To achieve goals, you first have to set them. It’s much like driving to a destination; if you don’t determine where you are going, how are you going to get there? Therefore, you need to set goals that you want to achieve.
Many people who want to achieve goals are not as steadfast in setting them. This is a mistake because, if you aren’t committed to setting goals, then you can wander around aimlessly in your actions, believing that you are getting closer to the goals you want when in reality, you are wasting time and energy that could be better utilized if you set the goal ahead of time. Setting the goal before attempting to achieve it is important because it gives you a clear idea of what actions and steps you’ll need to take in order to achieve that goal.
You’ll see how challenging the goal is, approximately in what time frame you can realistically expect to achieve the goal, and even see ways in which you can break the goal down into stages and steps that are more easily manageable and doable. For instance, if you are wanting to lose 100 pounds, expecting to do that in one month is unrealistic; therefore, setting a goal of losing 100 pounds and really focusing on it will let you know that it will take a great deal of time and effort to do it.
If you set that goal of losing 100 pounds, you can consider what steps you’ll have to take in order to achieve that goal- these steps can include eating less food overall, eating little or no nutrition-deficient food, and eating more of nutritious food. It can also include eating few to no snacks in between meals. Another step can be to drink more water and more drinks with little to no sugar in them. It also can include exercising more often and for longer durations.
As you can see, setting a goal can help you to break down the goal into more manageable steps and see what actions you need to take in order to achieve
that goal.
Thinking about losing 100 pounds can seem mind-boggling and virtually impossible to achieve, but if you actually set the goal of losing 100 pounds and really break down the steps needed to achieve that goal, you’ll begin to realize that there are actions you can take that can add up to where you will begin losing weight.
Over time, you will lose more weight until you have lost the 100 pounds you want to lose. This is why goal setting is so important. Many goals that seem impossible to achieve on the surface are actually quite doable when you actually set the goal and really look at what steps are needed to achieve it.
If you are wanting to get a college degree in a specific field, but have never taken a college course before, you may think you don’t have what it takes to get that degree. Yet, if you really set the goal of attaining that degree and break down the steps needed to attain that degree, you’ll see that you are fully capable of attaining that degree by following the steps and actions needed to attain it.
Yes, it may take many steps and time to do it, but it’s certainly doable if you are willing to put the time and effort into doing the tasks needed to get that degree. As you set a goal and really analyze what it will take to attain it, you will often see that the goal can be broken down into several stages with many steps in each stage.
Each of these steps and stages can be termed as a short-term goal versus the overall long-term goal you wish to achieve (such as losing 100 pounds or attaining that college degree). You will learn more about the differences between short-term and long-term goals in the next chapter.