The Importance of Reaching the Goals You Set

Contributed article in our personal growth series. Enjoy! – Kimberly

While everyone knows just why it is important to set goals, does anyone ever stop to think about just why it is important to reach those goals we set? Whether from a business perspective or for personal growth, it is understood that the easiest and surest way to get where we want to be is through setting goals, but that is only the easy answer when it comes to why we want to reach those goals. Consider just what goals do for us and then you’ll begin to understand just how important it is to reach them.

See Them as Stepping Stones and You’ll Never Stop Growing

While we are told to always set both long and short term goals, did you ever stop to think about why we want to set short term goals other than for the fact that they are easy to attain? Yes, a short term goal enables you to be successful in short bursts so that you don’t give up along the way, but look at them in terms of growth potential. If you see those short term goals as stepping stones to your ultimate goal, you can actually begin to extend that goal outwards as well, carrying you even further in life (or business).

Meeting and Overcoming Obstacles

An example of this way of thinking would be the person who buys a home when getting married. Most people at that stage in their lives look for small ‘starter homes’ in which to live for a number of years in the beginning of married life until children start coming. However, in the interim, property prices have skyrocketed, and so it makes more sense to add onto the home they have rather than to go into greater debt when upsizing.

Someone living in the Atlantic City area of New Jersey, for instance, knows just how much real estate has risen in previous years so that presents an obstacle. However, a bit of creative strategizing leads you to the very real possibility of expanding what you already own. You now begin to check out refinance rates in NJ and see that it is actually cheaper in the long run to extend your current home so that is exactly what you do – refinance your home for the capital needed for building additions.

Gaining Confidence through Previous Victories

Moving on from there, you have added a room or two, extending your home. Down the road, you realize that you have now increased the value of your home without over improving based on comparables in your neighborhood. You have made payments on your refinance loan timely and have built your credit up admirably.

With the profit you can realize if you sell your home, you could move to a bigger home in a nicer neighborhood and you have the confidence in your ability to pay a bigger home loan because that one previous loan proved you could do it.

Beyond Confidence – Setting New Goals

With newly acquired confidence in your ability to set and meet goals, you now find that you can visualize alternative paths in life. Perhaps you want to relocate totally to a new area or you want to go into business for yourself. The simple attainment of one goal led you in new directions that go beyond confidence. As you reach higher on your journey upwards, you are able to see more.

It’s like climbing to the top of a hill only to realize here is a higher hill you can climb just beyond the summit you are on. Confidence brought you to a place where you can expand your horizons and that is one of the most important reasons for reaching goals you set. With each goal you achieve, you can be inspired to reach outwards and upwards and that is what growth is all about.

Ultimately, It Is All About Growth

Finally, you’ve come to the realization that goals are all about growth. If you set a goal and work towards achieving it, you are constantly growing. To have no goals is to be stagnant, which, in turn doesn’t lead to growth. It’s like sitting in a car with the engine idling. If you don’t put the car into drive and step on the accelerator, you will forever be sitting there until you run out of fuel.

The moment you fail to set and work towards reaching a goal, it’s like idling through life. Why are goals important? Simply put, goals are your accelerator. Goals are what drive you forward on your journey through life.

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