Ten Reasons to Train Yourself to be Goal Orientated

The first installment for my brand new shiny 365 daily project:

The Authorpreneur Almanac:

365 Adventures in Writing and Entrepreneurship 

It's the start of a new year and a great time to be thinking about what you want from your future.  

Why you should start setting goals now...

 

Ten Reasons to Train Yourself to be Goal Orientated

For the past two years I have done 365-day projects. Through the experience of completing daily goals I am training myself to be goal orientated, breaking down big projects into baby action steps.

This approach takes discipline, but doesn't have to take a lot of time, perhaps less than an hour a day. It takes 21 days to make something a habit so once you establish that routine, completing daily actions becomes as natural as having regular meals.

Here are my ten reasons to train yourself to be goal orientated:

1) To take control of your life rather than letting circumstances control you

There will always be circumstances that are beyond our control but equally there are things we can control. Focus on the things you can change and take steps to make them happen. Accept the things you cannot change and don't let them rule you. You are in the driving seat of your life and if you want to change only you can make that happen.

2) Focus on the important things

What's important to you? Setting goals will help you to focus your energy on the things you want to achieve rather than wasting energy on things that aren't important.

3) Efficiency

We all have finite resources such as time, money, energy and capability. By setting goals you can use these resources in the most efficient way, getting more done with less.

4) Making progress

If you plot your path ahead and take it one step at a time, you will always move forwards. Every now and then, look back on what you have achieved and reward yourself for small successes.

5) Motivation

If you know where and why you are going somewhere, it's much easier to stay motivated. There are few things as demoralising as drifting about aimlessly.

6) Confidence and self belief

When you move forwards and stretch your comfort zone you realise what you can achieve rather than being crippled by self limiting beliefs about what you can't do. It's easy to underestimate ourselves and our capacity to learn and grow.

7) You move closer to success

Whatever success means to you, with every goal you set and achieve you are one step closer.

8) Developing a positive attitude

Positive thinking is powerful. It gives us the confidence to try new things, grow, develop and learn. Look for the positives in everything and life becomes so much more enjoyable. We are hardwired to recognise patterns and when you focus on something, you see more of it. If you always look for the bad pretty soon that's all you'll see.

9) Making better decisions

Goals help you identify and establish your priorities and when you take a long-term view your decisions will be better informed. You will be focusing on what you want rather than being controlled by things you don't want.

10) Challenging yourself

It’s easy to stay in our comfort zones, the clue's in the name, they are comfortable. It’s natural to fear change, but change doesn’t have to be big, dramatic and scary. Small changes are manageable and lots of small changes add up to a big change. Stretch your comfort zone, but not so far that fear and panic takeover. Only by setting ourselves small challenges can we enjoy the satisfaction of achieving something new.

What do you think?

Do you have any goal setting tips?