Goal setting has been the one of the favourite topics of choice for many personal development and self-help gurus – for good reason. Goal setting is a simple yet powerful, powerful process. Not to mention the indisputable benefits it brings you as you get into this process of determining your future.

These are 5 benefits which you will learn after you have finished this article and you are going to view this often-underused technique a necessity for your personal success.

1. Clarity

Ask anyone on the street what they want to do 5 years from now and 98% of them will say… “I don’t know”. Florence Chadwick was the first woman to ever swim the English channel but she failed… just one mile short from the goal – simply because she couldn’t see the shoreline due to fog. She tried again when the fog was gone – and the rest is history.

2. Hope

“Man can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about 8 minutes without air, but only for one second without hope.” – Author Unknown

Without something to look forward to, we won’t survive. Countless stories in history have proven it. We all look forward to different things and exactly how high or how low we set those goals will determine exactly where we go. Remember, if you aim for nothing, you’ll probably get it.

3. Motivation

If you’ve set your goal correctly, then you will be positively motivated to achieve it. Setting the bar too low causes you to scoff at it. Setting it too high causes you to give up. Setting it just 1 cm out of regular reach… will force us to reach just a little further.

People call it “Carrot and Stick“.

4. Revealing

You will have 2 results after setting goals – success or feedback. If your targets were achieved, congratulations! If not, it is very revealing of the kind of person you are and how you can make the next one a success. It can reveal whether you are a…

• Dreamer
• Realist
• Hopeful
• Doubtful
• Optimist
• Pessimist
• Action Taker
• Passive Action

5. Power To Change

The most amazing thing about goal setting is the power it gives us to make the impossible possible. Throughout the years, countless examples have proven themselves again and again the power to change lies within us. Whether or not you choose to use that power to change whatever it is you want… is up to you.