benefits of setting goals in life

7 Incredible Benefits of Setting Goals in Life

What are some of the most incredible benefits of setting goals in life, and why should you start today? Continue reading to learn more.

Do you FEEL like you are drifting through life like a ship without any GPS…?

Do you feel as though you’re working SO HARD… but don’t seem to get anywhere?

Do you feel unfulfilled, unmotivated, or maybe like you’ve lost your way a little?

Perhaps, you have been so busy that you haven’t spent any time just focusing on yourself… or taken the time to contemplate & map out your goals? I can totally relate to you dude … The truth is - we’ve ALL been there at least a few times in our lives!

If any of this sounds familiar, then maybe it’s time to try something different and become more INTENTIONAL…and leverage the benefits of setting goals in life!

We all have things that we want to accomplish, but it can be difficult when we don’t know where to start or what steps to take.

Sound like you?

Don’t worry, I got your back! – personal goal setting is kinda my thing!

Setting and following goals is an important part of success in any field. The best way to achieve success in anything…from business to relationships to fitness…is to set CLEAR boundaries and expectations for the work we do.

Setting and sharing goals is a simple way for us all to get on the same page and make our individual visions a reality. How so? Well, that is EXACTLY what we are going to talk about here….

Ready to dive in?

Let’s take a look at the awesome benefits of setting goals in life… here we go!!

1. Goals bring clarity to your life

“Clarity is essential to create success and achieve goals that are important to us.” – DK, “SUCCESS, The Psychology of Achievement”

You might have the illusion that you are achieving something because you are busy running around…. Listen, it’s so easy to feel this way, and I get it because I’ve been there, but I don’t want you to fall into the same trap!

It happened to me, it can happen to anyone – don’t let it be you. Just because you are ‘busy’ doesn’t really mean you’re on your destined path or that you’re going to achieve what you want. We want to make sure we are utilizing our precious time wisely!

One of the biggest benefits of setting GOALS is that they bring clarity to your life…. Having this image in your mind of where, EXACTLY, you want to go will clear the path and guide you on how to make that vision a reality.

With so many distractions, temptations & ‘the next shiny thing’ pulling for our attention at the same time, setting goals will help you rate and rank things in order of how important they are to YOU.

It also eliminates the confusion that happens when you set a goal that is too generic. For example, it’s not super helpful to just say: “I’m going to lose weight.”

That is a goal without direction or focus, and you will either end up totally missing the target or not even starting at all. WHY? Because you don’t actually have a clear target. The right thing to do is to give weight and dimension to the goal. Clearly DEFINE the goal:

“By so-and-so time, I am going to lose X pounds. I am making this happen by incorporating the following fitness training and adopting a XYZ nutrition plan.”

Hopefully you can see how that is so much more concise & a great example of how to set and write down your goal. You can even go into more detail if you feel like you need to break it down a little further.

The two goal setting styles above CLEARLY highlight the difference between the dreamy THOUGHT (the first instance) and SETTING the GOAL (the second example).

You can dream to become rich or famous or maybe a multimillionaire on the Forbes List, but if it is not written down and planned in a MORE PRACTICAL and REALISTIC WAY, then it remains a dream that will probably never be achieved.

Poet and writer, Antoine DeSaint-Exupery, said it better: “…a goal without a plan is just a wish.”

daily planner - the Daily Grind planner

2. Goals help you establish priorities

“The question I ask myself like almost every day is, 'Am I doing the most important thing I could be doing?’” – Mark Zuckerberg

Among the biggest benefits of setting goals in life is that they help us establish PRIORITIES.

Life is short dude! Don’t you want to make sure you feel GOOD with how you’re spending it?! I, personally, am CONSTANTLY reevaluating my goals to ensure that they align with my personal values.

You really want to make sure that you are hitting the foundation of what you WANT to accomplish…. If you don’t have your own dreams, goals and aspirations, you will end up helping someone else to achieve theirs. I’m sure it’s safe to say that’s not what you pictured for your life … am I right??

So, set goals to help you define what is truly important. And remember, it’s not just about setting goals but setting the “RIGHT goals”.

The “Right Goals” – what do I mean by that?

To help you visualize what I’m talking about, think of a marathon race.

If it was my goal to run a marathon and I had to write it down, what would be the best way to do so? Just write: “I want to run a marathon?” Ehh, that feels a bit too vague.

I mean, there are so many marathons that take place each year … so which one? How are you going to train for it? How fast do you want to run it?

Instead of the above, I could go with: “I want to run the Chicago Marathon in October 2023. I have 4 hours for training every day, and I am going to do it by following this particular marathon plan or this training program. I am going to prepare for it this way or that way; I am going to buy so-and-so attire and gear; and I am going to follow this nutrition plan.”

If you notice, once you start to break it down it starts to feel a bit more attainable… you feel me?!

As you probably noticed, the second of the two goals is much more specific, hence much more EFFECTIVE, and at least, TWICE as likely to produce desired results than the “I want to run a marathon,” as the first one says.

I hope you’re following along okay!!

3. Goals give you focus

“Obstacles are those scary things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” – Henry Ford

Needless to say, among the biggest benefits of setting goals in life is that they give you focus. Something to strive for.

Setting goals allows you to ALIGN your focus on exactly what you are trying to achieve…. They will give you a specific path where you should place your attention & time, which we all only have so much of in a single 24 hour day!

And in a world where we are constantly being distracted by almost everything around us, it is hard to keep your attention on what you TRULY DESIRE.

I don’t know about you, but I am getting tempted by social media ads constantly!! A simple advertisement with one scroll through Instagram can easily have you spending your hard-earned money on something else other than what you really desire. Not to mention the TIME we can so quickly waste by scrolling aimlessly and/or even spending time with friends or family who may not even fully support our life vision.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that you should totally cut these things or these people out of your life. I’m just saying that your time, money, energy & resources are LIMITED; so, if you spend it all on other pursuits OTHER THAN YOUR GOALS, you are less likely to achieve whatever it is that you truly desire. Is this making sense??

With that, the fastest or shortest way to achieve your vision is to TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE of your resources, and having a clear goal will help give you that focus in order to do this.

blue daily planner - blue bullet journal

 

4. Goals give you motivation

“One part at a time, one day at a time, we can accomplish any goal we set for ourselves.” – Karen Casey

And of course, we can’t talk about the benefits of setting goals in life without mentioning straight up motivation.

Trying to rely on motivation alone is probably one of the BIGGEST problems that a lot of us have. People always say: “I want to do this, I want to do that; I want to start going to the gym, start reading books; I want to… (and the list is endless), but the only problem is that I’m not motivated.”

Don’t allow this way of thinking that you need to ‘feel motivated’ get the best of you … I’ve been there! It only sets you up for failure in the long run because motivation is just that … a FEELING. And a temporary one at that.

Instead, train yourself to become DISCIPLINED. Set goals so that your focus remains razor-sharp to keep you, yes, motivated, but motivated to continue being disciplined with taking action on the things that matter most to you..

Every time you start doing whatever you have to do, your goals are there to remind you WHY you are doing what you are doing.

Why are you putting all these efforts?

Why does this thing matter to you?

Why is the end-goal going to make your life better in the long run?

It’s the reason behind these ‘WHYs’ that will get you up and out of bed in the morning.

If you want to build a healthier, stronger body, for whatever reason that is significant to you – be it because you can’t keep up with your kids, are constantly out of breath or you simply want to love what you see in the mirror – that reminder will keep you surging forward.

Forward always, backwards NEVER!

5. Goals keep you accountable

"At the end of the day, we are accountable to ourselves - our success is a result of what we do.” – Catherine Pulsifer

When talking about the benefits of setting goals in life, it’s important to note that they help keep you ACCOUNTABLE for your actions. This part is super important.

People who set goals for themselves operate differently from those who do not. These types of people are usually the ones we look up to and feel INSPIRED by!

This rare breed of people embrace being the architects of their own lives and builders of their own reality. They are able to go through obstacles and circumstances MORE EASILY because they know exactly where they want to be…. NOTHING can stop them…

Obstacles only give them more drive, passion and reasons to STAY CONNECTED to their goals … and essentially what pushes them to make it happen. This is the mindset and attitude I’m hoping to help you adopt as well by reading this!!

EVERYONE has the potential to be this type of person! I seriously believe that to be the case!

So.. rather than just talking about what you want, now you are obligated to take action. You’ve listed a CLEAR goal & put it out there into the universe… Now it’s time to work.

This accountability will hopefully be the thing that helps to keep you from consuming a soda, and instead opting for something healthier, like sparkling water. Or instead of going to the bar with friends on a Thursday night, you decide to spend those couple of hours working on your new business venture… you following me on this??  It will help you create more discipline in your life and direct you towards achieving what you have set out to do.

6. Goals help you combat procrastination

“Just do it!” – Nike

Nike said it best with their famous slogan. And I agree – JUST DO IT. Stop thinking, START DOING! Just get started… take action, MESSY action. I have found that one of the biggest problems for most people is feeling like they don’t know where to start.

My recommendation is to DEFINE what you want to achieve & reverse engineer the goal…. otherwise, you will find yourself kicking a can down the road, procrastinating, or even worse – not getting started at all with what you want to accomplish.

Most of the time, you may want to start slowly to keep your motivation strong. Start gradually and increase momentum as your confidence grows. Let’s say that your goal is to start running 10 km by October (going by my previous marathon example).

Now, that’s obviously a big goal (for the average person, that is), so you have to put in a lot of hard work. You’re probably going to want to start off small, and PROGRESSIVELY build from there.

Trying it all on the first day will most likely burn you out and scare you into putting off the next training session to some other time. You know how that works – “Ah, I feel so sore today, so I can’t train; It might rain today so I can’t make it to the gym. Ughhh, it’s leg day today and I feel too lazy to train, it’s not that bad if I have to skip just a day”. And the list goes on – excuse after excuse.

The solution?

Depending on your abilities or fitness level, you will want to start, say, at one kilometer, then, go up to two, three, four, five...and eventually up to 10 km. CONGRATS!

That’s how it works. Set a BIG GOAL for yourself, and enjoy the benefits of setting goals in life. Then, divide your goal into small, bite-sized, manageable easy steps that would lead to the final end goal – that’s it. See you at the finish line!

7. Goals help you improve yourself

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” – Albert Einstein

And now we go into a pretty powerful thought that I want to share with you.

Buckle up!

We always set goals TO BE BETTER than we are today. I mean, we never set goals to become poorer or weaker. Right? Goals are always intended to make us BETTER. To bring out the BEST VERSION of ourselves.

And that is just the kind of RESULT you’ll get when you’re setting goals throughout your life!

daily planner for goal setting

Summary

Let’s do a quick summary of what we have learned today. What are the benefits of setting goals in life?

  • They give clarity. A clear understanding of what you really need allows you to take concrete steps to getting it.
  • Setting goals helps you prioritize. With so many things screaming at us all at the same time for attention, it’s important to be able to filter out the noise and attend to the most pressing needs – that’s what having goals helps you do.
  • Focus is easier to achieve when we have a clearly defined target, k.a THE GOAL.
  • They give you energy, motivation, and experience.
  • When you set goals, you know that the difference between fulfillment and regret is in the action/inaction you take towards that goal. That’s holding yourself accountable.
  • When you understand that YOU are the builder and director of your own destiny, you get off the couch and JUST-DO-IT! There will never be a more perfect time.
  • You get results and improve yourself with each milestone of achievement reached in your life. Goal-setting has never had a better reward!

Writing goals down is essential…that’s why I designed the PERFECT daily planners for you! Browse  my beautiful collection to discover the only planners that you will finish from cover to cover!

FAQ

What are the benefits of setting goals in life?

Among the biggest benefits of setting goals in life is that you get more clarity on what you are looking to achieve, better direction, greater focus, as well as increased productivity, motivation, and confidence. Setting goals helps you establish your priorities so you can take better action.

What is the key to effective goal setting?

The key to effective goal setting is first, have a plan, and second - writing your goals down in a planner. When you write down your goals, track your progress and commit to achieving them, you will finally be able to accomplish all you have wanted in life.