by Simon Hazeldine
“If you don’t know where you are going – any road will take you there.”
The Koran
The Vital Importance of Knowing What You Want
Although many people are aware of the importance of setting goals, very few people actually get around to doing it!
I embarked upon an extensive period of research, reading deeply into the psychology behind goal setting, and the results of this research are contained in this series of articles on setting and reaching your goals.
So please don’t just read these articles – act on them. And act now.
Answer this important question:
“What do you want?”
This may seem to be a simple question, but it’s rare that I find anyone who can answer it properly. After you’ve completed the exercises in these articles, however, you will be able to!
Imagine for a moment that you’re setting out on a journey to get to a specific place. First and foremost, you’d need to know where you’re going. You’d need to know where it was, and how you’d know when you had arrived at your destination. You’d also plan a route to get you there from where you are now. You wouldn’t drive around aimlessly hoping for the best, would you? You’d have a very specific destination in mind and a plan of how to get there. This seems obvious, doesn’t it?
However, as obvious as this example may be, in my experience many people do not have a destination, and a plan of how to reach that destination, in many key areas of their lives.
Sir Edmund Hilary and Sherpa Tensing did not climb to the top of Mount Everest by wandering around and hoping for the best. They had a specific goal (to get to the top of Mount Everest) and a specific plan for how to accomplish this.
Why should it be any different for you?
