Navigate Through Life With Goals

Why are setting goals important? Everything activity we undertake has a goal. For example:

1. Playing golf has a goal.
2. Watching TV has a goal. Its goal is for entertainment, or (as some of us would believe) for relaxation.
3. Reading a book has a goal. Its goal is for knowledge, relaxation, increasing vocabulary.
4. Going to work has a goal. It has a personal goal, a career/professional goal.
5. Spending time with family has a goal.
6. Choosing to do nothing has a goal. Its goal may be to seriously do nothing after a hectic day.
7. Exercising has a goal. Its goal is to keep fit, look good, feel good.

The list goes on. Every activity we undertake has a goal. It is whether we are conscious of it or not. It also becomes overwhelming when you realise there are so many goals.

As written in my previous post, take goal setting and execution a step at a time. If you have never done goal setting and execution before, focus on one or two categories for a start. Take action on each of these on a daily basis. Let me repeat that, take action on a daily basis. In this way, you will begin to achieve your goal and gain confidence to set new and loftier goals!

Why are goals important? Many will say that it provides direction in life. It provides us with clarity to what we want and where we are headed. There is another important aspect of goals.

Our goals help provide us with a balanced life. Most of us will work very hard at our careers, and maybe spend little time on family, health, wealth, hoping that our careers will take care of all our others worries. 'Hope' is not a strategy. You have to take control of your own life and destiny.

By setting our goals, we own part of our destiny. By taking action towards our goal, we are creating our destiny. Goals provide us with a more balanced view of our lives. Review your goals daily. When you see that you are actively taking small steps towards your goal, you will feel a sense of great satisfaction with yourself. Review of your goals help you to take stock of where you are in life. With every small active step taken towards your goal achievement, it inspires you to push on to achieve your dreams, no matter the size of your dream.

Importance and size of your goal is of no concern. To each his own. Its what's important to you that counts, not what others say.

If you are a parent, share your goals and dreams with your children and family. Tell them the small steps you have taken towards your goal. It shows them that goals with no execution remains only a dream. Let them share their dreams with you frequently and help them to take positive action. Reviewing daily helps them become the dream. They will live the dream and the dream goal becomes real. It inspires them to take more action and in time, achieve their goals.

Use this technique of sharing and reviewing goals with your friends, or staff at work and you will be amazed at the difference it makes when an organization knows its goals and sees progress being made daily.

There is so much merit in setting goals. The sad part is that many set it once and re-set it again one year later. Many begin executing the actions only to have their efforts fizzle out.

If you simply review your goals without reviewing the actions taken to get closer to achieving your goals, its not much use. You will not be inspired. Review your goals and actions daily. Change course if you need to. Its your life and your goals after all. Reviewing your actions daily will give you the inspiration to take more action.

Actions speak louder than words. Setting goals without taking action is as good as writing in water (which leaves no trace of what you wrote). Go ahead. Take action today. Take action now. Do not wait. Take action, no matter how small the action it. Take action now and you will feel the momentum created, pushing you to take more action until you achieve your goals.

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Copyright © Bernard Ong, 2006.
All Rights Reserved

Bernard Ong is an IT professional interested in helping others by sharing his experience on time management and effectiveness topics. Bernard writes about his interest at http://www.bernard-ong.com. Copyright Bernard Ong, 2006. All rights reserved.