Why Is Setting A Goal Important

To follow a successful path in life regardless of where the path is heading towards, one of the best way is to set goals for reaching the determined destination. These goals are important to keep one on task, not deviate from the path and to get to a desired point of self-accomplishment and utmost happiness. Unfortunately, the dilemma here is how to achieve the goals in a successful manner because many people live a life without having strategies which usually help someone achieve in life. According to Mann, “Although people may desire or intend to attain some outcome, they are not committed to that as a goal until they are willing to invest affect, cognition, and behavior in attaining it”. Thus, it is important to have a set path on how one is to accomplish the goals set.

In simple words, goals should be clear and specific, otherwise, it would be difficult for one to focus on efforts or truly feel motivated to achieve it because it is easier and better to keep things simple instead of making things complicated leaving it difficult to be unraveled and discovered.

Measurable goals are fundamental to keep one on track of progress and stay motivated throughout the duration to achieve the aim. Measuring criteria are necessary to keep assessing the progress of a goal. A measurable goal should address questions such as how much effort do I have to put in to achieve the goal? This will help us see if we are capable enough in achieving the goals or not and if incapable we ought to prepare ourselves in a better way to achieve the goal. The second question is how many as in how many things should I do in order to reach the milestone. This will help us assess as in how far are we to achieving our goal. The third question will be how will I know when it is accomplished? As said earlier we can answer this query depending on how many things we have completed. The last question which is a measuring criteria is what is my indicator of progress? In most situations, many people won’t be able to see the progress during the initial stages but during the latter stages they will soon see the progress for example they’re change in attitude and motivation towards that target. That itself is a big progress before achieving the goal.

Being able to measure one’s progress is vitally important when it comes to achieving goals. In addition, it is essential for goals to be achievable or attainable. A goal should be within the limit of achieving. In other words, it should stretch one’s abilities but still remain possible. When one set an achievable goal, you may be able to identify previously overlooked opportunities or resources that can bring you closer to it. Thus, a goal set must be realistic. For example, setting a goal to live up to 150 years old is not realistic unless scientists find a breakthrough to longevity. To set realistic goals, one must evaluate the chances of achieving the goals. Ensure that one has the necessary knowledge, skills, talents or resources to accomplish the goals set.

Relevant goal setting criteria is about ensuring that a goal matters to the one who sets it. Besides, it also has to align with other relevant goals. Everyone needs support and assistance in achieving goals but it is important to retain control over them. So, it is to ensure that the plans drive everyone forward, but still responsible in achieving own goals. For example, ‘does achieving the goal seems worthwhile?’ kind of question should be able to answer the relevancy of the goal set.

Moreover, a goal has to be time bound. Time bound means a goal should be within a time range. It should be either long-term or short-term in nature. If goals are not time-bound, one will delay actions to attain them. Deadlines are important in motivating the doer towards attaining their goals. In this goal setting criteria, time management is the way to regulate or schedule time. Thus, the key to successful time management allows enough time to complete one’s work while still finding time to complete other responsibilities. Learning good time management technique can motivate one to accomplish goals.

Why is setting a goal important? The reason many people do not succeed or even get started in achieving their goal is because they only see the end result and are afraid of starting it instead of realizing it is the small bits which brings a big difference at the end. The whole goal achieving process will appear to look massive and hard with humongous amount and pressure of work till they’ll feel like they won’t be able to achieve their goal because of the long painstaking process involving numerous methods, steps and directions. However, according to Chan the best way to achieve a big goal isn’t to try to do it all at once, but take it one step at a time. This quote can be referenced to Indira Gandhi’s proverb which was “have a bias toward action-let’s see something happening now. You can break that big plan into small steps and take the first step right away'.

The goal pyramid breaks down an overall goal into lower-level targets. It defines the goal mission in terms of every-day tasks and helps identify with goals that may seem remote. For a simple goal pyramid as goal setting strategy, one should draw a triangle and divide it into three parts.

Once completed, one can start achieving the goal beginning from the bottom section towards the top section. For a much complicated goal, the pyramid can be broken down or divided into more parts such as 5 or 8 parts. Each small goal will ensure that the bigger goal is achieved smoothly with minimal interference. The process is very much similar to the process of deductive reasoning where one reaches the final conclusion after making reasoning one after another.

In conclusion, goals are things that one needs to achieve as one pursues a certain course of action. Goal setting strategy will help one to motivate them to achieve the intended and laid out goal. This will increase the chances of success drastically. Regrettably, most people do not achieve their goals because they fail to set proper goal setting strategies and they do not take any action to achieve their goals during the time frame given to achieve the goal. Hence, they drift aimlessly. Therefore, goal setting strategies are essential for one to achieve their goal and lead a life with minimal flaws and disturbance.