Many people dismiss goal setting as unimportant or they just get disheartened by not having the money to make their dreams a reality. But word of advice, don’t ever give up on your goals!
Here are six important reasons why you need to set goals for yourself regardless of your financial situation.
Goals propel you forward
A goal gives you direction. A written goal is an external representation of your inner desires; and a constant reminder of what you need to accomplish.
Having strong goals helps you connect with your purpose and values, and gives you the energy to work through difficult periods when your motivation starts to wane.
Goals transform mountains into hills
Proper goal setting breaks large, intimidating aspirations into smaller, more achievable stepping stones.
With goal setting, you take the mountains you need to climb and break them down into smaller hills that you can walk.
Goals help you believe in yourself
Setting goals for yourself is a way to fuel your ambition.
Unless you set your goals and see yourself slowly making progress, your dreams and aspirations are nothing more than vague notions floating around in your imagination. Goal setting gives you the inspiration to aim for things you never thought possible.
Goals hold you accountable
Goals force you to make a commitment – even if just to yourself. If you don’t write down specific goals and give yourself a timeline for achieving them, how can you look back later and re-evaluate your path?
There’s something extremely humbling about looking back at a goal you set for yourself six months, a year, or even 5 years ago, and realising you were supposed to accomplish a lot more than you actually did.
You don’t have to feel angry or depressed about it, but rather see it as evidence that whatever you’re doing isn’t working, and you need to do things differently now.
Goals tell you what you truly want
If you never set goals, how do you discover what you truly want? If you wander through life with vague notions of “success” and “accomplishment”, you might never discover that buying a new BMW won’t bring you true happiness, or that getting that promotion at work will make you miserable because the extra money and fancy title won’t make up for the lost time with your family.
By asking ourselves what we really want and constantly re-assessing our goals, we gain the benefit of introspection and self-reflection. We can figure out what we really want in life – and then we can go out and get it.
Goals help you live life to the fullest
When you take the time to set goals, you ensure that your life is geared towards getting the most out of every moment.
If you want to get the most out of your precious moments of life, you have to know what you want – and then set goals to achieve them.
If you need help kickstarting your goals – try Financy’s free Money Goal Runway.
