The Importance Of Setting Ambitious Goals
What’re you doing today?
We all get 24 hours a day.
However, do you feel like you're not making the most of your day?
Will you be looking back on your time and think that time on the sofa watching TV could have been spent better?
If you are feeling frustrated or even have regrets about the path you have chosen so far, you might benefit from taking a very personal look at how you define success and then start finding your path to get there.
Start by establishing your goals. You are where you are in your life because of the goals you keep. Goals are full of unlimited potential. However, if we fail to set ambitious goals we fail to reach our full potential.
So, low goals produce sub-par results and ambitious goals lead to improved results.
We are not always able to achieve all of our ‘high’ set goals, however the act of trying moves you far closer than if you had set them at an average level.
Reach for the stars
By setting your goals high you commit yourself to constant and never-ending improvement. As a result, you learn everything you can do to improve your result.
Be smart with your time
Being smart with your time is about balancing your long-term goals with your short-term needs.
Often I hear people say that they don’t have enough hours in the day.
This “don’t have enough hours in the day” phenomenon is the excuse for not moving forward.
It's an excuse for not:
launching the website which has been planned for the last 5 years
writing the book they have been talking about for years
putting on a load of washing on when they said they would
I think managing your time is fundamental to living a life that is free of regrets. However, it's connecting with your goals and aspirations that will drive you forward. As a result, you become more efficient and therefore have more time.
Having a goal is a great motivator to get me up in the morning and to keep me focused throughout the day, without goals, I drift and waste time.
Most of us have a goal.We often have a pretty good idea of the kind of career, holidays or home we like. However, often everyday life comes between us and our goals and we become disconnected from them.
I’ve been making lists of goals for as long as I can remember. Still, every time I go through the process of making another list I feel like overwhelmed, overwhelmed with the amount of work there is to do to get to where I want to be.
Starting something new, forming new habits or learning a new skill is not always easy.Often there are moments of wanting to stop and throwing in the towel, but reminding myself why I am doing this always put me back on track.
Working towards my goals and learning new skills really helped shape who I am, in terms of always believing that there’s more than you can achieve if you just put your mind to it.
You can always be better than what you thought you could possibly be.
Always.
Edwin A. Locke, the authors of “New Developments in Goal Setting and Task Performance”, explains: “There is a linear relationship between the degree of goal difficulty and performance … Specific, difficult goals lead to higher performance than no goals as well as vague, abstract goals such as ‘do your best.’”
An ambitious goal drives me to cut out more distractions to reach it. For example, committing to run a complete marathon pushed me to stick to a daily training session, sign up for a training plan, and squeeze in time for a few stretches before succumbing to Netflix in the evenings.A smaller goal wouldn’t command the same level of effort.
“I think goals should never be easy, they should force you to work, even if they are uncomfortable at the time.” — Michael Phelps
We’ve all been there. You’ve set a goal, and after a few weeks into your new routine, the excitement is starting to wear off and it is getting a harder to stick with it.
It’s important to remember that you're not alone. Everybody starting a new routine has experienced this struggle.
Ultimately, your level of commitment to your goal will be the most important factor in determining your path to success. The stronger your commitment, the more ambitious you may be. In some cases, falling short of a goal can even increase your motivation, a 2014 study in Motivation Science found.
Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.” — Muhammad Ali
You need to be ruthless and cut down on distractions to be able to focus, you also need to be persistent and committed to achieving your goals. This all takes a lot of effort but the more you practice the better you get.
Take the following steps to leap forward.
1. Set the bar high — don’t be shy about pursuing big goals
Dream big and set ambitious goals. Setting your goals is the first step towards accomplishing them. Ambitious goals will not only shift your perspective but also increase your level of confidence. You can’t push yourself outside of your comfort zone until you allow yourself to push the envelope of what you imagined possible.
2. Make a plan
Every goal needs a plan. It’s your road map of how you will reach your goal, what strategy you will use and what your real path to success will look like. Strategies may end up changing of course, but without a plan, it’s tricky to have an idea of whether your goal is achievable or not.
It is super important that you have a good understanding of what needs to be done to achieve your goal. Are there any skills you have to learn?
3. Create short-term milestones
After you have established what needs to be done, it is key that you break your goal into smaller daily, monthly, quarterly tasks — or whatever time period makes sense for your context. This helps you to keep your focus and not to get discouraged or overwhelmed by the enormity of it all. This will also help you to check whether you are on track to meet your goal or whether you need to correct your course.
4. Assess your achievements
On your way to greatness, you must stay motivated and be able to find the inspiration and the strength to keep going even if you don’t see the results of your efforts yet.
Results might be slow, especially at the beginning. Don’t get discouraged instead, keep track of your achievements, evaluate the progress you are making and use this information as a motivator to keep pushing forward.
To discover your full potential you must believe in yourself.
5. Never stop learning
Never stop learning. Gaining new knowledge is extremely important. Feed your creativity with information. As a result, this will boost your skill set and keep you up-to-date with what is happening not only in your industry but in the world in general. Knowledge will bring you one step closer to reaching your goal.
It always seems impossible until it’s done.” — Nelson Mandela
Part of the fun of setting new ambitious goals is the feeling of unlimited potential.
However, often we don’t approach life with these lofty goals because we're conditioned to think that many of our ambitions are larger than life.Be unapologetic about your intention and stay determined and focused in your approach.
Reaching for an ambitious goal takes a lot of work.
But if you’ve chosen a goal that you truly care about, it’ll be so worth it.
So go and aim high, choose a long ladder and take one step at a time.