck will give you a reason to keep going. 

6. Think about which skills you’ll need to master 

Your ability to reach your goals largely depends on your skillset, and how you can use what you know to make the work easier. You can’t go from zero to hero in one step, there are things to learn and take into account. 

If you need to learn any new skills; a different sales technique, creative writing, or web design to reach your goals, take the time to actually learn it. 

There are so many books, online guides, YouTube tutorials, and courses available, there’s no excuse not to spend some time learning something new to be able to achieve your goal. 

7. Make a plan of action

You already know a fair bit about your goal: you know what you want, when you want to achieve it by, the obstacles and rewards, which skills you’ll need, and who can help you along the way. 

Now it’s time to create a plan of action. 

Make a schedule of how you’re going to try and integrate these steps into your daily routine. How long do you want to spend each day working on a new skill? Which group or mastermind do you want to join and when will you work on your tasks? 

If you don’t make a plan, you likely won’t get around to working on your goal. So, draw up a detailed plan of action, set deadlines, and put in the work – there’s no other way around it. 

Now you have the opportunity to make your dreams come true, one goal at a time. Stop procrastinating and apply these 7 steps, and you’ll be on your way to reaching your goal in no time! 

You can use the notes you’ve made for these 7 steps and put them somewhere you will see them regularly around your home. This will remind you to keep working on your goals, and that when you break them down, they really are achievable. 

• Apr 23, 2020

Zig Ziglar's 7 Steps to Goal-Setting

I wanted to expand on an idea from my previous post. If you haven't read it yet, you can find it here: www.brentmeadmusic.com/post/goals.

Zig Ziglar's 7 steps of goal-setting details an effective approach to identifying a goal.

1) Identify your goals

2) Benefits for reaching this goal

3) Major obstacles and mountains to climb to reach this goal

4) Skills or knowledge required to reach this goal

5) Individuals, groups, companies , and organizations to work with to reach this goal

6) Plan of action to reach this goal

7) Completion date

By following the seven steps listed above, people can find more success and clarity in their planning. It's frustrating to put effort into a project and feel the effort was wasted. Failure is an incredibly adverse feeling and most people want to avoid that feeling. Whether your goal is to lose weight, eat better, work out, read more , or save money, you can use these seven steps to find success.

This may seem like an unnecessary step but it's important to put your goal on paper. Putting a goal on paper brings it an artificial life and provides clarity. I have my goals written out in a document on my computer. In the past, I've had slips of paper with my goals in my trombone case and put sticky notes on my bathroom mirror. Making your goals visible can serve as accountability and inspiration. Make sure your goals are measurable, realistic, and focused on personal growth.

Why do you want this? You've probably considered plenty of reasons for starting this journey but, like #1 , it helps to have these reasons clearly listed. Additionally, this can serve as inspiration when it becomes difficult to chase this dream.

This can be both a calming and frightening step. List everything that you imagine could go wrong or prevent you from reaching this goal. Ideas like 'losing motivation' or 'I can't control the outcome of an audition' can help shape your mind in the process before you even get there! Remind yourself that you will have changes in motivation and this process should give you ideas to counter or prevent wild mood changes. What can you imagine will get in your way? Make a separate action plan for ideas to counter these problems. Remember to focus on actions and thoughts that you can control. If you're in control of your goals, and you remind yourself that you are in control of your actions and thoughts, it is easier to stay on track.

This step might include "running a mile without stopping" and subsequent achievements like "running a mile in 12 minutes," "running a mile in 10 minutes," etc. For example, if you want to lose weight, consider listing both actions and knowledge. Having a more in-depth understanding of nutrition and a healthy diet contributes to managing weight. A possible skill in this scenario would be 'operating the gym equipment correctly.' This step is important because it will shape your plan in #6 .

5) Individuals, groups, companies, and organizations to work with to reach this goal

Identifying people and groups that can help you creates a support system. Think of who to contact for support, accountability, resources, or guidance. For musicians, consider listing teachers, online coaching resources like Noa Kageyama's Bulletproof Musician or Rob Knopper's Audition Hacker ; or memberships to organizations like the International Trombone Association , NAfME , or American Federation of Musicians . When the going gets tough, rely on these resources to help you. Here, I'm reminded of Helen Keller's advice: "alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much."

This is the most important step, in my opinion. The previous five steps should help shape this process. Chasing a dream can be a trying process so feeling some success along the way is critical. View this step as a way to know you're staying on track. I believe that most people give up because they don't know their effort is creating any progress. If you see actions changing and create measurable ways to monitor progress, you will feel better about chasing this dream.

Weight loss feels like an incredibly difficult task for many people. Eating and physical activity habits are engrained in our personality and trying to lose weight is a long process. If you want to lose weight, track the minutes or days that you've worked out. Consider coloring each day you work out in a monthly calendar. Having a visual graphic of time spent working out creates a concept of momentum over time. Framing your goal in a manner that you can control is more effective. Losing 15 pounds in a month is more difficult to control than eating under a calorie limit or exercising each day. Set progressive goals that you can control and measure. Measure your current skill and gradually change your goalposts. For example, going from 0 pushups each day to 100 in a day might be impossible and likely will cause disappointment. Going from 0 to 1 pushup each day is a more accomplishable task. These small successes give you hope. In this step, emphasize actions and give preference to measurable actions or skills.

Most people work better when there's a deadline. While this should not be viewed as a binary success vs. failure on the completion date, it's important to have a deadline to assess progress and learn timing. In the end, your product or goal might not be where you expected, but any progress made is beneficial. It is not lost because you didn't meet the deadline.

Think about a goal you have and go through these seven steps to help you achieve the goal! This is how I frame my goals and help me plan my work. It never turns out the way I planned, but I always make progress when I use these steps.

• The Life of a Musician

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