The end of 2022 is coming up, and what a year it has been. In most of the world, we slowly said goodbye to a pandemic and welcomed in other uncertainties like high inflation.
Different people have different reactions to circ*mstances. In his book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey, shares two circles, the circle of concern and the circle of influence.
The circle of concern refers to circ*mstances like global warming, the state of economy and attitudes in society and more. Things in your circle of concern are things you have little influence on. Spending time, attention and energy on these things is a waste of resources.
Your circle of influence consists of things you can do something about. At this point, you might be thinking: there isn't a lot I can do, because 'I don't have time' or 'I don't have the right knowledge or expertise' or 'I don't have any money.' All of these and more, I have heard before. It seems easier to focus on what you don't have, then direct your attention to what you do have. No matter what the circ*mstances are, you can always influence your effort and attitude in the now.
So even though there is a lot happening in the world, focus on your effort and attitude right now.
What I see happening when the circ*mstances seem to be stronger than ourselves, is that people adopt a more laissez-fair attitude. I am going to go with the flow, whatever happens happens. This is a fine attitude if you are like Alice in the above exchange with the Cheshire Cat. 'As long as I get somewhere.' The destination doesn't matter, but if you care about the destination, here are 5 reasons why setting goals is important, no matter in which domain in your life.
Reason 1: Focus
Goals keep you focused. Imagine a ship setting sail without a destination in mind—as it traveled wherever the winds takes it, supplies would eventually run out, and the crew would probably have to resort to cannibalism in order to survive.
Okay, so maybe a lack of goal setting won’t yield such dire results, but you certainly won’t get anywhere specific if you don’t have a plan. Whether you’re talking about work, hobbies, or relationships, setting a goal will keep you moving towards success and fulfillment, without veering off course.
Reason 2: Plan of Action
Goals help you make a plan of action. When you know how much you’ve accomplished, you can understand how much you need to achieve and pace yourself accordingly.
For example, if you set a goal for yourself to save up a million dollars/euros/pounds for retirement, you believe you’re two decades away from retiring, and have only saved up $500,000, you know you need to save around $2,100 per month.
Reason 3: Motivation
Goals get you motivated. Without a goal in mind, you can always say it will happen tomorrow—whatever it is. Of course, once tomorrow arrives, there will be a tomorrow after that, and so on.Setting a goal with a timetable will force you into some accountability for your actions and force you to get up off the proverbial couch.
Reason 4: Your Potential
Goals help you actualize your potential. Each and every one of us has incredible talents and abilities existing within that are dormant, but very few people actually leverage those talents into something useful.Whether that is because you have been told over and over again, you can't do something, you will never achieve or amount to something, these limiting beliefs keep us small, smaller than we are. Setting goals and working towards them is a great way to put your skills to work, while developing and sharpening your natural talents.
Reason 5: Commitment
Goals keep you committed. One of the biggest deterrents to success is that people just give up along the road. If you set a goal for yourself and stick to it, you can block out unhelpful distractions and resist falling into depression or self-pity when things don’t quite go your way.While taking action towards achieving your goals, you will encounter options and people trying to get you to help them achieve their goals.
“Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs.”-Farrah Gray
You know there’s an awesome view at the top of the mountain and you’re committed to seeing it, no matter how difficult the climb.
Will you be setting goals that excite you, no matter what is happening in the world? Share them, so we can support each other.
