Why its important to set goals?
Ever wonder why its important to set goals? Everyone has goals that they want to achieve. Whether they know it or not is a different story. If you asked me what my goals were a year ago, I wouldn’t have anything specific to tell you. I would’ve said “be successful” or something general like that, but before then I never truly thought about it. Its easy to forget about your dreams and goals in the midst of everyday life. Go to work, bring the kids to ballet and football practice, go grocery shopping, come home, cook and have dinner, then its time to go to bed and start the whole cycle again tomorrow. Or go to work, get dinner, go home, watch tv for hours, go to bed and start the cycle again tomorrow. Whatever my daily routine was, it was unorganized and it yielded me the results of my life up to that point. If I wanted to change, then my routine had to change; my habits had to change. I decided to start with setting some goals.
How to start setting goals?
Getting started setting goals isn’t very difficult. Think about the things you WANT and write them down. It doesn’t matter how ridiculous you think they sound, write them down. Writing down the things you want is the first step in achieving them. Without writing them down, they remain in your head and get pooled in with the other 60,000 thoughts that run through your head daily. If you didn’t hear me the first time, WRITE THEM ALL DOWN!
How to stay focused on your goal
Staying focused on your goal is the most difficult part of goal setting. When we feel inspired and motivated to work towards our goal, it seems easy and fun. Unfortunately for us, motivation is temporary. It comes and it goes. If I only work towards my goals when im motivated, then I won’t be working on them too often. So how do I stay focused on my goals? Discipline is the only answer. Discipline is what truly gets people to attain their goals and dreams. Discipline is doing something that is required even though you don’t feel like doing it. Discipline is going against what your brain tells you. Discipline is the only road to success. Im not going to act like im disciplined at every single moment of the day. Im human just like you. I have times of being undisciplined, but those instances are getting fewer and fewer. Discipline is what sets people apart when it comes to achieving their dreams.
Short Term Long Term Goal setting
Not all goals are created equal, and nor should they be. There are different types of goals: Short Term and Long Term goals. Both are very important and play a role in our success.
Short term goals are important since they help keep us on track by completing them. We as humans have this drive to be productive. We had to be to ensure our survival within our tribes. If we weren’t productive, then the tribe would suffer. We have this innate human instinct to build and make things better. Short term goals allow me to stay productive (not just busy). Short term goals are like stepping stones towards my long term goals.
Long term goals should seem unattainable when you first write them. Unattainable? That doesn’t sound very motivating but let me explain. When we think of our long term goals, we think about them in the context of how our life is now. We sell ourselves short in our initial setting of goals due to our lack of self esteem and worth. I love the philosophy of Grant Cardone of 10x everything. Whatever your initial thought of a goal was, multiply it by 10 and that’s what we should work towards. If we 10x our goals, even if we don’t attain them 100%, we will still be way ahead then we thought we could be. And who knows, we might fuck around and actually attain that insane goal! We won’t know unless we try.
Goal setting is something that has given me some type of direction in my life. Before I wrote down any goals, I had no direction. I was lost. Goal setting can set you down the right path or right direction. Don’t just set these goals, but work towards them daily. The moment you start achieving even the smallest goals, you’ll set your sights for bigger ones and achieve those. Your self worth and self esteem will increase and realize that we all have something to contribute in this world. Get out of your own way and start being the person you’ve always wanted to be.