subject: Five Good Reasons to Set Goals [print this page] Five Good Reasons to Set Goals Five Good Reasons to Set Goals
Goal setting is probably a topic you've heard about far too many times! However, when the topic has been brought up no one has actually taken the time to make clear to you why it's important to set goals or presented the information in a way that motivates you to follow through. Here are five good reasons.
When you choose not to set personal goals, it leaves the door open for other folks to set them for you.
I once over heard it said that your time will become a slave to others if you choose not to seize it for yourself. Put simply, if you don't chart your own course in life, someone else will take over the controls for you. As a result, your goals will actually be someone else's. At the core of it all, by setting your own goals you are working towards what YOU want, not what anybody else wants.
Goals are needed to bring us out of our passivity; urgency is aroused. A well stated goal has a time factor which serves as a deadline for actually getting something done. Our minds then spring into action! If I want to "get in shape someday" then I never will. But if I set a goal to compete in a triathlon in fall, even though the function is four months away I know I have to start training now to reach my goal.
Goals focus us in on the people and the resources we require in order to succeed. You know how when you're shopping for a certain kind of car (or house or clothes or anything else) you begin to notice those items? In the same way, when you have established a succinct goal to strive for you find resources and make contact with people who will help you achieve the goal. If you are planning to compete in a triathlon you start to find articles and tips on working out for the event; if you are taking an accounting course you start to take more interest in other people's financial portfolios.
Goals help you set boundaries. Tell me, when was the last time you had an excessive amount time on your hands? Has that ever transpired? Probably not. Every time we say 'yes' to something, it usually means we are saying 'no' to countless other things. The majority of people without goals are driven by what is most urgent or what is fastest; whereas goal setters find it easier to say 'no' because they can identify if an activity will be detrimental to accomplishing their goals. Goal setters however, are able to turn down alternatives because they can see how saying 'yes' will negatively impact their capability to carry out their goals.
Goal setters are able to accomplish more. That's the bottom line. The reason that you have tried to push aside because you are not the "goal-setting type". Well, become a goal setter. First, get a process tailored for goal setting. Second, put together or discover a template to help you set your goals. Lastly, use these tools to guide your life. In turn, you will accomplish more, you will find more happiness and direction in life and you will do more of the things you deem important.
