In recent years, there’s been a bit of a movement in the broad productivity and personal developer fields, in particular, away from goal setting and towards an emphasis on habits and “systems.”
While there’s certainly something to be said for the idea of not obsessing over your long-term goals, but rather emphasising the importance of your daily habits and routines, there are nonetheless all sorts of benefits associated with goal setting that really should not be discarded, whether you are after personal well-being, or professional success.
Here are some reasons why you should set yourself goals and pursue them, regardless of what you hear.
Because (well-chosen) goals can keep you aligned with what you find meaningful
In life, we all have things we find deeply meaningful and that seem to transcend the everyday concerns and preoccupations that so often distract us.
In fact, there’s also a very big difference between things that we find meaningful, and things which we find pleasurable or desirable in a purely short-term sense.
Well-chosen goals, that are aligned with our sense of what’s really meaningful in life, can help to ensure that we consistently live our lives in a meaningful manner as opposed to becoming sidetracked, blinded, and distracted by the insignificant things.
No one wants to wake up one day and realise that they’ve spent the past several decades of their life caught up in more or less irrelevant day-to-day concerns, as opposed to doing the things that really matter. But there is an ever present risk of this situation occurring if you aren’t attentive.
Because life is always more exciting and fun when you are looking forward to something, and striving for something
Virtually everyone wants their life to be at least reasonably exciting and fun, which is part of the reason why we all tend to identify and resonate with the protagonists of gripping films, TV shows, and novels.
Ultimately, life is always more exciting and fun when you’re looking forward to something, and are striving for something, than when you are simply going with the flow, without a real sense of direction or preference.
Whether you like the idea of one day owning a Chevrolet Silverado 1500, or have a personal bucket list that includes things like getting a pilot’s licence, it can be deeply rewarding to actively go after things.
Because setting and pursuing goals can rescue you from learned helplessness and stagnation
One of the most detrimental psychological states that individuals can be affected by is “learned helplessness,” a condition where we end up believing that it’s futile for us to attempt to influence our circumstances, as our efforts will inevitably fail.
Learned helplessness is a condition that psychological researchers have been able to induce in animals in lab settings, after repeated stress and disappointment. Animals that fall into that pattern consistently fail to take action to advance their own interests, even when circumstances change and they have the ability to influence circumstances tremendously.
Goal setting, and the pursuit of goals, can rescue you from learned helplessness and stagnation, and can remind you of just how capable you really are influencing your circumstances in a positive way. It can give you back hope, enthusiasm, and self belief.
