Many people feel as if they are adrift in the world. They work hard, but they don’t seem to get anywhere worthwhile.
Why is goal setting important? Goal setting is a powerful process for thinking about your ideal future, and for motivating yourself to turn your vision of this future into reality.
What are the benefits to you? You can take pride in the achievement of those goals and you’ll see forward progress in what previously have seemed a long pointless grind. This also helps you to raise your self-confidence, as you recognize your own ability and competence in achieving goals that you’ve set.
Make your goals smart. Your goals need to meet a certain criteria:
- Specific – your goals must identify exactly what you want to accomplish in as much specificity as you can muster.
- Measurable – try to quantify the result. You want to know absolutely, positively whether or not you hit the goal.
- Actionable – every goal should start with an action verb rather than a to-be verb
- Realistic – a good goal should stretch you, but you have to add a dose of common sense. Basically, get out of your comfort zone. If you aren’t out of your comfort zone, you aren’t thinking big enough.
- Time-bound – every goal needs a date. When do you plan to deliver on that goal? Year-end? Next Week? A goal without a date is just a dream. Make sure that every goal ends with a by when date.
The practice of goal-setting is not just helpful; it is an essential for happiness! People who make steady progress toward meaningful goals live happier more satisfied lives than those who don’t.
If you don’t have written goals, make an appointment on your calendar to work on them! (Take an hour or two to work on a rough draft.) Few things in life pay extra for such a humble investment.