A famous study of Yale University graduates found that back in 1953, just 3% of the graduating class had a written set of goals for their lives. 20 years later a survey of the same group revealed that the ’goal setting’ students were financially worth more than the other 97% put together. This 3% also enjoyed better relationships, and better health. The factor that linked all these students was that they had set clear goals.

Without goals you are drifting and when you drift you are not in control. If you are not in control then someone else is. You have relinquished your basic right to shape your own future.

Benefits of Setting Goals

Good goals focus your mind on the outcome. You will be clear about what you want and why you want it. Knowing what benefits there are for you and how each goal ultimately serves you, creates the motivation and momentum to keep you going. Gives you the drive to come up with perfect solutions, to get what you want.

Many people don’t have a clue what they really want. If you ask them what they want they will very often tell you the ideas and things they don’t want. The problem is you get what you focus on. The subconscious mind works to achieve the things that you think about most of the time, whether you want them or not.

Types of Goal

Goal can be defined as:

Ongoing – something you do on a regular basis e.g. Check immigration news twice a month.
Short term – achieved within a week to a month e.g. Have contacted 3 moving companies by next Friday
Medium term – achieved within a month to a year e.g. I have researched 5 destinations within 6 months
Long Term – a year or more to completion e.g. We have purchased a 4 bed house in Melbourne Australia, by Jan 2010.

Emigration Goals

Emigration is a long term goal, but most important, is the long term goal of what you are emigrating for. You are emigrating because you want a lifestyle that can be best accomplished in a new country. Your definitions of your ideal lifestyle are the ultimate long term goal. Having that definition will get you closer to your goal more quickly when you break it down into a series of ongoing, short and medium term goals. As you define the highest level goals, you can spilt each down into smaller manageable goals and keep repeating this process until you have a series of steps to take you towards the desired lifestyle.

Instead of thinking about a goal that is years away you are focusing on a series of short term goals that need to be done in the next day, week or month. Keeps it in the forefront of your mind.

Goal Setting Principles

To set effective goals follow these guiding principles to help you.

· Written down

Writing your goals, makes them a reality, and is an intention to commit. State each goal in a simple concise sentence to focus on your desired outcome. It is a good idea to summarise your goals on a card you carry with you to review often.

· Reviewed regularly

This means reading your card every day without fail. Take a minute over each goal, see it in your mind, and know what will be happening to show you have achieved it. Know that everything you say and do is moving you nearer to you goal.

· Specific

You must be able to describe each goal in one sentence that is clear and specific. This will bring clarity to your goals. ‘I want to emigrate’ is too vague. ‘I want to be living in Canada within 3 years’ gives where and when.

· Positive

Focus on what you want, and not a negative. For example, ‘I want to get a way from traffic queues’ or ‘I want to be out of this incessant rain’ or ‘I don’t’ want my kids to grow up in a high crime area’.

Possible reframes could be…

‘I want a quiet and calm commute to work everyday’
‘I want to have sunshine and warm weather for 5 months of the year’
‘I want my kids to be safe playing in the street’
You can take it one step further and state your goal in the present tense as if you have already achieved it. ‘I have a quiet and calm commute to work every day’ or ‘It is sunny and warm for 5 months’ or My kids play safely in the street’.

· Inspiring

How exciting are you by your goals? You must feel inspired and motivated to take action towards this goal. What are the benefits to you of achieving it? Imagine achieving your goal. What do you see? What do you hear? What are you doing? Make the goal personal and tangible. What is your level of excitement on a scale on 1 – 10, if it’s less than 8, make the goal more exciting.

· Measurable

You must know when you have achieved each goal. There must be a way of measuring the outcome. Receiving your visas, or having sold your house, are quite easy to quantify. Those less straight forward such as making decisions, or feeling prepared are less clear. But any measure even if it is you ‘feel prepared’ is better than no measure at all.

· Challenging

If a goal is too easy it’s not really a goal. You may become bored and uninterested; there is no sense of achievement when you reach it. Dare to dream big, turn your dream into ambitions and ambition into goals.

· Achievable

The goal must be realistic, if you are just starting out and set a goal to have emigrated within the next month, it is unlikely to happen. You need to believe you can achieve it.

· Time-frame

Always attach a start and finish time. Goals without dates just drift on and tend to get forgotten. Having dates keeps you on track and focused.

· Within your responsibility

You cannot set goals for other people. The goal must be within your control and influence. If you are not in control of the outcome you have a ready made excuse for not achieving it. For example ‘To be successful in my visa application by June 2009’ how much control do you have over this? You are not making the decision about your visas or how long they will take to process it. Better to set something like ‘I have accumulated the required number of points and submitted the application by Jan 2008’ These things you are in control of and they will give you the best chance of getting the original goal, and still be in control of it.

Contact Louise for more information, on setting your own emigration goals, to successfully plan, and achieve your emigration dreams. coaching@theexpatcoach.com

Having moved country several times and experienced many of the emigration challenges, Louise has a good understanding of what you are going through. She has a personal coaching diploma and is a member of The Coaching Academy (UK). Louise began coaching in 2006, and established The Expat Coach in 2007. She specializes in coaching clients to successfully plan, prepare for and achieve their dreams of life in a new country. Read the Expat Coach Blog for coaching tips and news about emigration and expat issues.