Reaching Your Goals

Having goals to reach is vital towards your personal development. If you don’t have goals then you don’t have a reason to get out of bed and put your feet on the floor. Goals give you a reason to live. They give you something to work towards on a daily basis. Setting goals however are only the beginning. Your goals should lead in a specific direction. They must point you towards your definite major purpose.  

   Some people take the time to write their goals out and then they go in a desk drawer never to be seen again. Don’t do that. If you take the time setting goals then make it a priority to become the person it takes to reach them. Why people set goals and ignore them is really a mystery. It just doesn’t make sense.

   When you don’t have goals to shoot for then you don’t have a purpose in your life. Are you satisfied with just going through the day and coming home and watching television? Unfortunately that is the case for most people. They may have goals in their mind, but they don’t really believe they can achieve them, so they don’t bother trying.

   Setting goals is exciting. When you write out your goals it’s fun to find out what really is important to you and what you can look forward to. Your future is determined by your goals. No goals, no real future. That simple.

Types of Goal Setting

   There are many different types of goals you can set and even more different methods to use to set them. Many books tout the way their goal system works. To be honest the best way to set goals is the way that works best for you. Don’t get married to a certain way to do it because if you don’t like it then you won’t set them which means you won’t become the person it takes to reach them. Find the way that is the most comfortable.

   However, there are certain types of goals you can set. For example you need to have a good mix of short and long term goals. Short term goals are less than a year to reach and longer term goals are 1 year or longer. When you set long term goals make sure you don’t have too many 1 year goals and only one five year goal. You have to have balance.

   I have heard some say not to have deadlines when you set goals. I don’t agree with this. You need to have a deadline. When you work on a project there is a certain time it needs to be done. If you live in an apartment and one of your goals is to buy a home and you don’t have a deadline then you won’t develop the discipline to reach it in a certain time. Once you set a deadline then you begin the process of working towards the goal and you know how long you have.

   Here are some categories you can file goals under:

·         Fun

·         Career

·         Personal

·         Family

 

   These are just a few and you will think of more. It’s important to work towards goals in every area of your life. You don’t want to let one area lack. If all you have are career goals then your personal and family life will lack. Fun goals are great because who doesn’t like to have fun. Why not set goals that lead to having a good time like a vacation? When I first started setting goals they were usually heavy in one area. I had to change that because even when I reached the goals there was no fulfillment because I didn’t have any real goals in other areas.

   Make the goals you set challenging for who they will make of you. How gratifying is it when you set a difficult goal and you reach it. I know it feels great. Of course you want reachable goals, but also write down goals that are difficult. However, you need to be careful with this because if all your goals are difficult you may not reach them and you will lose confidence.

   One important thing to remember is not to make your goals impossible. There is a difference between challenging and impossible. If you are 40 years old and want to play in the NFL that is probably not going to happen. So make sure you setting challenging goals, but also realistic ones.

   Goals help create two important traits. The first one is the discipline to set the goals and work towards them. The second one is the confidence you get from successfully reaching them.

The Most Important thing about Goals

   Let me destroy a myth for you. The most important thing about goals is not whether you reach them. I’ll say it again. The most important thing about goals is not reaching them. Bo Bennett said, "The discipline you learn and character you build from setting and achieving a goal can be more valuable than the achievement of the goal itself." One of the reasons is because you won’t reach all your goals no matter how hard you try. Sometimes things will happen in your life that won’t allow certain goals to come to fruition. That’s o.k. because the most important thing about goals is the person you become in the process.

   Even if you don’t reach a certain goal look back on what you learned as you worked towards that goal. What did you learn and how did you grow. The work towards a goal can create many other opportunities for you that wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t working towards a particular goal. If you learned new skills, met new people, or visited new places are all things that happen in the process of reaching goals.

   When you work towards the goal you learn about yourself. You learn what you can and can’t do, or will and won’t do. This will help you in your future endeavors.

   Two questions to ask yourself when you set your goals is:

What will this goal make of me?

Who will I become in the process?

Always take that into consideration. You want your goals to make you a better person and more valuable. That’s the most important thing about goals. The goals need to point you towards a definite major purpose for your life. You can read more about having a definite major purpose on this blog. Take the time to find out what it is.

   If you need a format to set goals find one that works best for you. Take the time today to begin setting your goals and begin making valuable life changes.