Because they give you purpose. They give you direction. It’s like breaking out of the prison of boredom. The prison of “what if…?” . Free from the prison of your own thinking. Relieving you of the “I don’t know if I could be bothered syndrome”. Goals give you something to look forward to. Something to strive toward. A timeline upon which to realize something that you really want to achieve.
Why Would I be bothered with all that goal setting business?:
Why not? What’s the worst thing that can happen? You actually get to do what you want to. With so much negativity about and so much doom and gloom about, now is the perfect time to be goal setting. Why? Because it will distract your mind from the endless negativity which surrounds most of us each day. It will focus you so that you haven’t got the time to get involved in the negativity. We can’t change world events. What we can do is open up our minds to care about ourselves. To look after our minds, to look after our futures, to look after our passions and to take matters into our own hands and look after ourselves. With this comes a ripple effect: that passion and enthusiasm trickle outwards and the goal setting mindset motivates and changes people for the better. It has a positive effect on our business and our own personal development. We are also sending messages to those closest to us and being role models for our staff and our children.
I’ve lost my job – why should I be bothered setting goals?:
This is exactly why you should set goals. A goal to get up and get dressed is still a goal!. A goal to get outside and get some fresh air each day. This will have a profound effect on your thought processes. Perhaps if you are lucky to have a garden, you could start to grow your own vegetables. This gets you out of your own head. In time it may cut the weekly vegetable shopping bill. You can begin eating good, decent, healthy food that will help your body to perform at a better level. This is also a time to start a course in something that you have always been interested in. Something that spurs your passion. Something that you stop and read when you see it advertised. Perhaps there is something that you have always had an inkling to do, but not the time. Maybe now is the time.
I’ve tried it before and it has never worked:
Research has proved that it takes at least 21 days to break a habit. I believe it takes at least 28 days to a full month. It has to. You have been thinking and acting in a certain way for months or years and you cannot expect everything to be sorted out immediately. No. It takes time. So, if you have been on a healthy eating programme and you floundered after a couple of weeks, this is why. It takes about 28 days to break a habit. Think of it. You have set up patterns of thinking within your mind for years. Then you go and beat yourself up just because you had a biscuit after two weeks on a healthy eating programme, and you think “that’s it, it’s no use”. Stop yourself! Find a phrase to stop you in your tracks. For example something like “I’m going to get there” or “right I am now back on track”. Use your own phrase. It takes time to break the habit. Set realistic goals! Ones that are specific (written down). Goals that are achieveable and realistic. Measure your results. Set a date and time to move towards . In other words, your goal achievement date.
Goals give purpose and direction:
Whether it is professionally or personally goals give purpose and direction. It’s like getting on a train knowing what the destination is and how long it is going to take! Now some trains are really fast and get you there really quickly, and some trains take a bit longer but get there. The point is that your goals give you direction, they give you purpose and give you in your business, and/or your personal life something to look forward to.
Time to get cracking!