Why goals are fantastic for your wellbeing

We are over halfway through 2022! How did that happen?

Now is a great time to reflect on your goals. Acknowledge your achievements, steps forward, and regroup and make plans for the year ahead.

When we set goals we usually have the end in mind. That end can seem so far away. Particularly if we haven’t made the progress we had expected to have made. So how do you keep engaged with those goals?

  • Look how far you have come. Look at where you are now against your starting point. Any step forward is a move closer towards that goal. We often get hung up on what we haven’t achieved (our brains are naturally skewed that way) Rather than looking at what we HAVE achieved.
  • Celebrate those moves forward no matter how small. Remind yourself that it is a journey

It may be that the goal isn’t the right goal anymore. Have your priorities changed? Life changes over time. We need to adjust to reflect that. Something may have been our goal at the start of this year, but there may be a reason you haven’t made the progress you had hoped, that reason may be that the goal isn’t relevant anymore.

Take the time to reflect on your goals and check their relevance to now.

You may be thinking ‘well if I haven’t achieved them, or they have become no longer relevant, what is the point?’ Here are some of the benefits of goal setting.

The benefits of goals?

  1. Goals can really help to contribute to our personal resilience. It is about having something to work towards and look forward to beyond the tough time we are facing right now. It can really help us through those difficulties, giving us a ‘light at the end of the tunnel
  2. Having goals allows us to reflect on and track our progress. It can be really motivational to see just how far we have come. Having a goal allows us to acknowledge that. Our brains have evolved to protect us from danger and therefore very often will naturally see the downside.

We need to be proactive to reflect on the good. And if we don’t take that proactive time to do that we may simply miss and let it pass us by what we have achieved. Achievements help us to feel good. Recognising our progress gives us a boost not just in terms of our mood, but also our self confidence, motivation and energy too!

When you take a holistic view of wellbeing you realise that a life with meaning is important. Whether that is doing work which aligns with our values. Or you spend time making a difference. Having a sense of purpose and direction is beneficial for our general sense of wellness.

Many goals will fit nicely with the 5 Ways to Wellbeing. These are 5 things which are guaranteed to improve our wellbeing.

Learning5 Ways to Wellbeing

Giving

Taking notice

Connecting

Keeping active

Your personal goals may reflect some of the above, and in working towards these you will also be contributing to your wellbeing.

You can see how goals not only bring us a sense of purpose or meaning; they also support proactive wellness too.

Work and Personal Goals

 

Our goals should not be centred just around work and career. It is important we have life goals also. This can play a significant role in supporting a happier work and life balance.

It is also important to consider short, medium and long term goals. If all of your goals are far into the future, they may feel like they’re so far away that they are unachievable. This can make it difficult to get that sense of achievement as they are always out of reach. Similarly if your goals are all short term, they won’t be as helpful in building resilience because we don’t have those things to look forward to once we have got beyond the tough time were facing right now. Long term goals can be helpful in giving us a sense of direction and something to work towards, taking us into the future.

A balance of short, medium and longer term goals will each serve a different purpose, but again will all contribute to our sense of wellbeing.

One step at a time

 

Goals can sometimes feel overwhelming. Particularly if our wellbeing has taken a dip. When setting goals, also set smaller milestones. Sometimes the end goal can feel so far away, but understanding the little things that you can do to make progress can be helpful and feel a little more attainable.  Step by step actions- plan to get there.

Big changes happen from incremental actions. No matter how small the steps are, enjoy and celebrate every step. It is all progress!


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