Why should you set Goals?

We all have certain dreams and aspirations in life. We want to own a nice house, we want to send our kids to the best schools and colleges, we want to have six pack abs, we want to see the grandeur of our daughter's wedding. And the bulls eye, to have a Happy Ending; a worry free, healthy & peaceful Retirement. For many people, these goals are always on their mind. Their goals are properly documented in terms of the future cost of the goal, the exact number of years from now when the goal would arrive, etc. They are constantly preparing for these goals by saving and investing regularly. Then there is another set of people who believe that goals are the biggest source of tension in a person's life, they bring in nothing but stress, this set of people live in the present and want to handle things as they come. They too have some dreams hovering in their mind but they just don't want to prepare and want to live worry free.

So, which set do you belong to?

If you belong to the latter set, then do you need to give a second thought?

Probably Yes. Your goals don't pluck away your happiness, rather they continually restore your good night's sleep. Let's see how:

Our goals keep us going, they motivate us to plan and work for them. An athlete running a 500 m race will be fueled for the event, will showcase a round of exemplary dedication and perseverance, because he/she can see the target, the finish line which is 500 m ahead. If there is no goal, no finish line, the adrenaline rush in the athlete will be missing, the spirit to make it first would not be there. Similarly, our goals serve as a purpose for us to be passionate about and to sweat for. The goal, be it financial, buying a house in the next 5 years and stretching your limits to save and invest for your house, or otherwise, going for a trek to the Himalayas and preparing your body for it, you need to “have” a goal to work for it.

Goals give us a direction in Life, There are students who are about to complete their masters and still don't know what do they want to do in life, they are likely the ones who will eventually be hopping from one job to another until their 30s or even 40s struggling to find the perfect fit. The one who has a clear head from the very beginning, who knows what exactly he wants to do in life, will know what to focus his time and energy on, from an early stage.

Our goals keep a check on our spendings, This happens primarily because of the investment commitment for the goal. A slice of your income goes towards your goals, you are left with lesser disposable income, so automatically your discretionary expenses come down.

Also your goals do not let you take impulsive decisions, by nudging at your elbows whenever you are about to spend on something which you should avoid. When you are about to spend on a fancy gadget like an iPhone X, your goal of the dream home comes flying in, stares into your eyes and asks, “What are you doing? What about me? You shouldn't be spending like this” And suddenly you realize that your priority at this point in time is buying the house, so you change your mind, buy a One Plus 6 instead, and direct the surplus money towards your future home. This happens because our goals help us prioritize.

Planning for goals help avoid the last minute stress,Whether you foresee and plan for them or ignore them altogether, your goals will arrive. Your kids will grow up, you have to provide for their education and wedding, you will grow old, you will need money to survive in your old age. It will be a smooth ride for the one who visualized and prepared for these goals, and for the who was living in the present, these goals are likely to give him a tough time, he will have to sweat for arranging huge sums of money in a short period of time, and at the end he may or may be able to fulfill the goals in the way he wanted to.

To conclude, our goals don't really give us stress, they give us the motivation to live. They give us a way of life. And everyone has dreams, there is a need to identify, define them as clear goals and plan for them. So stay focused, go after your dreams and keep moving towards your goals!