You set goals, you don’t achieve them and the cycle repeats itself every year so why bother to set them?
I know it might be tempting to stop making New Year’s resolutions and stop setting goals for the year.
But setting goals is actually something you should continue to do.
Why You Should Set Goals Even If You Keep Failing?
1) Working towards your goals helps you with character development
I remember a year when I decided to read 6 books. That was a lot for me because I was not a reader at the time. Even though it was just 6 books, I didn’t meet the target. I read 3 books to completion and started reading 2 books.
It’s true that I did not achieve the goal but I read more books that year than any other year!
Yes, I would have loved to read all 6 books and it would be great to celebrate that one more goal was achieved.
But I realized that it’s also important to celebrate the development and growth that you attain during the process. Trying to achieve a goal will help you to become more creative along the way.
It may even bring out traits of determination and perseverance that you didn’t even know that you have. So don’t overlook or disregard what you gain in the process. Celebrate that too.
It’s not just about the goal that you accomplish but the character that you develop while pursuing the goal.
-Rejoicing with Purpose
This quote by Charles Kingsley captures that beautifully:
“Thank God every morning when you get up that you have something to do which must be done, whether you like it or not. Being forced to work, and forced to do your best, will breed in you temperance, self-control, diligence, the strength of will, content, and a hundred other virtues which the idle never know.”
-Charles Kingsley
2) Setting goals helps you to be more focused and productive
When you don’t set goals, you might look back at your life feeling as if you wasted your years.
Looking back, I noticed that when I had a desired outcome, I achieved more than I expected versus when I decided to “go with the wind” or “let life run its course”.
I achieved the most in the years that I set goals. And those are the achievements that I am most proud of.
Look at it this way, it’s best to write 10 goals and only achieve 2 and start 3 than to live for 365 days with no tangible evidence or any step closer to your ultimate aspirations.
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3) Setting goals help you to have direction for your life
Lewis Carroll once said, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.”
And that’s why it’s important to set goals. If you don’t know what you want to achieve in this life then you won’t know how to use your time, energy and resources.
Goals help you to know what direction to take and what opportunities you should take.
So set targets that you really desire and ones that you look forward to achieving.
4) Working towards your goals will help you to have the life you desire
Take a minute to think about what you really want your life to look like.
Use that vision that you have for your life to help you set your goals. So when you achieve those goals, your dream life will become a reality.
Working towards your goals will help to turn your mind away from the negative thoughts to the positives in your life. You will also look back at your life with fewer regrets.
If you find yourself complaining now, set a goal to resolve that issue. It will give you a sense of control over your life. And it will help you to shift from a victim mentality to a victor mentality.
A lot of the jealousy and discontentment that arises when you compare your life could have been avoided if you were more focused on your objectives.
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If you really think about it, you would realize that you don’t necessarily want what others have. But they seem happy so you think that if you had that same thing or something similar, you would be happy too.
Key Tip for Setting Goals
A key tip for setting goals is to write them down. You can write them on your phone, on a poster or record them in a journal. That will help you to keep track of the goals.
You should also read them daily or weekly so that you can keep them in mind. As the weeks go by, review them and check how close you have been following them along.
Make sure you set goals that you truly desire and not just things that you THINK will make you happy or accepted among your peers.
A next valuable tip is to write the reason you want to achieve the goal. That will be your motivation to keep you going each time you review them.
Key Tip for Achieving Goals
So what should you do if you set goals and keep failing to achieve them?
Well, you need to create systems that will help you to hit your targets.
A system is a way of working, organizing or doing something which follows a plan or set of rules (Reference: Collins Dictionary).
Setting goals help you to know what you’re working towards and it helps you to measure your progress.
While systems help you to ensure that you make progress on a consistent basis.
So create a system for each of your goals and you will start hitting your targets.
Takeaway
So should you set goals if you keep failing? Absolutely!
Just make sure that you set goals that are aligned with your vision and desires. And make sure you create systems to help you make progress consistently so you can achieve your goals.
If you want help creating systems that will help you to be consistent so you can achieve your goals, book a FREE Time Management Assessment Call.
And if you want to know 5 habits that you need to break now so you can have more free time daily, sign up for this FREE Productivity Checklist.
