The Importance of Setting Goals

Whether you have a one-year goal of brushing up on your keyboarding skills, a five-year goal of relocating to a new city or a 10-year goal of becoming the CEO of your company, it is important to have a clear list in mind of what you want to accomplish in the future. Discover how to set your goals, and find out five reasons why goals are important.

Goals Keep You Accountable

Whether you are trying to lose a few pounds or dreaming of a promotion, it is important to take personal responsibility for your goals, failures and successes. Do not make excuses for yourself, and do not allow setbacks to hinder your progress. Learn from these disappointments, put them behind you and keep moving.

Goals Keep You Motivated

Dig deep to find the motivation for reaching your goals. While a promotion obviously means more money, it can also provide other benefits. Think about how a position with more prestige may impact your self-worth, or consider the retirement package that comes with many years as a manager in your organization. If living a healthier lifestyle is your goal, the years of quality time you spend with your children and family may be a motivating factor.

Goals Make You Work Hard

To achieve your goals, you must be willing to put in some hard work. This often means pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone to get to where you want to be; you cannot be successful by being complacent, so expect to make changes.

Goals Keep You Focused

Your goals keep you on track even when you have bad days. When you feel like giving up, revisit your goals and remind yourself what you are working toward to regain your focus. Being the type of person that gets past these setbacks and disappointments is the key to successfully reaching your goals.

Goals Keep Your Principles in Check

Your goals set a general tone, reflecting your principles and what is important to you. These principles can be used to guide your decision-making. For example, if one of your goals is to maintain a healthy balance between work and family, taking a promotion that involves a great deal of overnight travel is not in line with your goals and principles.

Developing S.M.A.R.T. Goals

S.M.A.R.T. is an acronym that stands for specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic and time-bound. Keep these factors in mind when developing your list of goals. Your goals should target a specific area of your life, be quantifiable, spur action, be realistically achievable and have a specific deadline.

Setting short- and long-term goals for yourself, both personally and professionally, increases your chances for success. Refining your goals using the S.M.A.R.T. approach keeps you accountable, motivated and focused while ensuring you work hard and do not sacrifice your principles.

Photo courtesy of jscreationzs at FreeDigitalPhotos.net