I think goal setting is one of the most important practices you can learn if you’re serious about changing your life. 

You might think setting goals sounds boring and rigid.  Maybe you’ve tried and failed to meet your goals so many times that you’ve given up on trying.  Or maybe you’ve hated how it’s felt when you’ve failed at meeting your goals so you’re afraid to try again.

Whatever your experience has been in the past, just let that go for a few minutes.  Hear me out and then make a decision that’s best for you.

This time of year many people renew their hopes and dreams for the new year, create new year’s resolutions, and set the goals they’d like to achieve for the coming year. 

But, after a few weeks into the new year, the excitement fades and most people decide that their goals are too ambitious, too much work, or just too hard. So they talk themselves out of their goals and give up. (Which is really easy to do, if we’re being honest.) This is why very few people actually end up creating the results they want in their lives. Sound familiar?

But please don’t give up on goal setting. If you want to create the life of your dreams, setting goals is such an important place to start. Here are 3 reasons why:

1. Setting goals helps you evolve into the best version of yourself.

The process of allowing yourself to dream, hope, and create takes you out of living from your past.  When you live from your past, you create more of your past.  So you don’t learn, create, or grow. You just do more of the same things you’ve already done.

Setting goals moves you out of the past.  It requires you to look into your future and create your future from your future.  The more you practice doing this, the more you’ll take actions that support who you want to be and the life you want to have.

2. Setting goals teaches you what’s getting in the way of you creating the life you want.

We all have thoughts or limiting beliefs that get in our way.  They hold us back and keep us from creating what we dream of for ourselves.

When you beat yourself up for not having achieved your past goals and then decide not to set goals anymore, you miss out on facing those limiting beliefs.  Instead you play it safe and stay in your comfort zone.  Doing this feels safe but it doesn’t help you learn about yourself or grow and become the best version of yourself.

3. Goals give your brain a clear focus.

Think about going on a road trip without GPS.  Yes, you might eventually arrive where you plan to arrive but you likely won’t get there as easily as you would if you had GPS there to guide you.

Your goals are the GPS to your future.  They help simplify things for your brain.  They let your brain know what to focus on and where to help you direct your time and energy.

One last note!

If you’ve struggled with goal setting in the past and have given up on this practice, I really want to encourage you to try it again.  Check out my post next week to help you successfully set your goals.

If you want more help with this, go to https://katrinaklooster.com/work-with-me and sign up for a consultation call with me to learn more about how I can help you set and meet your goals through my 1:1 coaching program.