Do you sometimes feel like a loser? Do you feel like your career has stalled, your financial future looks grim, your friends are few, your family doesn’t seem excited to see you, you could lose a few pounds, and you’re losing hope that anything will change? Maybe you should set a few goals.

Setting goals does relieve stress because it gives us hope that our lives can be different.

In every area of your life; career, financial, family, friends, physical, educational, and spiritual, the formula for goal setting stays the same.

First you need to decide clearly what you want. Be reasonable. The goal must be attainable. Next, give yourself a deadline for achievement. Consider the knowledge and skill you may need to acquire to be successful in reaching the goal. Then connect with the people, groups and organizations you will need to work with to learn the knowledge and to develop those skills. Finally, put together a plan of action. Identify the ten steps you will take to over the next 12 hours, 12 days, 12 weeks, and 12 months to reach the goal.

You will start feeling better right away. Jot down some ideas of what you would like to accomplish; not giant, earth-shattering ideas, but reasonable, yet challenging ideas. Commit to your goals by writing them down and start making plans.

Sometimes when the economy has been slow, our career hasn’t been rewarding, and our social life is non-existent, we start to feel the blues. There is no better remedy to relieve the stress of disappointment than a good round of goal setting. Set goals and relieve stress today.

If you need to find a keynote speaker, plenary speaker, breakout speaker, concurrent session speaker, seminar leader, or workshop facilitator who can deliver in-person, virtually, or via prerecorded session, Kit Welchlin, M.A., CSP, CVP, is a nationally recognized professional motivational speaker and author and can be found at www.welchlin.com or www.SeminarsOnStress.com.