Unleashing Your True Potential (Part 2): Set Goals

“The greater danger for most of us isn’t that our aim is too high and miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.” ~ Michelangelo

I was never a big fan of setting goals. Oh sure, I would spend New Year’s Day writing out a long list of things that I wanted to accomplish during the course of the year. Then six months later, I would find the list and realize that I had not crossed off one single thing. I guess I never really made goal setting a priority in my life because I assumed I would not reach them and that would make me a failure. But the truth is I was failure for NOT setting goals and sticking to them. I was setting myself up to fall short time and time again by never striving to better myself. I was not motivating myself to live up to my TRUE potential in life. I was fine just standing on the sidelines letting life pass me by.

Until one day. One day, I realized that I am better than a bystander to my own life. It was time to get out and live it. It was time to set some goals. Then it was time to crush them.  And now it’s time for you to do the same.

The most important thing to remember when you sit down to set your goals is to keep in mind that these goals must align with your core values. What are the things that are most important to YOU? Spending more time with your family? Getting out of debt? Being a successful business woman? Whatever goals you set for yourself should be paving the way to accomplishing the things that matter most in your life. It is also imperative to keep in mind that these are your priorities – no one else’s. You will never truly be happy trying to accomplish a life that you are trying to live for someone else.

Keep in mind that your goals should be attainable as well. Set short term goals that will set you up for long term success. Make weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual goals and sit down to reevaluate them as needed. Are you goals still in line with your priorities? Are you still focused on the things that truly matter? If not, it is time to set new ones.

For me, goal setting has been the key to giving me the drive I needed to succeed. Once I sat down and made a list of the things I needed to accomplish in order to live out my purpose and maximize my true potential, I was filled with motivation to keep going. Once I accomplish one task, I cross it off and move on to another. I keep my list posted where I can see it daily to remind myself that I am striving for something more. I continue to dream big because I know that the possibilities are endless. I may not reach a certain goal within a certain timeframe, but that no longer makes me a failure. It pushes me to try harder, go farther, and unleash my true potential.

I encourage you to sit down sometime this week and write out your list of goals. It is never too late to start becoming who you were meant to be – to reach your TRUE potential.