Taking your business – or life in general – into your own hands and implementing new strategies in order to have a better chance of success is what the cream of the crop needs to do.
Being in the top 1% often requires a multitude of formulas put together that are created after years of experience and finding what works for you. Goal setting is one of these important pillars of success.
Not only can goal setting help with success, but these goals typically impact the rate of stress. Yet, how does goal setting reduce stress? Carry on reading to learn more on this topic.
What is Goal Setting?
Well, what is goal setting? Setting a goal is a measurement of how far you’re coming along in your progress to complete a certain task. It can be split up into sections (or smaller goals) to achieve the ultimate ‘end goal’.
Driving you forward in times when you would normally just give up, goal setting gives you the accountability to keep on pushing towards your goal no matter whether you feel like it or not.
Having the focus, discipline and accountability towards your goals every day will give you the best chance of accomplishing whatever it is that you’ve set out to do.
Of course, these goals should not be rushed into. There should be hours of planning behind the key steps you need to take to accomplish the primary goal.
Whether this is a short-term or long-term goal for business, fitness or just personal development in general – you cannot rush into it. It is needless to say that a lot of businesses fail every year and lack of planning and effective goal setting certainly plays a vital role in that.
Now, although you are to put hours of planning behind writing your step-by-step formula – this doesn’t mean that you can’t adapt your goals along the way. Sometimes, the world changes and you will need to cater for that. Therefore, even though goals are typically set in stone – your smaller ones may have some room for flexibility.
Types of Goals
There are two types of goals that are split up into two sections. The first type of goal is a ‘being’ goal which involves a shift in mentality tailored towards what you want to accomplish. The second type is a ‘doing’ goal which is physically completing the task at hand.
Now, you may think that the ‘being’ section has a useless function. However, when you put yourself in the state of mind of the person that will achieve the main goals they’re setting out to do – the likelihood that you will achieve these goals will increase drastically.
Putting yourself in the shoes of the individual you want to become (by completing a certain goal) will automatically give you further confidence in yourself that you’ll actually achieve the goal.
Lacking self-belief and self-confidence can often let people down in scenarios where they have a lot more to give. Some people think they’re not worthy of succeeding in their dream goal as it is too far away – which is what causes people to stop in their tracks.
Whereas, if you shift your mindset and psychology to where you will achieve your dream goal no matter what, you will feel unstoppable. No matter the setbacks, it will still be accomplished. These are some vital points that will help you along your journey.
Completing the task is another thing. Now you have the mindset of a successful person, taking action is ultimately what is going to lead to your wildest dreams becoming reality.
Acting on the planning that has taken place within your organisational journal or another accountability process is the only way that your work will get done. Consequently, you can’t disregard the hard work that has to be finalised.
How Does Goal Setting Reduce Stress?
Goal setting has a massive role in the reduction of stress due to the clear vision and path that is designed by goal setting. Having a purpose with a straightforward process gives you nothing to ponder on – meaning clarity and stress management will be easier to deal with.
Stress and anxiety often cause the human brain to be taken up by negative thoughts, which typically decrease productivity levels for the day. Conquering these ongoing negative connotations and thoughts is not easy – let’s take a deeper look into how goal setting will aid your mental health.
Timeframe
Having a certain deadline for your goals is extremely useful for efficiency around what it is you’re trying to achieve. Once you have a deadline, a consequent action of dialled-in focus becomes a natural reaction.
Due to the timeframe giving you something to aim for, you begin to notice yourself focusing on this part of your life – rather than the other external factors that could be hurting your thought process.
Micro-Goals
Leading on from a timeframe helping the reduction of stress and treating anxiety, your mind needs detailed focus in order to dispose of stagnant behaviour.
Whether your main goal is to improve relationships, experience happiness with your physique, move upward in your job, etc – you will need micro-goals to get there.
Knowing this, rather than having one huge goal that is unattainable in a few days, stress and anxiety are reduced when you split your main goal into daily or weekly goals that lead to the endpoint.
Conclusion
Now that you know that splitting up your goals into micro-goals, putting a timeframe on each goal and keeping them specific to your desires, whilst keeping traits such as discipline, consistency and hard work as non-negotiables – you now have a purpose that will reduce stress drastically.
This year is another opportunity to take your education and studying seriously. The top leaders in every field have had to put in the hard work before success unfolds.
It is time to change your destiny and take these actionable steps into your everyday environment. Discarding procrastination and replacing it with structure and a stress-free mind needs to be your top priority in order to access your full potential.
Mark is a multi-award winner in business networking and relationship building. He is passionate about coaching and mentoring business owners and professionals through 1-1 & group coaching, team performance workshops and group mastermind sessions.