Setting goals (III)

Last time we were talking about the importance of setting goals especially as we are about to start a new year. Goals are very critical to our success. Goals are landmarks on our way to success. Goals helps us to track our success as we journey through life. When we sit down to draw up our goals it helps us to organize our thinking so we can constructively build our lives. It will help us know what we need to do , how to get them done and when to to do them. Goal setting helps us foresee our future and make plans how to arrive at that future. When we set goals we are able to intelligently know what resources we have at our disposal to execute our purpose and where we find we are short of resources we plan how to get what is needed to get the job done.

The importance of goal setting cannot be over emphasized. Goals help us to focus on what is needed to e ecumenical our life assignment. Without goals we cannot accurately track our progress in life. Our lives are too important to be lived without goals.

We have seen that there is a difference between goals and what people usually do at the beginning of the year -new year resolutions. A goal is something you keep in front of you every day. A resolution is something you wish could happen to you. Wishes hardly ever come to pass because most times they lack the conviction to bring them into reality.

Goals are the reality we want to see happen in our lives and not just mere fantasies or wishes. Goals should create in us a compelling desire to see them executed. Goals should be the future we are living for.

It takes discipline and effort to set goals and we must be ready to pay the price.

The first step is simply to put pen to paper. When goals are written they easily become a point of reference. We can easily access them for direction and review. Goals are too important to be kept in our minds. They say, the faintest pencil is sharper than the sharpest memory.

“Writing your goals demonstrates your accountability to yourself. Written goals are real and tangible. Goals you keep in your head most often are fuzzy and poorly defined; little more than wishes.” Bud Bilanich

We need to know how good goals evolve and how to get them executed. Usually we have thoughts about certain things whether about how to do things better or make more money or live a better life or make more impact. When we ruminate over these thoughts they become crystalised  into ideas, concepts and intentions. The more we think over them the ideas, concepts and intentions will evolve into what we think we can pursue or what we think should be discarded. At this time we will be faced with doubts, skepticism, fear of failure and also the possibilities of success. At this point we need time to “ think through” to come to decisions-to the point where our minds are made up to pursue the ideas, concepts and intentions of our hearts. Once we decide they are worth pursuing then that’s the time to formulate them into goals. The goals will be the picture of what needs to be done. The goals provide a written “ destination” of where we want to get to with the ideas, concepts and intentions. Goals provide us a blueprint and a map of how to arrive at the destination. Goals provide and show us in concrete terms what needs to be done, when they need to be done, where they will be done, who will do them and how they will be done.

When we write our goals we are able to put our thinking on paper in a way that it makes sense.

To be continued

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