The importance of goals

Many people feel as if they’re adrift in the world. They work hard, but they don’t seem to get anywhere worthwhile. This could be because they haven’t spent enough time thinking about what they want from life, and haven’t set themselves formal goals.

Goal setting is a powerful process for thinking about your ideal future, and for motivating yourself to turn your vision of this future into reality.

The process of setting goals helps you choose where you want to go in life. By knowing precisely what you want to achieve, you know where you have to concentrate your efforts.

“People with clear written goals accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them could ever imagine”.– Brian Tracy.

Research studies consistently show that having goals makes a significant difference in creating success and the biographies of high achievers throughout history bear out this research. In fact, you have probably heard it frequently said that goal setting is essential for success. So why is it that so few people actively set goals? Maybe it’s a fear of failure, lack of time or know-how, or maybe you just think that it’s too difficult.

The truth is that anyone can set themselves goals. It’s not difficult at all.

So exactly what are goals?

According to Wikipedia,

“Goal-setting ideally involves establishing specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-targeted objectives.”

But more than that, I believe that effective goal work includes recognizing and resolving all inner conflict or limiting beliefs that might unconsciously sabotage our efforts. Setting clearly-defined goals allow you to measure and take pride in the achievement of those goals. It is really helpful to see progress towards something that at first seemed a long, perhaps impossible, grind.

This is where goals essentially give us direction and focus so that we know exactly where we want to be and how we are going to get there. Maybe you have found yourself in the same position as this man – let’s call him Andrew.

Andrew knew he wanted to change the direction his life had taken. Although holding a respected position with his current employer he failed to achieve promotion and believed this was because he felt no passion for his office based job. He held a secret dream of retraining as a horticulturist but going back to college would jeopardize his family’s financial security. As well as his career dilemma, he and his wife were considering moving out of the city as the apartment they rented was too small for their growing family. This tangle of wishes needed to be unraveled before Andrew’s solution became clear. He began by moving to a town close to his parents. He used his existing skills to find work there in the short term, and his family’s housing problem was solved. Living closer to his parents meant they could help with child care and his wife was able to find part-time work. Finally, he was able to research retraining opportunities.

Setting the first goal meant Andrew was able to focus all his energy on preparing to move nearer his parents and could visualize the benefits of this for both himself and his family. His longer term goals became clearer as the move became a reality.

We can carry on living from day to day and just let things happen to us or like Andrew we can start to take control and exert some influence over what happens. If we don’t want to look back on our lives and say ‘If only I’d...’ then the only way forward is to start setting yourself goals.

In the beginning, we don’t need to set ourselves big, scary goals just so long as they ignite our passion and inspire us to take action. Make sure that as we progress through this book we continue to focus on what it is you want. We will soon realize that we are capable of achieving whatever we want if we are prepared to work for it and once we see how simple it is to formulate our goals, we will feel more energized and everything we do in our day to day life will become easier.

If asked, most of us can come up with at least one specific goal that we have wanted to achieve for a long time. I’m sure you have that goal too.

Why do you think you still haven’t accomplished it?

The reasons can be very different and can range from lack of motivation to limiting beliefs. However, whatever the reason is, you have created a wall that you keep hitting.

Pinpoint those negative beliefs and start replacing them with positive ones. For example, if you are afraid that you don’t have enough willpower to follow through, create the following statement, “I am a strong person and I can achieve anything I will set my mind on”.

Alwasy keep smiling!

See'ya!