The Importance Of Goal Setting

October 23, 2008

This is a syndicated guest article:

Setting Goals to Bring Results

There is a big difference between scampering and running. Sure, they’re both actions designed to make person move fast, but the difference lies in goal setting. When a person scampers, that person moves to no purpose. It is an action performed instinctively. However, a person who runs does it to achieve a goal.

No matter how much effort you make, if you do not have direction, you will be wasting your energy. How can one have direction without a goal? Goal setting is important because it is the first step towards a journey. People may think that we started out without having any real goals, but let us examine life for a moment: When a sperm is first released, it has a goal, does it not? It swims towards the egg. This goal gives it direction.

As we mature in life, our goals get bigger and more ambitious. However, we still set goals. Goal setting is an inherent part of life. It answers the question of purpose. It tells us why we have to live, if only until the next day. Goals actually give us direction. For without goals, what would we direct our efforts toward? Goal setting is the key and essentially gives us the first step in our individual journeys.

Think of it: When you set a goal, you try to follow the most direct route towards it. So you take the first few steps towards achieving that goal. In setting a goal, you will always have the first step. However, in life, we encounter little detours. Sometimes, in order to reach our set goal, we must first accomplish another one.

Goal setting is the key to achieving success in life. If you set goals, you will be able to know which steps to take. Setting goals does not mean you make a list on what to do or what not to do. That would merely be the semblance of goal setting. True goal setting involves commitment. From the moment you set a goal, every effort you take should be directed towards the achievement of that goal.

Goal setting is important in life because it allows you to measure yourself. Through proper goal setting, you will be able to see just how far you’ve come and how far you will still be able to go.

Syndicated courtesy of SyndicateKahuna

For more on goal settng, see Gems4friends’ ten part series: How to Set Goals to Create Your Life.