This next topic for my blog series, dealing with goals and goal setting is something I truly live by. I have always been driven to make something of myself- something that is helpful and beneficial to those that I encounter. I have always wanted to do more and be more. While I may not have done all of the steps that are going to be described in this series, I always had- in the back of my mind- a goal that I was striving for. When I would achieve one goal and feel the satisfaction of having completed that, I would then set an even higher goal or dream that I would chip away at over time.
It is through goal setting that we are able to become the best version of ourselves. The following quote says it all: “Every person’s life depends on the process of choosing goals to pursue; if you remain passive you are not going to thrive as a human being.” (Locke)
What is Goal Setting and Why Set Goals?
Establishing goals is the first step towards planning for the future. They also play an important role in the development of skills in various parts of our lives.
A goal is something you want to achieve. It’s the desired result that you plan for and commit to achieving. Put simply, a goal is a dream with a deadline.
A goal is your vision for the future, it is time sensitive and can be large and even feel out of reach. A goal is NOT an objective; objectives are the steps you take to reach the goal. Nor is it a resolution- which are short term decisions to do something, like a mission.
Goal setting is the process of identifying something you want to accomplish, and establishing objectives that are measurable and specific to help you achieve it. It also involves setting deadlines and developing metrics to track your progress. With goals being more deliberate than desires and fleeting wishes; setting goals means that you have committed thought, emotion and behavior into achieving those goals.
13 Benefits of goals:
· They provide direction and purpose in life.
· They motivate you to take action and provide a sense of control over your future. Just by writing a goal, you are acknowledging what you want out of life.
· They raise your self-confidence as you recognize your own abilities and expertise.
· They help you to see the bigger picture (getting perspective on what is really important) and are the first step in creating a life full of meaning.
· They give you a sense of accomplishment when you achieve them.
· They give you persistence- they increase your willingness to persevere in the face of setbacks, obstacles or difficulties. This improves our overall resilience.
· They help you to focus your learning, organize your time and resources and make the most of your life.
· They direct you to what sort of system you need to have in place to achieve your dreams.
· They affect the intensity of our actions and our emotions.
· They help you to beat procrastination buy realizing that putting something off is dangerous to achieving your specific goals in life.
· They direct our attention towards relevant behavior and away from distractions that are detrimental to achieving the task or your goal.
· They let you measure progress, overcome procrastination and visualize your dreams.
· They improve our chance of overall success throughout our lifetime.
Properly defined goals help trigger new behaviors and help you focus on what’s important to you. Now that we have an understanding of goals, goal setting and the benefits in our lives, stay tuned for Part 2 where we look at the various types and categories of goals. Then in Part 3 we will go in depth in writing and setting goals in your life, with the conclusion in Part 4 with tips to achieving those goals!
Resources:
Related Post Links:
Personal Goals Part 2:
Personal Goals Part 3:
Personal Goals Part 4:
Next time:
Stay tuned for my next blog in 2 weeks for Personal Goal Setting Part 2: Examining the Various Types and Categories of Goals.
Author: Jen Hassaj | 11-29-23
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