Written goals align our attention with our intention. Many of us have all kinds of ideas in our heads about what we want to achieve in our businesses but not everyone takes the time to write these ideas down.

Keeping these ideas in our heads renders them useless because they will often get lost or forgotten among the lists of what needs to be done right now. With your plans written out, you can visualize future results more easily and clearly.

Written goals serve a roadmap that we can continually check to ensure we are headed in the right direction.

There are many benefits to written goals but I have highlighted three that I hope will encourage you to put your pen to paper and write your goals down.

Written goals drive action.

Written goals provide a standard for daily action and a way to measure your progress. Be sure your action steps are logical and practical tasks you are willing and able to do. Writing down your goals allows you to become more solution-oriented rather than problem-oriented. You begin to focus more of your time on activities that will help you achieve what you want and less time on “crisis management” or avoiding what you do not want.

Written goals promote good decision-making.

Goals serve as a foundation for decision-making. It is easier to decide on a progressive course of action if you have a clear picture in your mind of what you want to accomplish.  Written goals encourage you to make important decisions early, take advantage of opportunities and eliminate weaknesses that get in your way. You will become more proactive rather than reactive which will save you time and decrease stress and worry.

Written goals create a sense of accomplishment.

As you start to set goals, you begin to look for ways to develop and use more of your talents and abilities.  When you know where you want to go and how you plan to get there, you are naturally more confident. You develop a more positive attitude, a belief that you will be able to achieve higher and more challenging goals. When you achieve your goals or even better, exceed them – you are motivated to do even better and dream even bigger.

Written goals bring clarity to how we are going to achieve the vision and purpose we have for our businesses and our lives. Without this clarity, we can easily be overwhelmed by all the demands placed on us by others and the information-overload characteristic of the world today. Written goals help us weed out what is not important and stay focused on what matters most. I hope you take the time to write down your goals for 2021.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Gidlewski is President of West Chester-based Achievement Unlimited, Inc., as well as a growth catalyst and motivational speaker. He works with business owners and entrepreneurs to clearly define what they want their businesses and lives to look like, then helps them connect all the moving parts to consistent action and habits. Michael can be reached at 610-793-6609 or via e-mail at michael@achievable.com.

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