Laying the Foundation - Have You Set Your Steemian Goals?

What are Steemian goals? How do I set them? Do I need one? What do I get in setting them? These are some of the questions we'll answer here.

Consistent with what we did in our previous post of this series, let's start by defining what a goal is.

What a Goal is Not

When I hear the word goal, the first thing that comes to mind is the goal of a soccer field. Sometimes, it's the basketball ring, or the golf hole, or in volleyball, it's down the opponent's court.

Given these images, it's easy to misunderstand what a goal is not. The things just mentioned are not goals, but targets.

This requires us to distinguish between a target and a goal.

Targets are small, easily executable tasks, while goals are something bigger.

Let's take basketball as an example. Shooting baskets is a target. Winning a game is a goal. Hitting your shots consistently contribute to your goal of winning a game. Winning a game contributes to your goal of winning a championship. Winning a championship contributes to your goal of winning a three-peat.

Targets and goals are chained. Hitting your targets consistently contributes to you achieving your goal.

The Need for Consistency

Have you watched a game played by amateurs? How about a game played by professionals? Do you see the gap between how amateurs play and how professionals do it? I believe one of those factors is consistency.

How do professional athletes hit their targets consistently?

Let's look at Stephen Curry, one of NBA's best, as an example. According to this article:

He puts up 1,000 shots in practice every week, not counting those he takes in games.

It needs repetition. Applying this to Steemit, if we want to hit our targets consistently, we need repetition.

What are Steemian Targets?

I've trimmed it to the following:

• Posts (including re-steems)
• Comments
• Followers
• Reputation
• Wallet (STEEM Dollars, STEEM POWER, and STEEM)

Posts and comments are the things that we have most control over and are what affects the others. So let's focus on these.

What are Steemian Goals?

Anything bigger than our targets can be considered a goal.

Let's take this post by @vallesleoruther as an example.

I have set a goal to surpass the 10,000 rank in the next couple of months. Cannot wait to see if we have surpassed that 10,000 rank.

What are Reasonable Goals?

Anything attainable is reasonable. For minnows, any of the following is reasonable:

• Posts : 5 quality posts per week
• Comments: 5 insightful or engaging comments per day
• Followers : 100 followers in two weeks
• Wallet : 500 Steem Power in 1 month
• Reputation : 50 in two weeks

Play with the numbers.

Here are some who have actually accomplished them.

• @rival (Joined June 2017) [Yes, today i reached 500 steem power. Started in june 2017. Thank you all]
• @flauwy (Joined June 2017) [1000 Followers, 1000 Steem Power and 10,000 Upvotes | Thank You Steemit]

If you're like me who didn't set any goal when I started, I suggest you create a baseline, a number of posts in two weeks, a number of comments, and a number of articles or posts read. The lessons you learn in your first few weeks will determine your success in Steemit. Remember our definition of success?

Success is the steady progress towards predetermined goals.

This will be your baseline. Not another's, but yours. The only measure you should set for now is your own.

What's Next?

Now that you've set your goals, how do you move towards them? How do you achieve consistency? These are some of the questions we will answer in my next post, God willing.

About 'Laying the Foundation' series

'Laying the Foundation' is a series of posts where I share with you questions I believe are important for every Steemian to answer. It aims to add value to every Steemian. I also share with you my answers to these questions and challenge you to come up with your own and share your answers to them.

• Why Steemit?
• What Were Your Failures?
• What Were Your Successes?

Come for the rewards. Stay for the community. - Steemit

Updates:
Sep. 9, 2017 - Updated reasonable goals based on this question by @goldygoody

Image sources: [1][2][3]