5 Important benefits of writing down your goals
what are you looking forward to next year?
I’d decided a while ago that resolutions are not for me. I knew that somehow, since I can’t really stick with them, I don’t want to go on with making resolutions only because it’s trendy only to start feeling guilty about not really doing anything about it. However, I tend to get excited about setting goals, especially during January, and I revisit them during July.
I am often told by clients that goal setting can be dreadful and daunting for them. Sometimes, the pressure and fear of failure can get in the way of even thinking about setting goals. Even though I understand that fear, I think most of us fail because we don’t customize it according to what we truly want to accomplish. We find ourselves mimicking what everyone else is doing and forget that it needs to be personal and true to what we would like to achieve. We start ‘should-ing’ based on what others do and that can often demotivate us or we tend to leave that goal midway.
After working with many people on the experiences they have with their lives and desires, I’ve becomes aware that many people have this idea that it’s more mindful when you just wing it and allow some spontaneity instead of mapping out things right in the beginning. There’s no room for surprises or inspiration. I do sympathize with that line of thought but the problem with winging it is that the essential things simply get brushed under the carpet and we tend to accumulate too much each day thus we can lose focus and can feel too overwhelmed easily.
From my experience personally as well as professionally, there is more than one contributing factor to how each of us set our goals. Some people are type A and they constantly need something or the other. Some people are type B and are okay with not taking up too much on their plate. Some people tend to enjoy a slow living lifestyle and focus only on a couple of things whereas some people live a fast-paced lifestyle and need to keep going. Some people are on this journey of transformation and want to take it one step at a time, while some people feel self-full and ready to push their boundaries.
Therefore, in my opinion, it’s always better to set goals that are more personal and within one’s capacity. This way there is more room for growth. Not everyone is at the same stage in their lives and it’s okay to set goals that feel more personally inclined instead of what goals one ‘should’ set.
Maybe this year is more about traveling for you. For someone else, it could be about focusing more on their body. For another, it could be about building better connections and relationships. Someone else might want to pick up a new hobby and learn more. Someone might want to get rid of their addiction and start a more healthier lifestyle.
There is no right or wrong here. It truly depends on what you would like to achieve and get the best out of this year. It also could be one goal or more. It ideally depends on you.
Writing our most desired goals, tend to help us stay more in alignment. There is a method to it. Writing goals down can allow us to then take the necessary steps in order to achieve those goals in the best way possible.
In this article, I’m listing down some of the reasons that help in writing down goals in the hope that it may help you too.
We’re forgetful beings –
It’s not surprising that we tend to forget things easily. In a day we tend to have a lot of ideas and thoughts. And the more profound ones tend to stay in our minds for a period of time and as days pass those ideas start to fade as we start consuming more information. Writing stuff down makes things easier to revisit. Especially since goals can be fleeting it’s always better to write them down.
Easy to access and review –
Without proper access to what we ideally want to achieve, things don’t always seem to take shape. Since we can easily forget, an important piece of information or idea can just vanish from our minds. One of the reasons writing down our goals can be beneficial is so that we can easily access them when it’s time to work on it. It’s also a lot less pressure on our minds and we can now make space for other things.
Improves long-term memory –
When we tend to see something over and over, it settles in our brains. We then tend to remember that stuff very easily. Writing down our goals and revisiting them time and again is kind of like a practice. It helps us remember better because we’ve allowed our minds to get used to the idea by revisiting it. What we tend to colloquially call muscle memory. For some people, it’s easy to stay focused and aligned with their goals. For some people, it takes time to navigate and filter all that information to narrow down to the goal they need to work on. I often tend to ask clients to write their goals and put them somewhere they can see them as often as possible. It truly helps to stay focused especially when we feel disconnected and lost.
Generated material leads to better results –
Any kind of physical effort that we tend to take creates an impact on us. Even if it is writing down our goals. It requires physical and mental energy to actually write. The more we write the more it tends to get ingrained in our minds. Using our hands and our bodies means that we are making something. We’re creating something, that leads to beneficial results. It comes from within. It comes from our deepest desires and motives. That often feels very satisfying in a way. Even if it’s just writing down a few goals. We tend to get a rush and we feel enthusiastic, even if briefly. That rush and satisfying feeling can work brilliantly if we’re more patient with our goals.
Makes your goal real and achievable –
When it’s an idea or a thought we can easily brush it away by saying that we aren’t good enough or not yet ready or it’s impossible and it’s wishful thinking. It starts to feel scary and daunting. So, we never get to it and oftentimes we tend to miss out on wonderful opportunities and possibilities. Writing down our desires and goals is an indication to our mind and body that we’re now ready to give this a shot. We’re now ready to work on something that’s important to us. It could be as simple as buying that expensive bag you are afraid to invest in or starting a side hustle. Writing down our goals can make things less scary and more believable. There is now something physical that you can hold on to and revisit.
These are very simple reasons that have worked for me each time I’ve needed to set goals.
I would also like to encourage you to go old school and literally write your goals down on paper instead of writing them down digitally. Of course, feel free to make multiple copies just so it’s easily accessible to you. But I would like to encourage you to write the first goals on paper. You can get creative with it by creating vision boards, or writing them down digitally.
I tend to use “Notion” it’s a simple yet highly effective tool that can be accessed on your laptop/iPad/phone.
Allow yourself to be kind and gentle with your goals and try to take it one step at a time with them.
I hope you achieve all the goals you set for yourself. Thank you for reading. And for being a subscriber. It always means a lot when you stop by, read them and write to me, telling me how these articles help you and make you feel or if the tips and hacks have helped you in some way.