Setting goals is an extremely important component of changing any aspect of yourself. For instance, if you want to lose weight, then setting a specific target helps to keep you motivated and moving forward. Once you start setting goals for yourself, you’ll certainly realise how big of a change this little addition can make to your lifestyle.
When you don’t set yourself a specific goal, then you can easily fall into the loop of starting, trying, and not progressing. Once you start setting goals, you turn your attitudes towards your passion from passive to active.
Here are seven important reasons why setting your own goals is an extremely valuable task.
1. It Helps You Take Control of Your Own Life
Setting your own goals really hands you the reigns on your life. Many of us are just sleepwalking through life, doing what we think we should be doing opposed to what we want to be doing. Setting your own goals gives you back a little bit of control over your life so that you’re fulfilling your own dreams and not someone else’s. This will also help to keep you motivated as the goal your chasing is one that you actually desire.
2. It’ll Give You Maximum Results
What do the most successful people in the world all have in common? A habit of setting and perusing their own goals.
Setting your own goals means that you’re more likely to give it your all. If you’re just doing something to please someone else, then you’ll most likely give it most, but not all of your energy. Achieving the best results requires maximum dedication, and that’s what you get when you set your own goals.
3. It Gives You a Path to Follow
Goals give you more than just a focus of where you’re going to end up, they show you the path you need to take to get there. Whether it’s a job prospect or a gym routine, goals help to keep you determined and orientated to achieve the best results. All of your energy can now be directed towards one thing and thus, your mind is much clearer in the journey it needs to undertake in order to get there.
4. It Makes You Accountable
Everyone makes mistakes; it’s a natural part of life. Yet, when you make mistakes on your way to a goal, then you can use it as a lesson for further progression. Once you hold yourself accountable for your actions, you’ll see mistakes as lessons. It’s not the mistakes you make that matter, it’s how you react to them; how you adapt in order to make sure they don’t happen again.
This is the major difference that goal setting makes. Because you’re motivated to succeed, you’re more likely to care about dealing with problems in the proper way. This accountability is why people can turn their passion into a career. This is what separates the failures from the successors.
5. It Gives You a Push in The Back
We don’t wake up motivated every morning, bursting out of ripe with motivation. Aspects of life can sometimes get in the way and cause our mind set takes a knock. Though, if you’re waking up with a clear goal in mind, then you’ll find it easier to ignite that fire in your belly.
Set a goal that really means something to you. Something that you’ve always wanted but never fully pushed yourself to commit to. This will give you something to strive for, something to really keep you going when times get hard. There’s a common saying that obstacles are the what scare you when you take your eyes off your goal. As long as you’re focusing on the end result, there’s no such thing as an obstacle you can’t overcome.
The Bottom Line
As you can see, goals are an extremely important step towards changing yourself for the better. Making sure that these goals are set by you only enhances their effect to help you reach your full potential. If you’re not setting clear and defined goals, then really all you’re doing is hoping. You need to be active, motivated, and dedicated towards a specific finish line. It’s time to break away from your comfort zone and set your sights on bigger, better things!
Author: Alex Reader MSc.
Alex is a personal trainer and fitness expert, for more information check out his website.