I always start the year off-by setting goals. It gives us a clear mark, a standard for us to aim for. It’s that time of year again, the time when we sit down and reflect on the year that passed and look forward to how we can make the next year even better. Whether 2016 was good to you or not – a new year marks a new beginning – so let’s do it right! Goals are what takes us forward in life as they are the first steps to every journey we take. By setting goals, it helps give us a realistic expectation which will guide us.
“If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.” – Zig Ziglar
So why is goal setting so important?! Here are my top five reasons.
- Goals Give You Focus
Life can get hectic with so many distractions but goals help you stay focus on what you want to achieve in life. Imagine trying to win a race without knowing where the finish line is. How would you know where to go and when you finished? A goal or end outcome is what drives your focus to get there.
- Goals Allow You To Measure Progress
When you set yourself goals, you are able to measure your progress as you will always have an endpoint that you want to achieve. For example if your goal is to save $25,000 to help with a down payment on a home, you can measure your progress by checking how much you have saved based on the timeline you have given yourself.
Helpful Tip: There are some great free apps that you can use to help you budget properly to help you achieve your goal such as
Mint: Budget, Bills Finance App or TD MySpend App.
- Goals Make You Accountable
When you set a goal for yourself you make yourself accountable to finish the task. Start by writing it down, adding to a note in your phone, or saying it out loud to a friend or loved one. This accountability is what you hold up to when you choose the healthy salad over that piece of fried chicken. It is what you answer to when you spent that hour working on your report rather than random web surfing. When you stay accountable toward your goals, you are in fact staying true to your desired goals.
- Goals Give You Motivation
Goal setting provides you the foundation for your drive to achieve success. By making a goal you give yourself a concrete endpoint to aim for and motivates you to get excited about it. It gives you something to focus on and to put your best effort forward. My motivation this year is to run 365 miles and I am ready to take on the task.
- Goals Let You Be The Best You Can Be
Goals help you achieve your highest potential. Without goals, you subject yourself to no growth, whether it is financial, spiritually, mentally, or physically. It denies you from tapping into all that potential inside of you. By setting goals, you set targets to strive against. They make you stretch and reach for the stars.
In closing, goals ensure you get the best out of life. It ensures that you maximize your output and life experiences to the fullest. If one of your goals this year is to buy your dream home but you don’t know where to start? I can help – reach out to me and let’s get started.
