We all start without clear goals
When I was looking for my first job, I had just graduated and didn’t think much about it as a process. I just new I had to get one so I started to send CVs out to every job opportunity I found. I finally got two offers.
The first one had a really nice salary, had nothing to do with what I had studied and nothing near my general interests. The second one paid like half of what the first would pay, it was related with my studies and generally seemed interesting.
Which would you have picked? I picked the one with the better pay.
A year later I was in a job I hated, doing repetitive work, in a very harsh work environment. I stayed there for about three more months and then I quit to go find something better. Of course my mistake in taking this job was doing it without having a clear career plan with clear career goals. If I had my career goals, I probably would have written down “work where you learn and do what you like” as one of my goals. Since I hadn’t, I went for the money.
Now, I believe that the only way to get huge success in life is to set yourself goals and setting them from the start when you have no idea how you’re going to accomplish them.
It is difficult to achieve anything if you’re not sure of what you want. Goal setting has many benefits which I would like to explore with you.
Benefits of Goal Setting
1. You get to Know yourself better
During the process of setting goals, you will have to think hard about what’s most import for you. You will have to think about what you want from life and state it clearly. During this process you will get to know yourself better, your likes and dislikes and things you hadn’t thought about.
2. You prioritize
Watching another TV show or writing another chapter of the book your working on? When you have goals you will know what is your priority and put yourself to work on that.
3. Goals keep you focused
When you have clear goals your mind knows exactly what you’re working for. Your mind can make a distinction from activities that are in the direction of your goals and others that are not. If for example, you set a goal for the week of finishing a book, if it’s Sunday and you still have a couple of chapters to go, you’re going to put yourself to read to accomplish your goal, instead of watching TV or other activity that distracts you from your goal.
4. Goals keep you motivated
If you have a clear goal your mind will have a positive image of what accomplishing that goal will look like. This is where motivation starts, with a positive feeling of wanting to accomplish because you know it will make you happy. If you set yourself the correct goals, you will be automatically motivated to work towards them.
5. You improve your use of time
If your goals are written correctly, you might set a deadline for accomplishment or at least you have thought about how much time you have to work on each goal. You will find yourself scheduling blocks of times to work towards your goals. You will find yourself using your available time more efficiently, using it in positive goal reaching activities.
6. Reduces Procrastination
I like this one since I am a mayor procrastinator. Goals make you change the classic “I’ll do this tomorrow” to “I want to do this today”. Clear goals give you motivations to take action now. If you have clear goals you will probably have a list of tasks or to-dos you want to get yourself to work on.
7. You change into a Problem Solver
When you have an important goal nothing will stop you from achieving it. You probably will find problems along the way but you’ll find yourself using your creativity to solve problems. Creativity will make you think outside the box to find new solutions to your roadblock. You’ll have a problem solving mentality that will change every problem into an opportunity.
8. Increases your perseverance
Surprise, sometimes your plans and actions won’t be as successful as you expected. That’s not bad, because if you have goals, your goals won’t let you give up. Having those goals will make you keep going, thinking of different ways to advance towards them.
9. Make you Self-confident
Every time you reach a goal something will build up inside that will come out as more confidence. Even reaching small milestones and knowing that every small step you take, gets you closer to your big goals is a great confidence booster.
10. Goals help build an Awesome Life
The greater your goals the greater your potential for an awesome life. Without goals, mediocrity kicks in but you won’t even notice because anything that happens to you is fine. Goals give your life direction, goals make you work for things that are meaningful and improvements in your life.