What is a Goal

A goal is an aim or a purpose you wish to accomplish in a particular setting be it life, career, relationship or financial. Goals are important and if it is not something you already knew, you are about to discover one of the most simple but important aspect of being successful.

In his book Goals!, Brian Tracy outlines 12 steps you can take to accomplish any goal. I read this book and I found the lessons useful and applied them. You can read the reviews on this link.

In this article we are looking at the main reasons why you need to set goals. 

Time is Finite

We know there are 24 hours in a day yet some people seem to get more out of the day than others. Why? Using a single day as an example is not the best way to explain this so it makes sense to look at how people spend their time over a period of time.

We spend a large portion of our time at work during the working week going to the office, being at the office and travelling home from the office. This alone adds a new twist to the phrase ‘home office’ since our offices are much more like homes considering how much time we spend there.

In order to make the most of the working day or weekend, we need to set goals so we determine what needs to be done and how much time needs to be dedicated to that task. We need to set goals because time is finite and we need to determine beforehand what needs to be done in the time we have.

Resources are Finite

Every tangible resource is finite and the world is not waiting on us. If we consider a task worthwhile, we need to plan how much time and resources will be required.

These resources could be within our power or it could be something we depend on other people in order to complete our task. In any case, we do not have infinite resources and goal setting will help focus on the resources we need so we can apply them effectively.

You are not Immortal – Not yet at least

We are not immortal and without goals, we have a tendency to spread ourselves too thin. Wanting to do everything for anyone that asks and disregarding what is important.

Setting goals allows you to make an account of your time, your skills and your strengths at least. You know what you are able to do and what you are unable or not so good at, so you outsource or delegate or postpone as the situation may demand.

Without setting goals we become unsure of we are looking to accomplish and can spend time looking in the wrong places, or interacting with the wrong people who will not add value to the task at hand. We also have an increased risk chance of burning out.

The aim is to accomplish balance – work and rest and play depending on who you are and what you get up to. Our resting time or playing time is just as important as our working time since we gather inspiration for what we are working on or just simply resting from work which is equally as important.

Priorities – Not everything is important at all times

This is one of those things that we hear about but do not apply correctly. By setting goals, you are making yourself think about what is important and in what order while taking any dependencies into account.

Without setting goals it becomes difficult to determine what task is important, what task needs to be done first, how much time a task should take and at which point we escalate or delegate.

Establishing priorities gives you an opportunity to decide if it is relevant, important and how much effort or resources are required to complete the task. These points are important because they improve your chances of success.

If first you do not succeed, try again holds true only if you know where you went wrong in the first place otherwise you are most likely repeating the same thing in different ways whilst expecting a different outcome and we know what the definition of insanity is right?

Confidence and Willpower

If you have never experiences the feeling of accomplishing a goal, you need to definitely set one. It is one of the best feelings and our brains actually reward us with those feel good chemicals.

Beyond that, we get a boost of confidence to take on even more challenges. We stay motivated and it lifts your mood, improves your mindset and ultimately is another win in your belt or trophy in your cabinet.

Final Note

A goal is an aim or a purpose you wish to accomplish in a future date. In our busy lives it is important to take time and set goals after giving them much thought because it allows us to be accountable to ourselves on how we have spent our time and resources.

Not everything is important and not everyone is important. Setting a goal will allow you to determine this without neglecting important details or relevant people along the way.

Setting goals even small ones and achieving them will boost our confidence, improve our willpower and help us approach much bigger goals with a sense of calm and determination.

Goals allow us to achieve balance in our activities so whilst we are not hammering away at goal related tasks, we make time to rest, play, go for a walk, speak with a friend and take time to reflect so that when we have accomplished the goal, we can share that success with people.