Setting Goals Allows for an Empowered Life
If you want something to change in your life or if there’s a desire you’re looking to achieve, it won’t happen unless you set goals. Setting goals enables us to devise a plan, put mechanisms in place for review, and agree on a feasible timeline. It also allows us to consider the resources we’ll need along the way and determine where to stop. Without goals, we aim at an undetermined destination, leading to endless wandering without stopping and celebrating.
The Importance of Goal Setting
Many people I work with suffer from trauma and grew up with limiting beliefs about what’s possible for them. They fear dreaming big and giving themselves what they deserve. Many of them believe they don’t deserve it and need to work at overcoming limiting beliefs. They think work isn’t supposed to feel good or that they’re lucky to have what they do and shouldn’t aspire for more. Overcoming these limiting beliefs is crucial as we set goals and determine what we want from our lives.
My Journey with Goals
This reminds me of my initial journey in setting goals and how difficult it was. I began setting goals after reading a book called “The One Thing.” David and I read it, and we started setting and reviewing our monthly goals. We would set 30-day, one-year, and five-year goals each month. I noticed it was rare that we got to cross all our goals off our list, which highlighted that setting big goals often leads to more failures than successes.
Then I read “Atomic Habits” by James Clear, one of the best books I’ve ever read for goal-setting. James Clear advises an annual review of goals to reflect on what went right, what went wrong, and what we learned from our efforts. Since then, I’ve been setting monthly goals aligning with my life objectives and reviewing them weekly in my journaling process, evaluating what went right and what went wrong, and reassessing goals accordingly.
Progress Over Perfection
One major insight from setting goals is realizing that rarely do I achieve all the goals I set for myself. With David’s support, I saw that he wasn’t achieving all of his goals either, which helped me understand that goals are something to strive for. When they’re big, failure is more common than success, but that’s never a reason to give up.
Many of us avoid setting goals because there’s no disappointment in not achieving something we never aimed for, but this also means we’re not accountable. Long-term rewards require short-term sacrifices. Making an easy choice today can lead to harder choices later in life, whereas making a hard choice today can lead to easier choices down the road.
Celebrating Progress
I’ve learned to celebrate progress over perfection. Setting goals monthly and reviewing them weekly has been transformative. I no longer expect to hit all my goals; sometimes, I achieve three out of five, sometimes just one, but the progress is what counts. Letting go of perfectionism, I now recognize and celebrate the continuous progress I’m making, even when I don’t hit all my targets.
Goals and Fulfillment
Today, I desire a career that feels fulfilling, working fewer hours, having financial security, maintaining deep, meaningful relationships with friends and David, and having personal time. I also want to start a surrogacy journey and build a family. My goals may change, but consistently working towards them and celebrating progress allows me to achieve these desires and find personal fulfillment.
Your Journey with Goals
So this is what I want to leave you with: set your goals. Don’t be afraid to dream. Putting your desires out there into the universe holds incredible power. Review your goals periodically and discuss them with others; it helps spread the magic of goal-setting. Reflect on what went right, what went wrong, and what you learned. Celebrate progress over perfection. Look at your journey over the past year, and you’ll see that progress is worth celebrating.
Life is about the journey, not the destination. Accepting this frees you to grow and adjust continually. Never give up on your dreams. Iterating and adjusting is okay, but don’t give up. Articulate what you want from your life, think about it deeply, and enjoy the process. Believe in yourself—there is so much power in setting goals and strategically creating a plan to achieve them.
If you need guidance, let’s discuss your goals and see how I can help you achieve them. The future is yours to shape—dream big and set those goals using effective goal-setting strategies!
