Set Realistic Goals

One of the most profound moments in literature is in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.

Alice is walking and comes to a fork in the road. She’s not sure which way she should go, so she asks the Cheshire Cat, “Which road should I take?” The cat asks her in return, “Well where are you going?”

“I don’t know” Alice replies. “Then it does not really matter,” the cat tells her, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.”

An indispensable part of life is to know where you are going. If you don’t, you will find yourself wandering down any road that presents itself to you.

When you have no clear destination, the decisions along the way don’t matter. This is why the fastest way to reinvent yourself is to establish a destination—or, in other words, to establish a list of personal goals.

#1. Gives You Direction.

Moving forward is good; moving in a specific direction is better. Personal goals put a clear direction to your movement. This is why personal goals are vital to any personal reinvention. Most of us are familiar with feeling constantly busy, on the move, and booked with appointments—yet nothing seems to get accomplished.

Personal goals give you a way to organize and direct all your movement into a specific direction so that you can accomplish what you want.

#2. Puts You in the Driver’s Seat.

The essence of reinventing yourself is taking control of your life. Personal goals allow you to be in the driver’s seat. Goals allow you to take control of your time, energy and effort. Instead of just reacting to things that happen into your life, you take control. You decide where your energy is spent.

Nothing will help you reinvent your life like taking ownership of it via your personal goals.

#3. Inspires During the Mundane.

Life is not a movie. We don’t experience a continual stream of magical experiences, one after another.

There is a lot of dullness stuffed in-between the highlights of life. That’s OK. This is where our personal goals rise to assist us.

Personal goals can inspire us by reminding us of the bigger picture in life. We can compare that to what we are currently engaged in at any point in time. In other words, personal goals help frame how the smaller aspects of life play into the larger mosaic. Reflecting on how your day-to-day life fits in with your overall goals can thereby give you daily inspiration. Having this is pivotal in reinventing yourself.

#4. Organize What Is Important.

On a day-to-day basis everyone is bombarded with choices.

How do you decided when to say yes and when to say no? With personal goals, that decision becomes easy. You can ask yourself: Does this activity align with my personal goals? Does this help me achieve my personal goals?

The answer to those questions can help you decide what to invest your time in. It gives you a way to identify what is important to you.

#5. Enjoy Life.

Ultimately, life is to be enjoyed, and nothing is more enjoyable than success. Personal goals not only define what success will look like for you, but also will give you the road map to achieving it. What many people fail to realize is that personal goals will also allow you to enjoy life even when the goals are not accomplished.

The ability to learn, progress, and develop yourself when you have not accomplished your goals will bring you an enjoyable personal maturity. These are the many ways that personal goals can bring a greater degree of purpose and fulfillment to your life.

Personal goals are a non-negotiable ingredient in any personal reinvention project. Thankfully you can start with something simple. Start your journey by making your first personal goal: A goal to develop a complete list of personal goals. And now you are on your way to creating your best life!

Use the 3 items below to help you set realistic goals in your life:

Affirmation and Self Reflections: I Create My Life with My Thoughts, Words and Actions

Infographic: 45 Goals for Self-Improvement

Infographic: 7 Steps to Reach Your Goals