When it comes to setting goals, people are infatuated with professional success. Common things people are obsessed with include how hard you could work, how much money you could make, and how quickly you could climb up the corporate ladder.
Personal goals often get lost in the mix of this hustle culture, which is very disappointing due to the fact that there is so much importance when it comes to setting and achieving personal goals.
In this article we are going to dive into the benefits of setting personal goals and why it is so important.
Why Focusing Solely on Professional Goals May Leave You Feeling Empty
At first glance, having a successful career may seem like the answer to all of your problems. This makes you go all out, leading you to avoid setting personal goals that could also be beneficial.
The problem with this is that success in your career doesn’t guarantee happiness or fulfillment in life. There are multi-millionaires out there that were happier before they became a millionaires for this very reason.
The quote, “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” rings true here. Without setting personal goals, it’s easy to become obsessed with work, leading to unhappiness in the long run.
This is because your professional life is a very small fraction of your overall life. If you neglect your fitness, relationships, hobbies and other aspects of life that make you happy, it will eventually take its toll.
For example, you may end up happy with your career, but you have no one to share it with, and on top of that you’re out of shape.
Below we will further talk about the importance of setting personal goals.
Motivation and Confidence Booster
“Personal goals, unlike professional ones, provide us with a sense of purpose and direction that extend beyond our careers. The accomplishment of these goals supports our personal growth, boosts our self-esteem, and provides a sense of achievement and fulfilment.” – Bayu Prihandito, Founder at Life Architekture & Certified Psychology Expert.
When you work for someone else, the work you get done isn’t as rewarding. Over time, if your full focus is on what you could do for someone else and not yourself, your sense of purpose could dwindle, and your confidence will suffer as a result.
as Bayu stated above, it’s important to set personal goals because it provides us with a sense of purpose and direction.
The confidence boost you get from achieving your own personal goals is unparalleled. It leads to better decision-making, performance and increased productivity. It will also lead to more success at work, which will in turn affect your professional goals.
Improving Relationships
“Sometimes, personal goals involve forging relationships – be it strengthening bonds with family and friends, or maybe exploring something more romantic. These non-professional goals enrich our lives, offering emotional support when needed and being crucial for our mental health.” – Bayu Prihandito, Certified Psychology Expert and Life Coach, Founder at Life Architekture.
The second point made by Bayu, is that personal goals often involve relationships. Let’s say that you want to set the personal goal of becoming good at jiujitsu. You might decide to join a jiujitsu class and make some friends with whom you can practice and share experiences with.
This will increase your communication skills, help you learn about different cultures and worldviews, and even bring out more of your leadership qualities. All these skills will come in handy when working with colleagues, partners, or customers.
Stress Management & Health
“By investing our time and energy into non-work related activities, we create a sort of buffer against potential burnout, helping us reduce stress and work anxiety. Many personal goals are associated with improving our health and habits, such as regular exercise, a balanced diet, or adequate sleep. In return, these can also benefit and boost our productivity and creativity at work.” – Bayu Prihandito, Founder at Life Architekture & Certified Psychology Expert.
If we’re neglecting personal goals, we’re neglecting our health. You ever hear of the term, “there is no wealth, if there is no health”? Well, it couldn’t be more true. Focusing on our personal goals such as exercising regularly, eating a balanced diet and getting enough sleep allows us to stay healthy and energized throughout our day-to-day life. This means that when we are back at work, we can remain productive for longer periods of time with less stress.
Personally, when I was neglecting exercise, I always had pent up energy. As of late, I’ve started running and setting goals (like getting my 5k time better), and I’ve seen a huge improvement in my energy, focus and attitude.
Skill Development
“Setting personal goals is an excellent way to grow as an individual. By dedicating time to personal development, you can enhance essential qualities like emotional intelligence, communication skills, and resilience. These attributes not only benefit your personal relationships but also have a positive impact on your entrepreneurial ventures.” – Denise Belisle, Serenity Expert and Positive Intelligent Specialist at Denise Belisle In Motion Coaching.
This is one I could personally relate to. One of my personal goals is to grow a YouTube channel. Through this channel, I’ve learned to speak more eloquently, organize my thoughts more clearly and stay focused on the end goal.
When it comes to my day job, which is sales, this has helped me tremendously. I’m more confident when speaking with customers, as well as more approachable and patient.
Frequently Asked Questions
Personal goals are more important because there are many more aspects to your personal life. They also are more important due to the fact that a good personal life could aid in the success of your career-related goals.
Work goals and self-growth targets are both key in your life, but they look at different parts of your growth in work and life. Work goals are about your job. They might be about doing better at work, moving up in your job, or making more money. These could be things like aiming for a promotion, getting a new qualification, or making a business succeed. But self-growth targets, or personal goals, are about making you a better person, improving your skills, and becoming more capable.
First, decide what truly matters to you in your work and in your personal life. This will help you make the right decisions when you’re pulled in different directions. Then, plan your time carefully. Lastly, Setting clear boundaries between work and personal goals is extremely important.
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