Goals in life are extremely important. Without them, you can just as well not live. This may seem like an awkward statement, but if you don’t have a specific goal to work towards, you might as well just float around and see where you end up.
Why are goals important?
Goals are important because it gives us a driving force. When you have a specific goal in mind, you will do everything in your power to achieve that goal.
Even if you have to overcome obstacles, it will not stop you. Even if you fail, you will continue trying.
Goals are crucial for success in all areas of your life. When you are a small child you start to develop some personal skills, like the skill of creating your own goals. This includes learning to walk, talk, eat on your own, etc. Later on, when you are a learner in school, you set specific goals, so that you can get good marks to achieve something later on in life.
You learn to plan and organize, and you also learn how to manage your time effectively. If you are disciplined, you will learn how to work on a schedule for every project you work on.
A very responsible learner will see their shortcomings and will try to improve those skills. They will set certain goals for themselves and learn to communicate better which will improve their confidence.
Different types of goals
All goals are not the same and can be divided into three different sets:
Process goals - For specific progress
Performance goals - For continuous progress
Outcome goals - The end result of your hard work.
When you set a goal it is important to set specific goals with clear definitions. These goals must be measurable, relevant, and attainable. If possible, set a specific timeline to reach these goals. The timeline is important so that you can measure your progress. More important is to be able to adjust the timeline constantly to fit in with your schedule.
Often, we set goals, and if we don’t reach the goal in the specified time, we feel like complete failures.
The good thing is you don’t have to feel like a failure!
You can just adjust your timeline to fit your needs.
We know life is full of surprises and if you can stay focused it doesn’t matter WHEN you reach your goal, it is just important to reach it.
Make sure your goals motivate you!
Goals should be important to you and fit into your lifestyle. We set certain goals for ourselves when we are young, and as we grow older our end goals might change.
Even goals are adaptable. Things that were important when you were young, might not seem important now that you are older, so you need to constantly change your goals. There is absolutely no value in achieving something that is not important to you.
If you don’t really care about the end result, then why do it in the first place?
Goals should stay current and relate to the high priorities in your life. You need to want to focus on the goal so it should be something that is important to you. You need to WANT to do something to make it a reality. Important goals should be written down as well as the motivation behind them. If you lose hope, or when you feel discouraged, all you have to do is to pick up that paper and read why you have been trying so hard. This should motivate you enough to continue.
Lovely post @giantbear and VERY, very true! Goals are the ingredient of "purpose" in life.
Hi @jaynie sorry I was busy did not see the comment. How are you doing?
Goals are for sure the way to go! This is a great breakdown of different types! I am working on setting new habits to accomplish my goals I set in place....I am a very creative, big idea person...who drops the ball on so many ideas. Ha ha. Goals help settle down the connect/disconnect for me!
Thank you @faitherz33, goals keep me alive too. Have a great week!