Why Set Goals?
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
Why Set Goals?
It’s amazing to me that most people still don’t understand the importance of interactive goal setting…
Interactive because you are consistently tweaking and measuring your goals as you march forward.
Experts in organization and motivation all preach similar mantras about goals. It goes something like this: “A wish is just a wish until you write it down. Then it’s a goal.” And Eleanor Roosevelt said “It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.”
So why not make goal setting a priority in your life?
All successful entrepreneurs and other business people understand that setting goals is important and that writing down a goal puts a time-line on it, allowing goal-setters to reach for specific aims rather than general ones. Studies show that those who write down their goals are far more successful than those who don’t do so. As a matter of fact, a recent Harvard Business School study, which focused on individuals with similar backgrounds and educations, demonstrated that 3 percent of that study group could be described as very successful, 30 percent as moderately successful, and the other 67 percent not at all successful. Why? The 3 percent had written down specific goals while the second-largest group had some goals but hadn’t put them on paper. The 67 percent hadn’t bothered to even think about goals for their life, either personally or professionally.
Setting goals gives you a clear picture of where you’re headed. Each time you write down a goal, you need to examine whether or not it conflicts with other life goals, why it’s important to you, how you’ll achieve it, and what impact its achievement will have on your life. Also consider what stumbling blocks may be in your way in reaching this goal and think about ways to overcome them.
If you’ve never set goals, begin with easy things – like losing a few pounds, cleaning that messy room in your house, or visiting a sick relative more often. Write down the steps toward achieving each. As you progress through the steps, think about making other goals that may work in tandem with the one’s you’re currently working on.
The results speak for themselves and before you know it, you’ll be setting goals for all aspects of your life including those related to career, relationships, heath and fitness, hobbies and recreation, and personal growth.
MySpace
Facebook
Twitter
