Here is an excellent process for goal setting, set out in step-by-step stages:

	Diagnose Articulate a general sense of what you want to achieve
	Be positive Check the goal is positively stated (as something to move towards, not as something to move away from; to 'start' doing some­thing new, not 'stop' doing something, for example)
	Check commitment How do you know you want to achieve this: what's the evidence? How does you usually know when you want something? Does this fit? Are you sure you want it for yourself, or is it something others want you to achieve?
	Think systemically Explore the broader context: what effects will achieving this goal have? What effects on others, as well as you? How will others react?
	Check control Explore whether it is within your power to achieve this goal: what things are likely to hinder you? How could you get control over these things? Are you assuming other people will change? Do you have the skills, abilities and other personal qualities you need to achieve this goal? Can you acquire them? Does you have the time and the energy?
	Assess value Explore whether the goal is worth the effort it will take: how much effort will it be? What will be the pay-off? Is it a leveraged' goal? Does it result in other desirable things being achieved, as side-effects or direct consequences?
	Get specific Explore how achievement of the goal can be 'measured': how will you know the goal has been achieved? How will others know? Is the goal clearly expressed? Could you explain it to others?
	Rediagnose Explore whether your sense of what you want to achieve has changed as a consequence of thinking it through: are there other  things that now seem more of a priority? Have subgoals emerged? How are you feeling about this goal right now?
	Test reality Using all the information that has been generated, articulate the goal that now makes sense to you.

If you have thought through, in all these ways, about what you really want you are likely to be either sure you know or sure you don't know. Either is a good outcome, and enables you to move forward —either to planning or to a journey of self-exploration.

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