It’s very easy to go through life without setting personal goals worth being held accountable for but without goals, your life will seem to lack purpose. What you don’t want is to look back at your life and wish you’ve done things differently…wish that you would have taken more risks. Let’s chat about setting future goals that will help you lead a fulfilling life.
The “WHY” Behind Setting Goals
Gives Your Life a Purpose
Having meaningful goals gives your life a purpose. It gives you a reason to wake up in the morning, to get out of bed and go throughout your day with intention. Goals give you energy and vitality — they give you something to aim for each day. Ultimately, your happiness will be enhanced when you begin to see you are making progress. As you get closer to achieving your goals, then energy and focus will push you that much further.
The Importance of Intention
When you think about it, our whole lives are centered around goals, whether there are pleasurable or not. Getting up for work on a cold Monday may not be pleasurable but if you have to report to work by 8 am, you have a goal set to get out of bed at a specific time. Pretty much everything we want to do and achieve in our lives requires an intent to achieve something. That is what goals are…intentions to do something by a specific time.
How to Begin Developing Future Goals
1. Start with a Vision
Begin with a vision of what you want to achieve. Whether it is a professional or personal goal, you need to have a clear vision of what it is you want to achieve. Take some time to really see what the end result will be like. Close your eyes and see yourself achieving your goal. Feel those emotions in your imagination. See the smile on your face and hear the laughter. Imagine it because sooner than later, this will be your reality.
2. Ask Yourself, “What Do I Have to Do to…”
This is an extremely powerful question because it opens up the possibility of achieving your goal. You’re only considering ways to achieve, which is different from when you ask yourself, “how can I achieve this goal?” You can easily answer that question with, “I can’t achieve this goal” but by asking yourself what needs to be done to achieve something, your brain is coming up with solutions. The answers you come up with from asking this question will take you closer towards your goal by laying the foundation for an action plan of achievable steps.
3. Analyze your Habits
Our daily habits and behaviors are directly connected to the results we achieve in our lives. Because our daily habits have such a large impact on our lives, you should really take some time to analyze yours. What habits are producing negative results? What can you implement that will produce better results? Think on that and whatever those changes are, implement them, be consistent, and turn them into habits.
4. Set a Deadline
If your goals do not have a timeline, you will find excuses to put off what you need to do to make it happen. You can definitely adjust your deadline if you find you were a little too ambitious, but you need a deadline in place. Setting deadlines give you the sense of urgency you need to make progress.
5. Visualize and Review on a Regular Basis
Whatever your future goals are, you should have some form of tangible item to keep you reminded of your goal (vision boards, Pinterest, and photos are great visual aides). Give yourself something visual to help you review your progress and adjust any deadlines if needed.
We’re all different; therefore, we have different goals. Whether it’s building a successful business, fitting into a size 6, or finishing school, it’s up to you to create a game plan in order to achieve your goals. You have to decide and act before achieving anything. Sure, it starts with an idea but an idea is just an idea if you don’t implement a system. Don’t waste time — regret and disappointment is a heavy load to carry.