Having Clear Goals Sets You Apart From the Majority — Here’s Why
Why goals are an important part of success, and how to use them
Are You Setting Goals?
Goals are one of the most important parts of our life, and achieving them gives us a sense of fulfillment. Setting goals is one of the common things we do, and even without noticing we set many goals every day. For example — I will wake up tomorrow at 5 AM, or I will write 1500 words tomorrow.
Some goals feel easy, while some of them are far more challenging for us to achieve. We might even forget some of them just a few hours after making them.
So why are goals so important for our life?
Goals Work — If You Stick to Them
Learning to set goals can be a key factor in being successful. They set you apart from other people who do not have clear goals. However, something which is even more important than making goals is learning to stick with them.
This university study shows a strong correlation between student achievement and the setting of concrete, measurable goals. Students that set SMART goals generally scored higher on exams and retained more knowledge from their studies. However, the same study shows that third and fourth-year students tend to lose the benefits from these goals as their engagement to them dies down over time.
When we make an effort and don’t see any quick results, we are often left feeling frustrated, or discouraged.
Sometimes, it can be difficult for us not to get overwhelmed when we look at the big picture. It takes willpower to overcome excuses and get to work. We love fantasizing about the results we will get, but many days, we end up doubting ourselves, and we are just not consistent enough.
But no matter how difficult things get, if your confidence is high, and your goals are clear, you can achieve it. So how can we be confident in our goals?
High Achievers Make Success a Habit
This quote from Lewis Howes gives us a lot of great insight into the importance of being consistent in working towards your goals.
“I have learned that champions aren’t just born; champions can be made when they embrace and commit to life-changing positive habits.”
We want the results of accomplishing our goals, so why not make the process a bigger part of our life?
It seems successful people know you can achieve what you desire if you are ready to make it a habit. When you make working towards your goal a habit, you are making success your habit.
Practicing regularly makes you better. When you do something in repetition, you will make fewer and fewer mistakes, and as this process goes on, you will eventually become skilled. When practicing consistently, you will always be learning something new.
Learn to Be Consistent
Consistency is one of the major factors when it comes to achieving our goals. When we are committed to what we want to achieve, it becomes much more simple to achieve it. Along the way, we develop self-discipline and the ability to remain focused on our goals. We can always achieve whatever we focus on when we truly want to do it.
Sometimes, it can also seem that you have to overcome a lot of obstacles, and there will be times when you doubt your capabilities. When such a time comes, you have to remember why you chose your goal, what motivated you to select this path, and why it’s important to you.
When you remember the importance of your goal, you will get back to it much more confidently.
Love What You Do
Oprah Winfrey, an icon of success, was quoted saying,
“Passion is energy, feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.”
Passion is one of the important drivers of success. It’s important to find your passion; what excites you, and find out a way to make time for it. When we are working for our passion we can discover our own eureka moments. When we are passionate about our work, we have the potential to excel at it.
When we are truly passionate about our work, failures and rejections can act as fuel to encourage us to do better. When you go for passion, you will treat your failures and rejections like a lesson that will help you to move forward.
Yesterday, I posted an article titled 8 mistakes Entrepreneurs Make in Early Stages and that didn’t even get 8 views as of writing this. While tempting, I didn’t call it a failure, and I would not say that even if it remained in the same position after two or three months.
I will keep writing, and try to learn from each successive article which I have written, even if I can’t make any money or I don’t get many views. Why? Because that’s what lights me up.
Finding enjoyment and passion for something you want to be successful at is very important. Passion is something that digs you out of ruts and keeps you focused on your goals when times get tough. Passion keeps you going when you are feeling stuck while on your way to hitting the target.
When You Feel Unfulfilled or Overwhelmed, Restructure Your Goals
Why is it often so difficult for us to hit our target, that we end up giving up?
Sometimes, when we don’t like our 9 to 5 jobs, we often lose focus on them. As a result, our output diminishes, we aren’t engaged, and we just end up going through the motions. In such circumstances, you should ask yourself, do you like what you are doing? Where will you find yourself after 10 years doing the same thing? Could it the right time to follow your passion?
Sometimes, we make huge, ambitious goals, and they end up overwhelming us. In these situations, we should break our goals in several smaller tasks that are more manageable and will bring us closer to your main goal, step by step.
The main benefit of this approach is that you will feel a sense of accomplishment with each small, successive task. As a result of this, you will be able to notice a significant boost in your confidence as you complete each task, and you will gain momentum.
These smaller goals are also easier to accomplish every day, which helps to make making progress a habit.
Conclusion
Goals are a very important part of our lives but not every goal is easy to achieve. It requires sheer dedication and commitment to achieve some goals.
To achieve some of your bigger goals, you’ll have to commit to making the process a habit, which requires dedication and hard work. However, when you are passionate, and dedicated to the process, there is nothing that can stop you.
When you have clear goals, you’ll be able to use your passion and consistency to overcome what would hold most people back, and that will set you apart.
There is absolutely no difference between you and the ones who are on the top. They are also human beings like us, but their commitment and dedication is what allowed them to reach where they are.
