2 reasons to set goals regularly

And it isn’t all about achieving more or working harder… 

We’ve probably all set a goal at some point… 

At school we’re told we need to achieve the goal of passing our exams and completing our coursework. In the fitness industry goals are part

Some of us love goal setting, it feels exciting and motivating. For others it’s something we prefer to avoid, we’ve experienced the frustration of setting goals only to feel like we’ve failed to achieve them. Maybe you just feel like you’re too busy getting on with everything to make time for goal setting. And I get it, because I’ve been all of those. 

So why do I think Goal Setting is something everyone should make me for? There are 2 key reasons that in my experience goal setting is really worthwhile.

1. To Live Intentionally

We’re all going to get up each day and do things. We’re all going to spend our time in a certain way. So we can either set a goal, make a plan and be intentional about how we spend that time or we can just allow the habitual patterns of behaviour and routines to run their course and go along on auto-pilot. 

Nearly every single person I have ever met wants to make some kind of change in their life. We all tend to feel like we have something more to give or create. Now that doesn’t mean we need to constantly be chasing something more, or be focussed on achieving, because we are all enough already. It may be that you have a goal to actually DO less and spend more time being present and in the moment, or working less and spending more time with your loved ones. But if you want to make any kind of change, having a goal is a great starting point to begin the journey of creating that change. 

Otherwise we risk spending our time running along on the treadmill of life with nowhere in mind, feeling powerless to change it. 

2. To identify what to work on

Now you might start thinking about writing out an action plan with all the steps you need to achieve the goal, and while that’s important it’s not actually what I’m referring to. 

When we set a goal it usually means change, and that usually means getting out of our comfort zone which is, for want of a better word, uncomfortable. That discomfort can help us to identify areas to work on in order to open up more possibilities and opportunities by reducing our self-imposed limitations. 

It might be that you feel uncomfortable taking action because you don’t know all the information, you need to practice the skills or it’s just something you haven’t experienced before. The area to work on might be a practical exercise of repeating the actions and skills needed so that you become more competent and in turn feel more confident, effectively expanding your comfort zone. 

But more often than not the discomfort comes from our limiting beliefs, fears and insecurities. We often trick ourselves into believing that it’s our circumstances or environment that means we can’t make the change. 

We say we don’t have the time. 

We say don’t have the money. 

We say have to do put others first. 

We say we need to do x, y & z before we can move forward. 

We procrastinate. 

But these are not the problem, just symptoms of something deeper in our mindset that is holding us back. 

• We worry about being judged - What will people think? What if I’m not very good? What if I fail? 

• We worry that we’re not enough - I don’t know enough, Who am I to do that? 

• We worry that we’ll be rejected - What if they don’t like my idea / offer? What if I upset someone? 

• We lack trust in ourselves - We don’t listen to our intuition. We second guess ourselves. We don’t truly believe that we can achieve the goal. 

At this point you might be wondering why this is a positive outcome of setting goals, but the great thing about realising this is that once we are aware of it we can do something to change it. 

In NLP we often talk about how we are like onions, we are always uncovering another level of awareness. You can’t deal with anything you’re not aware of, so becoming aware of a limiting belief or unhelpful habitual pattern of thinking is the first step in being able to change it for a more empowering one. 

So setting goals is a great way of identifying the habitual thinking patterns and behaviours that have limiting your progress, fulfilment and wellbeing, so that you can change them. 

Need some help with goal setting or maybe you have clear goals but feel like something is holding you back? - I’d love to help you get some clarity, drop me an email and lets book in a call to talk it through - danie@evergreen-coaching.co.uk

What intentions would you like to set for today… ?