Goal setting is a usual and typical year starter project for most people. Even if we don’t specify our goals for the year or write them down, we seem to have this tendency of looking ahead with optimism as the numbers change in the calendar. As if the numbers alone could change something for the better in our life. But we all know that things don’t just change by themselves.

I find motivational and goal setting quotes thought provoking so I thought it would be nice to compile a list of my favorite quotes and tips on goals, goal setting, planning , accountability and share my ideas about them with you. This list can serve as a starting point to delve deeper into topics related to goal setting and clarify some of the ambiguous questions in this field. It can also be just a nice, short, inspirational read.

Tips and Suggestions for Goal Setting

1. Is it important to have goals ?

The thing about goals is that living without them is a lot more fun, in the short run. It seems to me, though, that the people who get things done, who lead, who grow and who make an impact… those people have goals.” —Seth Godin

”Without dreams and goals there is no living, only merely existing, and that is not why we are here.” – Mark Twain

Setting goals starts with having goals. Seems obvious, right? Everyone tells you to have goals, set goals but you might be questioning Why? To have goals or not to have goals that is the first question. Why to have goals? Maybe having a goal will limit me. Maybe it will cause more disappointment. Maybe I am the free-spirit who just flows with life and likes it this way, so how would having a goal help me? Maybe I am not success obsessed so do I still benefit from having goals?

As I see, we all do benefit from having goals because goals are related to how much satisfaction we feel and not necessarily how successful we are financially, socially. The feeling of satisfaction, appreciation, gratefulness, happiness is related to goals but not necessarily related to the popularized, iconic success goals. There are other layers to goals, aspirations, visions than what is commercialized. Read more in my post on : What is the importance of having goals?

2. Explore and Align Your Goals to Your Values

When your values are clear to you, making decision becomes easier. – Roy E. Disney

Who you are is who you are and your dream, your vision of life is uniquely yours. Goals are simple choices after all. Your goals will come out of the texture of your dreams, your personal aspirations, your individual visions, your ideas and your personality. The journey of self-discovery often starts with the goal setting topic because we often realize that what makes others happy and satisfied might not work for us. We realize that we are different. We want different things and our goals and aspirations are different. We like different music, we feel good in different situations, lifestyle, cloths, cars, careers.

These differences make us unique and the better we know who we are and why we want certain things and situations, the more likely that we’ll end up feeling good when we get there. The clearer you know who you are and who you are not, the clearer your goals get and the results will be more satisfying to you personally. Your self-awareness is like a compass that guides your decisions. Your goals will work for you when they are aligned to your personality and values.

So goals are just decisions and having a goal requires a certain level of self-awareness. So the first step in goal setting isn’t about goals, it is about exploring. Do not start with setting goals. Start with exploration and when you have preferences than go on to the next step of setting goals. More: The importance of self-discovery and the benefits of self-exploration.

3. Have a vision and have a plan

“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” —Pablo Picasso

It is not enough to take steps which may someday lead to a goal; each step must be itself a goal and a step likewise. – Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Goal setting is effectively a decision making and a planning process. First you become capable of selecting from all that is out there that what is liked and preferred by you, and than you are able to plan how to get there. Goal setting isn’t difficult because the planning is difficult or because we are not committed to our dreams as many coaches claim.

The process of ‘making dreams come true’ is a process of everyday actions and steps. It isn’t a process of super interesting quantum jumps to keep our attention focused. So no matter how important your dreams are, how committed and decided you are in reaching them you’ll end up in a process of simple, repeatable everyday actions. Example: you want vitality and energy and health. Superb goal. When it gets translated to a plan it will end up looking like a set of boring activities: eat veggies everyday, exercise 3 times a week every week, drink 5 cups of water each day etc. Jim Ron stated it wisely : “It is simple. It is simple to do it and it is simple not to do it” A goal based plan can keep you motivated, keep you on track.

When you plan your days, weeks, years based on your goals it will look like simple days just like others are having: a little working , a little eating healthy. a little socializing but your plan will keep you focused and satisfied. You can become more self-assured as you realize that you are succeeding in many more ways and in many more areas in your life, than you initially thought. More : The importance of Planning and the Benefits of Having a Vision

4. Is goal setting an endless process? Getting vs Being

”The real values of setting and achieving goals lies not in the rewards you receive, but in the person you become as a result of reaching your goals.” -Robin Sharma

”A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at. ” ― Bruce Lee

”What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.”- Zig Ziglar

A goal is a direction to go in and not necessarily a destination to reach. It is not about having something, because having something, getting something is a fixed destination. Goals are good when they are about being something. The ultimate goal is a state of being, not a state of having.

For example a popular goal is to Get rich or to Get married. Getting rich in this formulation refers to having expensive assets and it sounds like a still image, a still unmoving place. The illusion in this goal is that it has this tricky formulation that creates a still visual image in the mind. It makes you believe that just getting there will make you happy. It looks like a still image. You get the feeling that you can GET a certain amount of money and from that moment onwards you will get also happiness, joy and ease. Once you reach that millionaire, billionaire status your mood supposed to stay happy, joyous and your mind makes you imagine yourself to be like a happy person smiling on a photo.

When you formulate goals in this “GETTING” context your mental visualizing illusion kicks in and depicts a world were there are no more rainy days, delayed flights, strange neighbors, angry waiters, conflicts with loved ones and so on. The world is a dynamic place and it’s time we realized that goals are dynamic things too. Goals are about becoming and being happy, rich, healthy, in love and so on.

They are like movies and not like a posters. Popular wisdom says that the joy is in the journey and not the destination. It is in the active act of enjoying the steps, the daily routine, the lifestyle and the being and becoming something rather than having something. The goal is reached once you enjoy the daily activities it means. Having a relationship status is fun when being in the relationship is fun daily, having a career is satisfying only when being in that carrier feels good daily. More : Is goal setting an endless process?

GOAL SETTING QUOTES

List of my favorite inspirational quotes on goal setting

”Some of us have great runways already built for us. If you have one, take off! But if you don’t have one, realize it is your responsibility to grab a shovel and build one for yourself and for those who will follow after you.” – Amelia Earhart

”A dream written down with a date becomes a goal. A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan. A plan backed by action makes your dreams come true.”- Greg S. Reid

”If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes.”– Andrew Carnegie

“Life can be pulled by goals just as surely as it can be pushed by drives.” – Viktor Frankl

“One way to keep momentum going is to have constantly greater goals.” —Michael Korda

”Every ceiling, when reached, becomes a floor, upon which one walks as a matter of course and prescriptive right.”– Aldous Huxley

”The world’s greatest achievers have been those who have always stayed focused on their goals and have been consistent in their efforts.” -Roopleen

”Envision, create, and believe in your own universe, and the universe will form around you.”– Tony Hsieh

“Sail beyond the horizon; fly higher than you ever thought possible; magnify your existence by helping others; be kind to people and animals of all shapes and sizes; be true to what you value most; shine your light on the world; and be the person you were born to be.” – Blake Beattie

Conclusions

Goals and goal setting are usefull tools, depending on where you are in life. Like any tool it can work for you or against you. Self-discovery and self-exploration are more important than goal setting for those who are starting out on their journey. Goal setting is a decision making process and you got to do some trying and exploring before you can decide what you prefer.

Once you know what you prefer you naturally will want more of that in your life and in your environment. Planning, setting goals and tracking goals can help you in stabilizing your efforts and staying on track.

Goals and plans are dynamic, ” living ” things not a porcelain sets in a vitrine. They are the tools of self-realization and self-exploration at the same time. Once we become something, we reach a plateau and new scenery opens up with new drives for further exploration and realizations. Satisfaction and joy are therefore in the process of making the steps. Happiness is truly in the journey.

Credits, sources and further readings: Featured- Confident business woman, P1- stories