Why Goals Matter & The Goal Setting Journey
Your passion got the better of you, and you’ve made the decision to start a business or refine the one you already have. That’s exciting, but passion alone isn’t enough. It’s the goals you set that turn ambition into reality. Goals shape your vision, define your purpose, and guide you toward the business you envision. Every minute you invest in your business should bring you closer to the life you desire. When goals are intentional and clear, they serve as a roadmap, ensuring that every decision, every effort, and every challenge moves you forward. Let’s dive into why setting meaningful goals is the difference between simply dreaming and building the business you envision.
Goals are what our desires become when we set deadlines to make them a reality. To feel like you are moving forward and making adequate progress, it is crucial that your goals are driving you toward accomplishing a greater vision for your business.
Setting and achieving healthy goals is essential to the well-being and success of your business. Striving towards realistic goals demonstrates that you are the boss of your business and that your business is not the boss of you. Prioritizing the practicalities of achieving goals is important. However, visualizing a goal is more important than having all the answers. The first stage in the construction of a house is its blueprints, which show the result of what the house will eventually look like. Without a blueprint, it would be impossible for those building the house to know what the final house should look like.
If you do not have a clear vision of what you want to accomplish in your business, you can end up spending years going around in circles, committing to things that you do not care about, and becoming frustrated with your business. You have spent a lot of time defining your passion, which is a great start for visualizing the blueprint. Business owners who are not actively working towards a goal or a vision in their company will often experience their business as being meaningless and directionless. The passion is still there, but I got off track. It is time to bring your business and your passion back together. The great news is that your business does not have to fall into this trap. Although many business owners assume that getting a vision for their company and making changes that will align with their passion will be a challenging and time-consuming process, it is not.
A meaningful vision that comes from your passion for your business can be as simple as making a difference in the life of one other person, or it could be impacting the world on an enormous scale, and everything in between. The first step of goal setting is to define your vision and take full responsibility for what you want to achieve. This vision cannot be what you think other people want you to do or even what you believe is just a good idea. It is important to understand that good ideas do not come from the same place as meaningful visions. Ideas come from our heads, and visions come from our hearts.
The vision and goals that you develop for your business cannot be what other people want or expect from you. The purpose here is not to please others but to find something that will motivate you as a business owner. If you do not have a vision for your business, visualize your company five years from now. What would the best-case scenario look like to you? Doing this should give you a starting point for defining a few goals. If you want to succeed with goal setting, you need to define the most important goals you have for each area of your business. Without having a set of targets that inspire you, clarity of focus and direction for your company will be lacking.
Goal setting allows you to take control of your business’s direction and provides you with a benchmark that can be used to show progress towards these goals. To accomplish any goal in business, you need to know how to set a goal. Goal setting is a process that starts with careful consideration of what you genuinely want to achieve. The part of the goal-setting process that most people do not like is the hard work required for the goals to be accomplished. However, it is worth remembering that hard work only feels very hard when it does not inspire you. In between setting goals and achieving them is a series of five steps that transcend the specifications of each goal. Understanding these steps will allow you to set realistic goals that you can confidently accomplish.
Only Set Goals that Inspire You
When you set goals for your business, it is crucial that the goals inspire you. Your goals should strive to positively benefit the world in areas that are important to you. If your goals are small, uninspiring, and irrelevant to anyone’s quality of life, the chances of you investing time into making them happen are slim. Genuine inspiration is the key principle behind successful goal setting.
It is important to set goals that are aligned with your business’s top priorities. If you do not have this degree of focus, you will feel overwhelmed and not know where to start. Achieving goals requires commitment, patience, and perseverance. If you lack any of these elements, your chances of fulfilling your goals are limited. To maximize your chances of achieving goal success, remember to make sure that your goals are both inspiring and relevant to you. Ask yourself, “If I were to share my goal with other people, would they see my goals as being significant and meaningful or selfish and small?” How you answer this question will determine whether your goals are worth pursuing!
Upon completing the exercises below, you will be able to:
· Define what ‘success’ means to your business.
· Understand significant areas of your business.
· Establish a vision for each area of your business.
The following exercises will allow you to determine your greatest business vision. Keep in mind that your entire life and all aspects of your life are essential in your business. You must not let your business run your life. You run your business. You run your life. Do not neglect either because your life and your business depend upon one another. This is important because it will lay the foundations for all the planning and goal setting you do for your business. The effort you invest in the goal-setting process will give you a meaningful vision for your business that you will be passionate about and able to commit to.
What is Your Greatest Business Vision?
In the business world, your ‘greatest vision’ would be either the organizational vision or mission statement that outlines an ideal outcome for your business that you will commit your resources towards achieving.
This statement should inspire, motivate, and drive you out of bed every morning and encourage you to take the appropriate action needed.
Your business vision statement gives you a perspective on your business so that when times get tough (which they will), you will remain focused on the prize, consistent in your ways, and unaffected by the negativity of society, your peers, and yes, even your family members. This business vision statement will become relevant to every area of your business, including your relationships, career, finances, spare time, and even routine responsibilities. This statement becomes a vision for your business that will define and shape every decision you make.
To understand what your greatest business vision might look like, consider the statements your clients might say, or what the headlines in the newspaper read, or the TV report if your business closed its doors. This might seem like an unusual thing to consider, but it makes you stop and consider how your business affects your clients, customers, and community. Your greatest business vision will be a verbalization of the words you want to see if your business closes its doors. The words act as an abbreviated reflection of the business you created.
Exercise 1
How would you answer the following questions? Think about examples in your social life, career, finances, and even in your closest relationships.
1. How would you define personal success? Business success?
2. What are your most prominent characteristics? How do they relate to your business?
3. What are your finest personal qualities? Business qualities?
4. How would you NOT like to be remembered? Your business?
5. What value do you contribute to the world and all the other people who are in it? Your business?
It might be true that you want to be remembered in several ways, such as a career woman, a family man, a highly skilled professional, or perhaps a shrewd businessperson. You might want your business to be remembered as a Fortune 500 company, with low turnover, and great customer service. As you are aware, there are many areas in life and business to consider when it comes to business planning, and placing too much focus on one area in your business can easily leave you sacrificing another.
A good example of misplaced priorities is when people place more importance on developing their careers or business than they do on maintaining healthy relationships. Money can often come at the cost of personal and family relationships. Many people commit their lives to pursuing the empty goals of power, ambition, and money-making, only to end up neglecting their family and losing the respect of their spouses and children. Upon reaching the end of life, it is common for many people to look back on their lives with regret, mourning the relationships that they lost or never developed. Most people do not enter their final hours wishing that they had earned more money or that they should have spent more time at the office or running their own business.
An indication that someone has failed terribly at planning their life and business will be found in the regrets and sorrows that they have in their final hours. All the things they wish they would have done, what they wish they had not done, and the people that they could have helped along the way but chose not to. Life and business are all about balance, and it is only you who knows the right balance. Although it can be hard to articulate our greatest business vision, try and visualize what our business would be like if it were perfect in every way.
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. . .Because those who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” Rob Siltanen
Exercise 2
How would you like to be remembered?
Spend 10-15 minutes preparing the best-case scenario of what the people and clients you care about the most will write about you on your tombstone should you pass away, causing your business to close its doors. It is this inscription that becomes the greatest vision for your life, which will be reflected in your business, and the factor of your future decision-making. This exercise should help you establish a new standard and perspective for your business. You will define what’s most important to you and also the way in which you must conduct yourself in relation to your business for the remainder of your days.
Establishing Which Life Areas Are Your Priority
From your experience of life so far, you may be able to realize that considering life requires attention to many areas, all of which you need to balance, especially if you own a business or are considering opening a business. Life and business balance is one of the greatest goals we can achieve, and at the same time, it is a very tough goal to reach.
Has there ever been a time when you were so focused on achieving a goal in one area of your life that it came at the cost of something else in another part of your life? This is a common recurring problem for many people. Perhaps you have had a strong focus on your career, but then you neglected your health? Or maybe you have focused on a new relationship and neglected your friends or your career?
Each time you commit your energy to one thing, you are often unknowingly choosing to pull it away from something else. It pays to make our decisions wisely. All of us have a limited amount of time and energy each day, and no matter how passionately we commit to moving forward in life and business, we cannot commit to everything all of the time. We might build up possessions, promotions, and perform personal bests, we might even achieve the prestige goals of fame and immense fortune. Yet if we obtain those things at the cost of other, more important things, our chances of enjoying a fulfilling and balanced life and business are slim.
Thomas Sowell once said it best: “There are no solutions, only trade-offs.”
It is important to be aware of what you are sacrificing in your attempts at getting something else. The economists would refer to this as opportunity cost. Opportunity cost is what we sacrifice to get something else.
How can we balance the most important areas of our lives and business and still achieve our primary goals?
It is crucial to decide what the important areas in our lives and business are. It is critical that we maintain this perspective as we commit to improving one area in our life or business without turning our backs on all the other areas. There are three empowering questions we can ask ourselves before going full steam ahead with anything that will demand a significant amount of our time or energy. Regardless of whether this goal is a new business, an accomplishment, an acquisition, or a new relationship, ask yourself these three questions. Give at least three (the more the better) positive responses and three not-so-great responses to each question.
· What impact is pursuing this goal likely to have on my time?
· What else could suffer the consequences of my divided attention if I committed to this pursuit?
· In what ways does this effort complement (or detract from) my greatest business vision?
This line of self-inquiry can be hugely clarifying because if we do not commit to pursuing our greatest business vision, we might end up compromising our standards daily.
The late personal development expert Stephen Covey once suggested that: “Without a clear focus on our guiding values and priorities, each of us runs a real risk of successfully climbing a very long ladder only to find it was leaning against the wrong wall.”
This is why our core priorities are worth regular habitual consideration anytime we are about to devote time and energy to a new given pursuit.
Areas of Importance
Certain areas in life are important to all of us. These are primarily:
· Social & family relationships
· Career & educational aspirations
· Money & personal finances
· Physical health, recreation & leisure
· Life’s routine responsibilities
· Giving back to society & contribution
· Mental, emotional & spiritual health
The importance people place on certain areas of their life and business will always differ. However, if we can establish and maintain an element of focus in all areas of our life and business, we will be more likely to achieve this healthy life and business balance. When we define those areas of importance, we create awareness within us of what areas in our lives and business need to be improved, while taking a huge step towards achieving greater life and business balance.
We might recognize someone with a healthy, balanced life through effective prioritization between work and lifestyle habits. Work incorporates their career or business, education, and personal ambitions, whereas lifestyle includes health, pleasure, leisure, relationships, and commitment to personal growth. None of us is perfect, and none of us will ever achieve complete fulfillment in all areas of life all the time. However, it is possible to establish a healthy balance.
Achieving and maintaining a healthy life and business balance can be a lifelong process. This process will often take form through the strategies and interventions we use for managing the challenges that arise in the context of our everyday lives. Consider the major choices you have made throughout your lifetime to date, particularly those that have brought you genuine satisfaction. In retrospect, consider the opportunity cost of any investments you have made (focus, time, money or energy) that turned out to be unexpectedly high and one in which you have regrets.
Not every choice we make will fully support our greatest business vision every time. The more choices that do help us become more balanced, fulfilled, and content, the more balanced we become. The clearer we will be on opportunities that deserve our best efforts, and which opportunities are worth dismissing entirely. It can become very easy to overload in life and business due to the constant pressures and demands placed upon us. The following exercise will allow you to gain a balanced overview of your life and business in their entirety. Upon completion, you will be able to identify clearly any specific areas in your life or business that are in urgent need of improvement.
The Goal Setting Journey
“Man maintains his balance, poise, and sense of security only as he is moving forward.” Maxwell Maltz
Not too long ago, I learned that nothing is ever as chaotic as it seems. Nothing is worth diminishing our health or poisoning our minds into the depths of depression, worry, and stress. There were so many times in the past when I would physically, emotionally, and mentally exhaust myself due to working regular fourteen-hour days, seven days a week. When people would ask if I was exhausted and how I kept going, I simply dismissed it all and said, “I have to keep on keeping.” They would often reply, “Make sure you take time for yourself and get some sleep.” I would simply mumble, “Whatever, I do not have a choice.” And get back to work, although at times their warnings hit home and resonated with me. My people were right; we always have a choice about how we use our time.
When we become entrenched in anxiety-based patterns of thinking and behavior, we tend not to look outside of our boxes. Unless something shakes us up, we can often fail to recognize even the most practical options that are available to us. We all have different interpretations of work-life balance, but in principle, we all share a similar idea of what this means. To have a satisfying amount of time available for doing the things we are passionate about outside of a work-based environment. This could mean time spent with family, time dedicated to personal improvement, or even getting our bodies into better physical shape.
We approach our lives and business in a structured and balanced way throughout this exercise. The following exercises will encourage you to break your life and business down into seven different areas so that you can clearly identify the specific areas in your life and business that are currently out of balance. These areas of your life and business are most likely causing you the greatest degree of anxiety and preventing you from making the degree of progress you want in life and business.
Many of us can be overloaded in life and business because of the demands associated with our work and our home lives. This overload comes as we attempt to manage and maintain our relationships, physical health, finances, routine responsibilities, and service to our local communities.
The following questions have been designed to give you a balanced overview of all your most important areas in life and business. Upon completion, you will be able to identify the specific areas of your life and business in which you really want to make changes.
“There is no decision that we can make that doesn’t come with some sort of balance or sacrifice.” Simon Sinek
Work through the questions and rank your answers from 1 to 10, with 1 being less true and 10 being truer. Be instinctive, and do not overthink it.
Life Area 1: Social And Family Relationships
· My family relationships are very important to me.
· I am satisfied with my family relationships.
· I am close to my parents, and our relationships are healthy.
· I am close to my children, and our relationships are healthy.
· The people who matter the most in my life accept me.
· Social relationships are important to me.
· I am satisfied with my social relationships.
· I have close friendships with people I can be myself around.
· I have a good social network that I am part of.
· I am good at connecting with new people.
· I get along with my neighbors and the people in my area.
· I am satisfied with my romantic relationship(s)?
· I am happy with the overall quality of my relationships?
Life Area 2: Business & Education Aspirations
· Achievements are important to me.
· I am satisfied with my business achievements to date.
· I find my current work environment fulfilling.
· I look forward to going to work each day.
· My business stimulates and develops me as a person.
· I have a healthy & rewarding work-life balance.
· My business is offering me advancement and reward.
· Strong working relationships are important to me.
· I am happy with my current working relationships.
· My working environment is positive and supportive.
· I find contentment and fulfilment in my current business.
· I would urgently like a business change.
· If I died today, I would be happy with the legacy I would leave behind.
Life Area 3: Money & Personal Finances
· Being financially capable is very important to me.
· I am content with my current financial effectiveness.
· I have enough money to meet my current wants.
· I have enough money to meet my current needs.
· I know my exact monthly outgoings.
· I always know what’s in my bank account(s).
· Being generous to others is important to me.
· I am currently very generous towards others.
· I am satisfied with how much I give to others.
· A charitable contribution is very important to me.
· I am satisfied with how charitable I currently am.
· I am willing to step out of my comfort zone & take new risks to generate more income.
· I worry a lot about my current financial situation.
Life Area 4: Health, Recreation & Leisure
· Establishing a healthy work/life balance is very important to me.
· I am content with my current work/life balance. Physical health is critical to me.
· I am very happy with my current physical health.
· I am very happy with my current physical fitness levels.
· Having plenty of ‘free’ time is very important to me.
· I am very content with the amount of free time I have.
· My physical appearance is very important to me.
· I am content with my current physical appearance.
· I can handle my stress and anxiety levels effectively.
· I very much enjoy life outside of work.
· I am able to do things I enjoy frequently.
· I have room for improvement in my life outside of work and/or study.
Life Area 5: Life’s Routine Responsibilities
· Managing routine tasks around the home is important to me.
· I am satisfied with how I currently handle routine tasks.
· I am disciplined in paying my routine household bills.
· I could be more disciplined in managing my bills and other important responsibilities.
· Prioritizing my responsibilities is important to me.
· I am satisfied with how I prioritize my responsibilities.
· A well-managed home environment is essential to me.
· I am satisfied with my current home environment.
· Dealing with home issues promptly is important to me.
· Homelife would be easier if I had a better system in place for managing my routine responsibilities.
· I worry a lot about my routine responsibilities.
· My life would be so much easier if I were more disciplined in managing my routine responsibilities around the home.
Life Area 6: Contribution & Giving Back To Society
· Contributing to society and making a difference is important to me.
· I am satisfied with how much I currently give back to society.
· I regularly make a positive impact on the lives of other people.
· I am satisfied with the amount of difference I make in the lives of others.
· Leaving behind a meaningful legacy is important to me.
· I am happy with the current legacy that I will leave behind.
· I encourage and support those closest to me often.
· My time is mainly spent focusing on myself and my immediate needs.
· I get involved with and support a social initiative that I genuinely believe in.
· Those closest to me find great value in me.
· My peers or coworkers find great value in me.
· Someday, my children will be proud of the way in which I have lived my life.
· I could make more of an effort in contributing back to society.
Life Area 7: Mental, Emotional & Spiritual Health
· Being mentally healthy and strong is very important to me.
· I currently feel I am very mentally healthy and strong.
· Being emotionally healthy and strong is very important to me.
· I currently feel I am very emotionally healthy and strong.
· I am confident and secure in who I am as a person.
· The way in which I am currently living my life is very fulfilling.
· I am very content with the way in which I am currently living my life.
· Being spiritually healthy and strong is very important to me.
· I currently feel I am very spiritually healthy and strong.
· I regularly invest time in developing myself spiritually.
· I am consistently competent at managing my emotions.
· I have good self-control.
· My emotions will often manage me.
· I am undisciplined in self-control.
· Negative and destructive emotions will often get the better of me.
General Life-evaluation Questions
Summarize what your ideal life and business would be like.
· What are the main challenges or difficulties that you are facing in bringing your life and business back into balance?
· What areas of your life and business are working really well for you at the moment (e.g., family, work, fitness, etc.)?
· What immediate changes do you need to make to your life and business to feel more balanced?
· What words might other people use to describe you and your business in relation to how balanced you are?
Final Exercise
Write a personal and business vision statement for each of the seven areas of your life and business.
A personal or business vision statement is the best-case scenario description of what you would like to achieve or accomplish in each of the main areas of your life and business. Define what success means to you. Understand what the most important areas of your business are. State the greatest vision you have for your business.
Closing Thoughts: The Power of Purposeful Goals
It is important to remember that life and business balance is an ongoing process and not just a means to an end. Life and business balance is much more than merely stating that you want something to happen. It is more about indicating the specifics of what you are going to make happen!
Unless you define the specific goals, you have for each of the main areas of your life and business, the chances of you achieving these goals will always be somewhat limited. Hopefully, by now you have set some goals for yourself and your business that are significant, meaningful, and will improve the quality of your life and your business once you have put in the hard work to achieve them.
Goals are the foundation for a full, well-rounded life. Whether it’s nurturing meaningful relationships, advancing in your career, achieving financial security, or prioritizing your health and well-being, every goal you set shapes the life you are creating. Success isn’t just about business growth or personal achievements; it’s about finding a balance across all aspects of life. When you set clear, intentional goals in areas like routine responsibilities, giving back to society, and personal development, you build a life that is rich with purpose. The journey of goal setting is one of continuous refinement. It’s about progress, not perfection. Each small step forward moves you closer to the life you truly desire. When approached with clarity and determination, goals become the compass that directs you toward lasting success, fulfillment, and impact. So, set your goals with intention, commit to the journey, and embrace the transformation that comes with it. Your business, your relationships, and your overall life will reflect the power of your purpose.
