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?
