Why is Goal Setting Important?
And What About Values?
Why is goal setting important, and what on earth are values?!
Clear and compelling goals form the foundations for your personal development success. Values define what you're all about. You definitely need to have both.
Simply put, we need to find out where we are going - and know who we are - before we set out on the journey.
Here are my articles on goal setting and values. Choose one of these, or continue reading Why Is Goal Setting Important (below) to find out why you need to set goals if you want to truly succeed.
STOP! Before you go any further, download a copy of this free
25 Page Goal Setting & Values Workbook.
There's no sign-up / opt-in required, and it contains all of the most soul-searching questions from my articles to help you (a) define your key values, and (b) set compelling goals. Click on the picture to download NOW, or click the link to find out more. This will really help you to get where you want to be.
Personal Values Development.
Learn how important knowing - and living - your values is if you want to live a fulfilling, happy and successful life, and do some exercises which will bring you into alignment with your values, and maybe even your life purpose.
Quick Goal Setting in Six Simple & Serendipitous Steps.
Do a quick exercise to find out how clear your goals are now, learn how setting goals is like ordering a book from Amazon, and finally do a simple six step goal setting exercise to work out what you want and why you want it.
Advanced Goal Setting.
Get stuck in here with an intense, exhaustive look into your desires and dreams, and come away with strong, positive goals and an idea of what you truly want to achieve in your life.
Financial Goal Setting.
Find out how the most financially successful people in the world plan their goals, and do a simple exercise to set your own financial goals. Perfect if you're looking to generate more abundance in your life.
Get a Kick up the Ass from The Goals Guy
"The Goals Guy" is a famous dude who has made a fortune from advising executives from companies like Disney, Starbucks, Coke and IBM how to reach their goals, dramatically increase sales, and super-charge productivity.
Luckily, he's now taken mercy on us mere mortals, and put together a couple of programs that are guaranteed to get you hitting your BIGGEST goals within 100 days. Intrigued? Yep, me too, I've already signed up...
Regime Change. This post breaks all the rules of goal setting, and advises you to take a deep breath and change LOADS of stuff at once. Change the way you exercise, work, relax, earn money in one foul swoop.
Sounds crazy, but I'm giving it a go and it seems fun - and is working so far. Find out more here, and maybe start on your own path of internal regime change.
Otherwise, simply continue with Why is Goal Setting Important?......
“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a great deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where...” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
Most people in life are confused – confused as to what they want to be, want to do, want to achieve. Despite not knowing what they want, they generally know what they don’t want... and it’s usually what they have already!
Why is goal setting important? First of all, setting goals gives you a clear direction for your life. By knowing what you want – and understanding
what drives you
at the deepest level – you can begin to uncover your purpose in life.
When you set clear and inspiring goals, you provide your brain with a specific target that it can aim for. If your goal is suitably compelling – and it will be, if you read on - you will almost be pulled towards your desired outcome.
"The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going" - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Why is goal setting important? Because coincidences and synchronicities will start to arise, connecting you with people and resources to help you along the way. It may sound unbelievable now, but the universe will almost conspire to help you too!
I think you’ll be amazed with the strange cooperation that occurs when you actually take the time to figure out what you want to do – and need to do – with your life.
Why else is setting goals important? Well, you will be overcome by a new and powerful energy for life, which compels you to succeed and march forward towards your dreams. When you have a clear and definite purpose - which resonates with you and speaks to you at the deepest level – you will start to live in a state of flow. Life becomes almost effortless.
Forcing yourself to be motivated becomes a thing of the past. When you are living your values, and doing what is important to you, no external motivation is needed. The feeling of fulfilling your purpose is motivation enough.
Why is goal setting important? Because it is a means of providing feedback. By knowing clearly where you want to get to, you can analyse your ongoing behaviour to determine whether you are moving closer to your goals – or further away from them. As you’ll learn in the NLP section later, there is no failure – only feedback. If you are moving away from your goals, be thankful for the feedback that points out your misdirection – and simply alter your behaviour to get closer to your goals again. Easier said than done, but with practice this becomes second nature.
"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important
as what you become by achieving your goals"
Zig Ziglar
Why is goal setting important? All of the reasons I’ve already mentioned should answer this. At the very least, setting goals will help you to become more clear on what you want - and how to get it. Luckily it only takes an hour or so, all in all, so not having enough time isn’t really a great excuse. If you’re still unconvinced, however, there is one further reason why it is so incredibly, undeniably and unequivocally important to set goals:
Because, almost inevitably, you will become more than you ever thought you could be.
By setting and reaching goals, you will achieve more than you ever thought possible – in less time than you’d imagine. Propelled on by this feeling of success and achievement, you will then set further goals, reach them... and the cycle continues.
By setting goals that drive you to take action, by setting goals that drive and motivate you and fulfil your purpose in life, you will achieve success that is (almost) beyond your wildest dreams. I kid you not – when you know where you’re going, and what you are aiming for, and you know deeply that it’s a meaningful and truly worthwhile pursuit - life becomes a bloody blast.
Hopefully now you can confidently answer the question "Why is Setting Goals Important?" If you agree with what you've read, and are convinced that taking part in a goal setting activity will help you, read on...
How do I set goals?
Now you're ready to move on and actually start thinking about your goals. First, we need to find out what’s most important to you –
your personal values.
When we have these, we will move on and set the actual goals themselves. Please don’t skip this stage – knowing and then living your values is imperative to having a meaningful and rewarding life.
As I mentioned above, you should set aside an hour or so to do these exercises. You also need to be somewhere quiet where you will not be disturbed. If you can’t do this now, feel free to print out the articles and complete them later. By committing just an hour now, I promise that you will see a return beyond your wildest comprehension. All I’d ask is that you are totally honest with yourself when completing these activities – and don’t set your limits low – reach for the proverbial stars!
Click here to
define your personal values
now... and enjoy – this is a deeply fulfilling exercise to embark on. It’s rumoured that some 97% of the population never do what you are about to do – and as such, you are making the first step on an incredible journey to get ahead in life.
Good luck!
NB - If you enjoyed this article on "Why is Goal Setting Important?", be sure to check out this one - which shows you how to
Define Personal Development
for yourself.
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PS - If you're still not sure of the answer to "why is goal setting important?", ask any successful person you know if they have compelling goals they are going for. I think you know what the answer will be...!
So, why is goal setting important...? For so many reasons. Goals make life fun. Goals give life purpose... Boom!
