The Importance Of Goal Setting
For many people, the first day of the new year is a time to set new goals. But it is important not to forget about goal setting throughout the year so that you are constantly working towards your goals, and not waiting until January 1st to start.
Goal setting can help improve every aspect of your life - from personal relationships and self-esteem, to professional success and physical health. Everyone has their own personal definition of success but having goals in place can increase your likelihood for achieving them.
In this post we will be talking about why goal setting is important and tips on how you can incorporate the importance into your life through daily actionable steps for creating personalized goals that work for you.
Why is goal setting so important?
Having goals throughout the year will help you focus your energy on the things that are important to you and what matters to you most. It serves as a reminder of your goals and motivates you to work towards them, whether it be for personal, professional, or even physical health. Once you have set a goal to achieve it will keep you pushing forward towards your goal. The more energy and effort you put into something - whether it be working towards a business or personal goal - the greater of an impact it can have on your life.
When you are constantly setting goals, you are working to improve yourself and in turn become a better version of yourself. You will find that your habits change when you have goals in place and these changes can help improve the quality of your life. Reducing stress, improving self-esteem, reducing procrastination - these are all direct results of goal setting that can greatly impact your life. It is important to keep in mind though that having goals is not going to be easy - it requires hard work and dedication as well as an honest assessment of yourself and where you are now compared to where you want to be in the future.
Goal setting also allows you to focus on what really matters most. As the lyrics from a Paul Simon song goes: "I still have dreams for this world that I'm in." But if you are too busy trying to get everything done, you will miss out on all these great things that can only happen if you are fully engaged in what is happening.
How to set goals
There are a lot of different ways that people set goals. Some people like to plan out a whole year's worth of goals and write them down, others just focus on short-term goals and write those down. Both are effective in creating some sort of direction for your life and help you get a good idea of where you want to be. It is important to get clear about what kind of goals you want to set in your life and then start making small steps towards them.
The most important part of setting goals is the action that comes from it. Goals should have a sense of urgency to them, but also have a whole lot of flexibility so that they can change according to what is happening or how you feel about something. Once you start taking action on your goals, it will allow forward momentum and keep your motivation going strong so that all the hard work pays off.
So now, lets take a look at some quick and easy actionable steps for goal setting that everyone can incorporate into their daily lives:
1) Start working towards your ONE goal at a time. "How do I begin?" some people might ask. You have to start somewhere! Whatever goal you have in mind - whether it is to lose weight, travel the world, move to another country, or to simply be a kinder person - start by creating a working list with no set order of importance. All you really need is one thing that you want to work on throughout the year.
2) Be flexible with your goals. Be realistic, but also be flexible with your goals. Don't make them so strict that you are setting yourself up for failure or so vague that you have no direction or purpose. If a goal seems too difficult, start off small and then break it down into steps. If something comes up along the way and detracts you from your original goal, it is okay to set new goals or modify the old ones.
3) Write your goals down. Make them real by writing them down on a piece of paper and keeping it in a place where you can look at it every day to remind yourself of what you want to achieve. This will help keep you accountable and focused on what you are trying to get done.
4) Identify your obstacles. The best way to overcome an obstacle is to first identify it. If a goal seems scary or out of reach, analyze why this may be the case and determine how you can change the situation so that it is more manageable. It may require bringing in some outside help or resources, but at least now you have taken the first step towards solving your problem by identifying what your problem is.
5) Create a plan for success/failure. Determine the steps that you need to take in order to achieve your goal, but also have some fail-safe measures in place. For example, if you are trying to lose weight and decide that a certain amount of your daily caloric intake should be replaced with exercise, create a plan where you can see how long it will take for each step to be achieved and know the amount of effort and time you will need for each step.
6) Take action. Now that you have set your goals and have a plan in place, it is time to take action! Make the small steps towards achieving the thing that you have been dreaming of and make sure to reward yourself when you get there. If you are having a hard time with motivation, find someone who can either hold you accountable (a friend or family member) or is working towards achieving a similar goal as yourself. The more people who are working towards a similar goal, the easier it will be to push through all the tough times until you finally achieve it.
7) Get feedback from others. What you have been striving towards is something that you have worked hard for, so take some time to reflect on what you have done and be open to receiving criticism and feedback from others. This will help give you insight on your specific goals and will inspire the drive needed to keep going when times get tough.
8) Celebrate! Do something special for yourself - whether it is to eat a treat or go out with friends, there are many different ways of celebrating your achievements.
Conclusion:
As you can see, goal setting is essential to having a successful and fulfilling life. While it might be a bit scary at first to do something new, remember that all great things require hard work and dedication. Start off with small steps and continue taking action until you receive what you have been working towards. After some time, the process may feel less challenging and you will learn how to face your fears of the future with courage and optimism.
References:
www.inc.com/sujeet-basu/8-steps-to-setting-achievablegoals.