Chances are that if you are reading this blog, you have already set goals for 2020. The more interest we have in something, the more likely we are to take action. However, as a coach, I know that not all of my clients have set goals yet. They’ve had a busy holiday season and are feeling pangs of guilt that they haven’t taken the time to chart the course for their lives and their businesses yet. And from my informal surveys at workshops, I know there is a significant portion of solopreneurs who are simply disillusioned with goals setting and then not achieving those goals that they’ve gotten cynical, discouraged, and they simply state that they don’t believe in goal setting, and they especially don’t believe in New Year’s Resolutions.

My typical approach to goal setting is that I review last year’s goals, highlight what I’ve accomplished, and then re-evaluate, update, and set new goals for the next year. Because I am also a college professor, I go through this process over the Holiday Season and during the Summer when classes are out. In between, those goals are posted on my bulletin board right beside my desk so that I see them every day. They are also incorporated into the SuccessMAP (a coaching process for Complete Success clients) so that on a daily basis, I know that my actions are moving me towards my goals. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s go back to the top ten reasons to set goals:

1. Goals give your life purpose. Goals are an integral part of life and when you set goals, it helps us to dream, and aspire for a meaningful life. They help clarify our end vision and set up on the way to deepening our life experience.
2. Goals stretch your comfort zone. Once you’ve dreamed and aspired for something bigger, it stretches you to achieve more and to be more.
3. Goals provide a roadmap to take you from here to there.  Goals give your life structure and help to turn what seemed impossible into something possible. It provides the direction and roadmap necessary to move forward with purpose in life.
4. Goals give you focus. Now that you have a target to aim for, goals will help you concentrate your time and effort with a sense of urgency to keep moving forward. You know what your priorities are and you can then stay focused.
5. Goals motivate you. When you know where you’re going, you have the drive to move forward. Clearly defined goals help establish those priorities and give you the desire to follow the roadmap set before you.
6. Goals make you accountable. There is now a measure of success, a means to see whether or not you are moving forward.  And rather than just fill your time with nonsense, your goals become a measure of your success, holding you accountable.
7. Goals, when accomplished, give you a feeling of satisfaction. Accomplishing your goals and living your dreams are a source of happiness. Your goals bring out the best in you.
8. Goals help you measure if you are living up to your own expectations. You know the feeling it brings when you know you are measuring up to your own standards. You become more self-reliant and confident.
9. Goals create success, one step at a time. They help get you off the couch and following the roadmap that will build your dream.
10. Goals, once accomplished, give us something to celebrate. And the celebration of your accomplishments will once again propel you forward to set higher goals, stretch more, hold yourself you a new level of challenges, and the cycle then starts all over again.